*I am not now, nor have I ever been, a self defense instructor. That being said, please don't take the "lesson" literally.
Leonardo stared dismally at the ceiling. He wished he was tired enough to fall back asleep, but racing thoughts were making it a bigger challenge than normal. He also had to remember not to look like he was bothered, lest Luke believe he needed additional aftercare which was completely unnecessary.
The occasional clicking of a mouse was the only sound the man currently made, besides the scrawling of handwritten notes. Leo turned his head to watch Luke at the desk, surprised by his hunched posture. Despite not knowing their new friend well, he'd never seen him sit so poorly.
"Doc, are you in pain?"
Luke jerked as if he'd fired a gun. "No, not at all."
Leonardo eyed him skeptically. "There's something you should know about my family, Doc. We're trained to tell the difference between the truth and a lie. Master Splinter taught us to discern it from a young age."
The man wheeled the desk chair around with a sad smile. "So no one gets away with anything down here?"
"Not forever. What's going on?"
"It's not physical," he explained. "I'm a little bogged down is all."
Leonardo was considering whether to push the man or not, when Donatello wandered back through the door. Now he was torn between the brother he thought he'd offended, and the friend who clearly needed to talk.
Don met him with an apologetic look. "Sorry for running out on you."
Leo nodded. "It's okay. You said you didn't wanna talk about this, and I wouldn't let it go."
"You only wanted to help. I don't think anyone can, but I appreciate the sentiment."
"You're fine, Donnie. Just don't make a habit of running off. We don't need two Raphs. I can barely handle one," he joked, only to ease the atmosphere.
Luke snorted. "And you wonder why I'm creating a contract?"
"I'm wondering if you expect everyone to read it," Leo clarified. "How many pages are you up to?"
"They're going to read it all right," Luke declared. "Your Sensei will back me up."
"I don't think you need him to," Donnie remarked. "You're pretty scary on your own, Doc."
The man made a menacing face, but it was half-hearted. "Counting on it." Luke got to his feet. "Can you hold down the fort a couple hours? I have some errands to run, and I don't feel like making April do everything."
"We're cool, Doc." Don's pensive gaze focused on the man like a laser beam. "Are you up for running around?"
Luke nodded and strode toward the door. "I'll be back before 6. Don't throw away my reservation."
Donatello shook his head. "Wouldn't dare. See ya later, Doc."
The moment their friend left, Donnie turned to Leo.
"Did I interrupt something?"
"No. Well, kind of, but it's not your fault. I don't think Luke wanted to talk about it anyway."
The purple-masked turtle sent him a wry smile. "Are you trying to help everyone fix things today?"
"Yeah, and my record sucks."
When Donatello returned to the living area, he found Raph and Mike watching TV. The perfectly normal activity felt a little strange with just the pair of them. I'm getting used to the others being around too. Can't let that continue.
Raphael sent him a side-eye while turning off the television. "You, uh...you all right?"
"Yeah. Not perfect, but..." Donatello had no idea how to start it, so he simply plunged perilously ahead. "I know I've been acting a little weird over the last couple of days, and I'm sorry if I've hurt or otherwise annoyed you. There are some things I'll tell you about later, but I need a little time. Is that okay?"
"Hey, we got you," Mike assured him.
Raph nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, guys. What were you watching?"
"Nothing important," Raphael told him, then ducked his head awkwardly. "I sort of forgot to tell you last night that we're gonna need to reimburse the Lambert Brothers."
"The who?"
"They own the construction site I was camped behind. I had to take down a portion of their fence with the van, so Mike and Jenna could get out with Leo. There might 'ave been a better way to do it, but it was the fastest thing I could think of at the time."
"Nah, don't sweat it, Raph. You did what you had to. I'll look up the exact address, and ask April to get the funds from our account. She can mail them a money order."
"You were in the right spot, Raphie." Mike grinned. "I know you wanted to trade places with Leo or me, but we really needed you there."
"I get it," he answered sullenly. "But I won't make a habit of sitting in dark while you guys have all the fun."
"Is that what you call it?" Jenna suddenly entered their midst.
"Fun is a delicate term," Donatello spoke up. "Raph just enjoys stopping the bad guys in their tracks."
She casually dropped into the other chair by Donatello. "You disappeared."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I...I had to talk to my Sensei."
"Well, I'm glad to catch all three of you together, because I wanted to talk about something too. I haven't been having much fun of my own lately, and I was wondering if any of you could help me."
"I'm an expert on fun!" Michelangelo declared.
Raphael guffawed. "She probably don't mean your kind, numbskull."
"What do you need?" Don inserted.
"I want to learn some self defense. I'll never be able to fight like one of you. But there's got to be a way for me to stand a little bit on my own."
Raphael sent Donatello a pointed glance.
"Uh..we could show you a couple of things," the purple-masked turtle agreed. "I'm still somewhat limited with the use of my arm though."
"It's cool, Donnie. I'll be the bad guy. You just play Simon says," Raph volunteered .
"And I'll watch her learn to kick your butt. Everyone wins!" Mike cut in.
After getting over Donnie's initial hesitation, the four of them went down the hall to the dojo.
Don almost froze up again when he found their Sensei stretching on his own. "Oh. Sorry, Master Splinter. We didn't mean to interrupt-"
"Jenna wants a lesson," Michelangelo explained. "We just wanna help her out."
The teen took a step forward. "I'm not trying to be a ninja. But I'm tired of being defenseless, in more ways than one. Is it okay if they work with me?"
Amusement danced in the rat's onyx eyes. "You do not need my permission."
"It might make more sense for you to teach her," the purple-masked turtle mumbled.
Splinter shook his head. "No. I think this is a good exercise for the four of you. I can leave, if that would make it easier."
"Uh..." Donatello actually considered it for a moment, before biting the bullet. "I'd rather you stay, Sensei, unless it bothers Jen." He winced at accidentally reverting to the nickname again, but Splinter didn't bat an eye.
"It's fine with me. The more the merrier, right?" she offered.
"You may pretend I am not here." Splinter settled into a chair calmly.
Donnie was going to be forced to do just that. The expectant looks from his brothers indicated they were waiting for him to start it.
He took a deep breath. "Okay, Jenna. We're going to walk you through a couple of basic techniques. They won't be complicated, but still effective. I've told you before that martial arts isn't about being able to beat someone up. Our philosophy centers on not fighting, unless someone else starts it.
"The first thing you have to understand then, is violence is the last resort. If you have the possibility to run, if you have an out - you take it. It doesn't make you a coward. You can't go into this kind of situation trying to prove something. Self defense should be just that: a necessary physical reaction to a threat you can't escape from.
"You know about the initial shock when you're attacked. What you do in those first few seconds is very important. If your assailant is trying to subdue you quickly, he's gonna be all up in your personal space. You've experienced it firsthand more than once in the last couple of weeks. Do you remember how you responded?"
"Um...I dragged my feet when they were trying to get me to the car last night. Managed to break the hold of one guy who only had my shoulder. I used the taser to take him out. Once the other bastard had me on the ground though, it was sort of over. I tried to struggle but it didn't get me anywhere."
"There's a good reason for that, Jenna. You have to assume your attacker is larger and stronger than you are. Much of the natural struggling which takes place in a moment of panic pits your fear against his muscle - and you can't overcome him that way.
"It isn't to say you're helpless - far from it. You have more physical strength than you're consciously aware of. The trick is learning to channel the power into an effective, rapid strike against your opponent. In the blink of an eye you have to change from being the victim, to going on the offensive." Don sent his red-masked brother a glance, and turned back to her. "Are you ready to get a feel for some of this?"
"That's why I'm here."
He motioned Raphael to move in closer. "Jenna, if you get uncomfortable, say the word, and everything will stop."
"I'm good, Donnie. I'll speak up, I promise."
"Hey that goes for you too, Raph." Mike chortled.
"We'll see who's laughing when you trade places," the bigger turtle retorted.
"Let's focus here, huh?" Donnie insisted. "It's not about you two. All right, Jenna, so someone's bearing down on you. Many times you won't have the opportunity to see it coming, but for the sake of this exercise, I want to watch how you react."
He noticed her body draw inward as Raphael loomed threateningly, and both her fists came up like a boxer's stance.
"Let me stop you right there, Jenna, freeze," Don interrupted. "I know you've probably seen some seriously angry women in the movies. They get ticked enough, and they can lay some guy out with a single punch, right? Believe it or not, landing a hit like that is a lot harder than it looks, and you can easily harm yourself in the process. So I don't want you to think fists at all."
He lightly drew one of her hands down, and turned it over. "This right here is one of the best weapons at your disposal." Donnie tapped the flat of her palm. "Stretch the arm out, and practice bringing your hand up rapidly. Feel the snapping action. When you intend to strike an opponent with your palm, there are several good targets centered on or near the face. The throat and chin are both vulnerable, as well as the nose.
"One of the most important strategies is to completely commit to the strike. There's no time to test your strength, or try to get a feel for it when you have an attacker standing in front of you. You have the element of surprise briefly on your side when you go on the offensive - and that's all you have, a moment.
"You also need to realize where your strength is coming from. The power for the blow isn't going to originate with your hand, the arm, or even your shoulder. The most effective motion is actually going to begin with your hips. You start by lowering your center of gravity, bracing your legs in a sort of pyramid-like base. If you have the space to take a step back with your right foot, that's exactly what you want to do. Then it becomes a rotating action as you thrust your hip back, and jerk upright. The energy from the simple motion travels through you, it becomes like an explosion behind your arm.
"If your attacker has you against a wall where you can't step back, you can still accomplish the same thing. It's just a matter of dropping straight down, and springing right back up with the leg. The nice part about close quarters is most of the time, he won't be able to see your blow coming.
"Once you've thrown your initial strike, you're not going to stop and wait for him to recover. I want you to get absolutely ruthless. If he's got you by the arms, you use your legs or knees, and thrust like crazy. Go for the groin, the stomach, whatever you can reach. You don't want to retain your victimization, or simply struggle against someone who's stronger than you. You've got to explode, using every ounce of adrenaline and hidden power in your limbs." Donatello paused here, and motioned to Raphael again. "Come behind her."
Jenna stepped away from the wall so she and Raphael could exchange positions.
"Now, keep your back to him. Remember these guys don't want you to see them coming. Most of the time they'll grab you by the arms, the chest, or the shoulders. If they're trying to keep you quiet, you have an even greater advantage, because they'll be reduced to one arm to hold on to you, as they're trying to cover your mouth with the other.
"If you have an arm free, use it! Their close contact with you makes them unexpectedly vulnerable. The elbow is one of the strongest bones in your body, and they've put you in perfect ramming position. Go for the chest, the stomach, once again, whatever you can reach. If you don't have the ability to use your arms, your legs become your go-to. Stomp on his feet, kick him in the shins, whatever it takes.
"The second you bring an assailant down, you run. You don't wait to see if he'll get up, you don't take the time to give him a little more punishment. You get your hide out of there, understand?"
Jenna nodded slowly. "No time for revenge."
"You also want to be very vocal, from the moment it starts. Scream, yell at the top of your lungs. They're expecting you to be scared and overwhelmed. Don't give them an easy fight by any stretch of the imagination."
Raph let go of Jenna's shoulders, crossing back in front of her. "We can have you work out on the punching bag, so you can get experience releasing that type of energy. But I also want you to know what it's like to hit somebody when it counts."
"What are you saying?" Jenna asked him.
"I wouldn't mind letting ya hit me, so you know what it's really like."
"I don't know what I'm doing! What if I hurt you?"
"Then you did it right," Raph answered honestly. "Seriously, Jenna, you think my brothers or I would be alive if we couldn't take a hit? We get really wailed on sometimes."
"I'm not ready to try it yet."
"I'll hit him first, if it'll make you feel better," Mike cracked.
"You're asking for it, bro," Raphael challenged. "C'mon - gimme your best shot."
Jenna ducked off the mat with Donatello, laughing as the other two slowly circled each other.
"They're always like this, aren't they?"
Donatello shrugged. "Every day of my life. We practice to stay on top of things, but they probably enjoy it the most. Mike, is that how you've been training on your own? Get your shoulders back! "
"Kinda busy here, Donnie! " he called back, just before Raphael threw the first blow to his midsection.
The orange-masked turtle stumbled as he was thrown off balance, nearly landing on his shell.
"What now, big guy?" Raph teased him.
Mike jerked to correct his posture and center his weight. "Now who's asking for it?"
"Sure you're ready for me? I can give you a break if you need it."
Mike merely motioned for him to go. Donatello thought the younger turtle looked more than ready for Raphael this time. Donnie's eye ridges rose when his brother allowed Raphael to get in close proximity, knowing it wasn't a mistake on Mike's part.
Mike held his ground until the red-masked turtle got a hand on his arm. In a flash he performed a perfect reversal, flipping their big brother over his shoulder.
Jenna responded with a gasp, but Donatello merely patted her shoulder reassuringly.
Raph rose with a low chuckle. "That was pretty cool, shellhead. Show me again, slower this time."
The moment Mike tried to take the request seriously, Raph caught him in a headlock.
"What's the matter, Mikey? Why can't ya show me?" He smirked.
Michelangelo's squeal filled the background to near ear-splitting levels.
To the side, Splinter shook his head. "Kids."