2021-12-21 - How to fight pt 1

Texting happens, Isi to Alexander. Meet at the gym? Why not.

Thus is Isi here. She is wearing yoga pants and a hoodie along with her worn tennis shoes. She is particularly on edge as she slips into the gym, shifting her weight from foot to foot in discomfort.

Alexander's text back is mostly just three 🙂 faces and 'yes'.

He's here a little after her, dressed in dark sweats with the Addington High logo on them (when your father used to be a football coach, you can get these WELL into adulthood, for free). He sidles in, giving the interior that searching scan from before. Although there's a flicker of sadness, it disappears when he sees Isi, replaced by a brief, bright smile. "Isi. Hello. Do you want to punch bags, or people?"

Benedict doesn't normally come to this particular gym, but he arranged to meet someone here. Currently he's milling around inside, as the fact he's definitely been stood up slowly dawns on him.

"Both." Isi replies, forcing herself to take a deep breath and still her feet. A glance towards the bag has her eye landing on Benedict. She jerks her chin at him. "Maybe Benedict could help? "

"Both can be arranged," Alexander says. Then jumps, just a little, when Isi points out that Benedict is here. His eyebrows have risen sharply. "Uh...maybe." He sidles towards Benedict. "Hey. You...uh. Everything okay?" he asks, a bit warily. He glances around at the few other patrons of the gym, but they are very much Seeing Nothing that isn't their own workout.

"Yeah, I'm good." Benedict assures Alexander. "I just was going to meet a, you know, workout buddy here. But I guess he didn't make it. Which is frustrating, because he picked the place" His tone, and the look he gives his friend, makes it clear he doesn't actually mean a workout buddy. Alexander will get it, he's sure.

The reference to whatever Benedict means goes right over Isi's head. This is a much different person than the one intent on getting drunk that Benedict met before.

"Alexander offered to teach me." Which isn't totally true, but it is what Isi says. "To fight."

Alexander stares at Benedict. "Did you drive here? We'll check your car before you leave." It's a low mutter, and he looks like he's about to advise Benedict do that right now, when Isi's words penetrate. He turns and blinks at her. "I...did? Did I? Oh. Um. Yes. I could give you...some pointers. So could Benedict, I imagine. If he wanted. He should join us. Benedict, you're exercising with us."

Benedict shakes his head. "No, of course I didn't drive here." He loves his car very much, and so he didn't bring it anywhere near this place. "Sounds great, I'm in." He agrees. He's dressed for exercise anyway, might as well get some. If he's confused by the different Isi, he doesn't show it. Just says "It's good to see you again."

"I'm not going to let some random fucker touch me." Isi gives some reason why she is volunteering Alexander to be a Coach Clayton of his own.

To Benedict, "Yeah. You're a kind of cop - aren't you? "

"Er. Oh. Okay," Alexander says, seeming to accept Isi's reasoning without a problem. Even if he grows visibly twitchy at the thought of touching anyone. "We can start with the bags. Uh. Have you had any instruction before? Know how to make a fist that won't break your fingers?" He gestures towards the bags. "Choose one." He glances over at Benedict. "I'll walk you home, then. Ever taught someone how to fight?"

"Kind of, yeah." Benedict agrees with Isi. "Close enough for government work, as they say." There's a nod to Alexander then. "It's been a while, but I've done some instruction."

There is a terse shake of Isi's head for the question about making a fist. "Girls tend to slap and pull hair."

Which is... less helpful for what Isi is looking at. The bags get eyed and eventually she picks the one furthest from anyone else in the gym.

"Mm. Inefficient." Alexander follows Isi to the bag she's chosen, and just...stands and stares for a minute. Alexander.exe is clearly trying to access functions that are not normally called upon. "Um. Okay? Here." He demonstrates a solid fist, showing her out to make it, then demonstrates three quick, forward punches on the bag. One angled up, one straight on, and the other angled down. "Like this. There's always a chance if you're punching someone in the skull that you're still gonna break bones in your hand, but the tighter and stronger a fist you can make, the less likely that is. And if you're in a position where you need to punch someone in the skull, you want to make sure the trade is worth it, so hit with everything you have." A glance at Benedict, then, to see if he has anything to add.

Benedict considers for a moment. "So, big picture, high level stuff...the goal in a fight is always to be the one who walks away. And of course, the best goal is not to fight in the first place. But you're going to have to fight at some point. So." There's a thoughtful pause. "Right now, learn to throw these punches. But always be mindful of who your opponent is. How they measure up. Height, weight. You want to leverage your strengths against them. If you get locked in on just trading punches, that won't end well. That's only for TV boxing."

Isi makes a fist and only had to rearrange her fingers a few times to get it right. Her punches are... pathetic though. Technicality they qualify but only because Alexander showed how it should look.

"Well fuck that," she replies to Benedict. "I'm going to run off given the chance. This is just for..." she pauses and inserts a different word, "to clear my conscience."

Alexander nods in agreement with Benedict, standing back to watch the punches with a critical eye. His head tilts. "The shape of the fist isn't bad. But you're not hitting that bag like you intend to hurt it. And you need to. If you're in a fight, then you need to be fully committed to hurting your enemy. Um. Picture someone you hate. Or who just has a really punchable face. And hit the bag like you're not punching their face, but punching through their face. Total commitment."

He moves up to the bag and demonstrates, putting his entire body behind the punch and hitting the bag with a solid thwack. He draws back. "Show her, Benedict."

"Alright. Good. So you've mastered the don't fight in the first place part." Benedict seems to mean it, letting the part about the conscience go unquestioned.

"See how Alexander was using his whole body there? That's what you want to do. It's not just about your raw strength. It's about power generation. And if you're properly planted, you're going to use your core and your hips to generate power. So we used to say..." There's a pause, as he considers his audience then decides it's probably fine. "We'd say 'fuck the shot into them', to help focus on those areas."

And then he demonstrates, stepping up to the back and putting the lesson he just delivered into practice to deliver a solid haymaker to the bag.

"So just imagine the fucker that ran me off the road, got it." Isi, not making a joke. She is too serious about it. The fact that she is wound as tightly as a clock right now isn't really helping her get the lessons. But she watches, and keeps trying.

Alexander snorts laughter at the pithy saying from Benedict, but adds, "It's not the worst advice if it helps you remember that you're not really punching with your hands. Your hands are just where the punch transfers all the energy from your body to the target." He continues to demonstrate; with every punch Isi attempts, she gets blunt advice about how to stand, how to move, how to punch. Sometimes he gets visibly frustrated; not so much at her, but at his own inability to explain something that he's picked up in vivo.

Benedict lets Alexander take the lead on instruction, adding in things here and there or when called upon. That allows him to keep a close eye on Isi, and eventually he offers "You look super tense. And you need to be a little less so. It's actually inefficient to have everything contracted like that. Hampers your movement, your flow. You want your body to be responsive, ready to go...so a little tense, but mostly relaxed. Hang loose, as they used to say."

Despite the fact that Isi is just less than mediocre at this (she doesn't miss the bag ONCE guys) Isi sticks with it though Alexander's attempts at teaching. She even bites her tongue on snarling back at him.

Benedict's comment has her stopping, her forehead beaded with sweat. "Are you fucking kidding me? hang loose?"

"He's not wrong," Alexander says. "The more tense you are, the less you can move in a fight. You have to be flexible." A pause. "But if you just want to beat the shit out of something, try hitting the bag as hard as you can, as fast as you can for ten minutes. Don't stop. Exhaustion can work where deliberate relaxation doesn't. I do it a lot."

"That's a good idea." It's like pingpong. Alexander backs up Benedict, Benedict backs up Alexander. "But when you're ready, you'll need to hit a real person. Just so you know what it feels like, and how it's different. Just in case. And it'll give you a better sense of some of the body mechanic stuff. I'm fine being a bag for you...just not the face, ok?"

"Like I'd be able to hit you," Isi snorts, turning away from Benedict, sarcasm coloring her words. A pause - "Why don't I watch you two go at it? "

"It's not as if either of us would dodge. You aren't going to hurt us," Alexander points out. He's not trying to be mocking, even; just stating the truth as he sees it. He gives Benedict a sidelong look. "But if Benedict wants to spar, I could. If you think it would help."

"Right. Like, I was just going to stand there and let you hit me. Hence why I said not the face. Cause I think you could do some damage, with that head of steam." Benedict looks sidelong to Alexander, in turn. "I could spar. I'm good with whatever works best for Isi."

"Fuck you both," Isi replies, strong away from the bag. "Go for it. I've never watched people fight before." She isn't a watch sports person, so it is likely true.

"Mm. All right," Alexander shrugs. He starts heading for the ring, which is surprisingly new and currently unoccupied. He makes a detour to grab some hand tape for himself and Benedict, tossing a roll to the other investigator before wrapping his hands in neat, economical motions. He climbs into the ring, glances at Isi. "But then you have to hit one of us. Benedict's right; you should know how it feels to hit a person."

Benedict tapes up his hands quickly, before tossing the hand tape aside and clambering into the ring after Alexander. "Ready when you are. Bring it." There's a brief grin.

A grunt is what Alexander gets. This is a good chance for a break and Isi grabs a water bottle before finding a place to lean and watch.

"What is the stuff on the hands for? " Grumpy, but still curious.

"If you're hitting things, your knuckles can split. Hand tape doesn't provide as much cushioning as gloves, but it's a closer experience to the real thing, while still providing some protection," Alexander says, as he loosens up a little, rolling shoulders and flexing joints while he watches Benedict. His expression is going curiously blank, like a doll that has stopped trying to pretend it's human. When Benedict signals, he gives a curt nod, then, well, brings it.

Alexander isn't unusually fast, and from an objective view, the stance he's using is clearly not from any trained origin; he's just a guy who's done a lot of fighting, and it shows in the way he goes in hard, hammering blows towards Benedict's midsection without a moment of hesitation. For a guy who's generally averse to touch, he's awfully quick to hit people.

Benedict, on the other hand, is a guy with a fair bit of training but relatively little actual fighting. He's done some, that much is clear, since he doesn't panic or become overwhelmed under Alexander's assault. But after the first few blocks, it quickly becomes clear the value of real street experience versus training and practice as Alexander manages to get a particularly good blow in that has Benedict doubled over sucking wind. Despite it all, he's grinning. Clearly that was fun.

"You really can't stand touching people- can you?" Isi mutters to herself. The fight is going on, so she doesn't actually try to get an answer.

A toe tattoos slowly. "Why are you grinning like an idiot?" Isi asks Benedict.

Alexander bounces back as soon as Benedict doubles over, his hands dropping. Emotion returns to his face; worry, mostly, until he notices the grin. He relaxes. "Good. You're good," he says, shaking his hand out; Benedict's solid enough that the impact clearly jarred his wrist despite the wrap. A look over at Isi. "In an actual fight, uh, remember: eyes, throat, belly. For most things, if they have those parts, those parts are vulnerable. There's the genitals, but most people will remember to guard those. They don't always remember to guard their eyes. And nobody fights well with a finger in the eye, or after you've punched them in the windpipe."

"Because it's fun." Benedict tells Isi, straightening up once he gets enough air. "Yeah, I'm good. Good fight." He assures Alexander, and then back to Isis. "Blood pumping, adrenaline starts flowing, good all-body workout. Fighting is a lot of fun."

"Runnimg-hiking-kayaking, those things are fun." Isi replies, eyeing the two of them with her arms clasped tightly across her chest. She hasn't relaxed much despite the exercise.

Alexander gets a small nod, "Eyes, throat, belly."

"Fighting is useful. It's not really fun," Alexander finally breaks up the Murder Bro Backup Squad by disagreeing with Benedict. "It's good to know how to do, though. And know what your body is capable of, once you train it and test it." he toes the mat. "A lot of fear is not knowing. If you don't know what you're capable of, then all enemies are terrifying. But once you understand what you can do, and you practice enough to be able to interpret the feedback your body gives you in a fight, then you have more information. More information makes better decisions and more confidence." He nods to Benedict. "I know he would be a challenge in a real fight, but I might be able to beat him." A flickering smile. "But in a real fight, he'd use his gun. Changes the equation and strategy. It's all calculation, once you get the hang of it. Risk management."

Benedict doesn't seem ruffled at all to be the only one in the 'this is fun' corner. "Just like Alexander says, if I'm really fighting for my life I'm going to use every tool at my disposal. So the practical takeaway from that, as we've already sort of discussed, is that real fights aren't going to happen like that. You're going to throw one, maybe two, good punches. Poke them in the eye. Whatever it takes. And then run like hell. Fighting is just basically a way to end an encounter and allow yourself to get distance."

Poor Benedict. Stuck between touch phobic and Isi the sourness. "How do you know you have to fight? How do you not just... snap from always being prepared to get out?"

Alexander nods. "A fight is often over within the first attack, to be honest. A real fight. Not just some idiot posturing and strutting. Someone who's talking about how he's gonna beat your ass is still working himself up for it. Hit him first, hit him hard, and half the time he'll run away." In response to her question, he hunches his shoulders. "I...uh. Don't? Always know. Hypervigilant. I don't like surprises. People get hurt." He gives a helpless little shrug Benedict's way, clearly figuring the better put-together guy will know more about not accidentally punching a retail worker because they came up behind him in a store.

"Well, when you're in a tense situation, and you can't de-escalate it through talking. And then they make a grab for you, or block you when you try and leave...when it's on, you know." Benedict muses. "And maybe it won't work this way for me bit for me, the more prepared I am the more relaxed I am. The less likely to snap. Because I've got less to worry about. I'm good. I'm confident. And that in turn decreases incidents...nobody messes with someone who looks like they're meant to be there and just expects people to get out of their way and leave them alone. Confidence is a big part of this. Don't look like prey, or an easy mark."

Isi's eyes glance between the two of them as they talk. "That all is... not at all helpful." Every muscle is tense again and she has to breathe very carefully, shoulders moving up and down with the breath. She forces herself to release the death grip on her arms, the places where he fingers gripped showing a white from the pressure after she lets go.

Alexander hums. His eyes drop briefly to her arms, then back to her face. "It's hard, Isi," he says, silently. "Especially in Gray Harbor. You can get Lost any time. Lost is always dangerous. Assume you have to fight. But even outside of it--people are more brittle and violent here. Um. Signs? Of normal people. Um. Invading space. Trying to use height to intimidate, or like Benedict said, making a grab or trying to block you from leaving. Major warning signs. Punch first, apologize later."

Note: Following Alexander's advice does not render one immune from assault charges.

"Look, I'm just gonna say this. I doubt you'll like it. I just want you to think about it, ok?" Benedict eyes Isi thoughtfully. "I'm not an expert but I've seen some shit. And they would teach us, stuff to look out for. Stuff like hypervigilance." His tone is gentle. "I think you should give serious consideration to being evaluated for PTSD. I'm not so sure you need to learn how to fight so much as you need to learn how to feel safe."

No - Isi doesn't like it. But she controls herself and doesn't snap at Benedict for his words. "That is what this is for." Isn't this suppose to help get with that? Feeling safe? She is looking at Alexander, her words more a question than a statement.

Alexander hesitates. "Knowing how to fight helps me feel safe," he says, quietly. "But I'm also...um. I'm me. And when my friends threw me a surprise birthday party, I pulled a knife on them because I thought it was an evil Dream." He clears his throat. "So. You probably don't want to be me. I want to help...but this is the only way I know. Benedict knows more ways."

"It can help you feel safe, normally." Benedict agrees. "But sometimes what can happen...we see it with people who've been in combat, they get stuck there... there's a little computer in your head that's always performing threat assessments. It's why people feel safe on a well lit street but tense waking down an alley in the middle of the night." There's a pause. "Right now your computer is telling you that you're walking down that alley in the middle of the night no matter where you are. And that'll really do a number on you. On anyone."

Isi clenched her mouth closed on the profanities that she really really does want to throw at them. They are trying to help.

Instead, "Whatever. I'm going home." Maybe she isn't quite as ready as she thought she was.

Alexander opens his mouth. Then he closes it. He starts unwrapping his hands. "We should go together," he says, eyeing Isi and Benedict both with the wary nervousness of a sheepdog. "It's dark. You might be eaten by a grue."

And so begins a long, awkward, walk home. Nobody is eaten by a grue.