My week in Martial Arts: July 17th to July 21st

Only one lesson this week it’s been damn hot, is that a legitimate excuse though? Read Lun's blog and decide for yourself.
My brother and I went to Karl Tanswell’s Straight Blast Gym. We did a load of boxing and foot jabs it was fun. However I was average in sparring as I was tired and it was hot. I also did not get to Eskrima as I attended a function with Elaine so I travelled down on a Friday. We also visited Stone Henge on the way back which explains my picture, sorry Martial Arts pictures will resume normal service next week!

So as I did not attend many lessons I reminisce.......................

My first ever fight. It wasn't even a fight and it’s not something I talk about a lot but in a way it was funny and there was a sense of justice in the following...............

Summer 1992; I was 15 years old, it was the Summer Holidays. As my parents worked in a Chinese takeaway Lun and I would help them out and even more so in the summertime. In fact a typical day in the Summer time would consists of helping out around the lunch hour then when we closed for the afternoon, my brother and I would go out into town and go to HMV and buy some comics from Odyssey 7(now Forbidden Planet) have a something to eat and go back to help out in the evening.

That particular day I felt a strange sensation in my stomach. It just felt weird and at first I thought it was a stomach ache but it turned out to be butterflies for something I have yet to encounter. Anyway I remember trying to keep my mind off it by reading a Batman comic upstairs which could have been either Legends of the Dark Knight or Shadow of the Bat.

I went down again when my Mum called me to help out. We used to get busy around 11ish after people have all had a drink from the selection of the “nice” pubs that surrounded our chip shop. As we didn't know some of the customers names my parents always named them by the food they ordered or what they looked like in Cantonese. To them it was much easier to do this rather than by name. So customers; Special fried rice and Curry King Prawn were waiting for their food and a few others. I was serving a guy with an Elvis style quiff but he wasn't eccentric he was elderly and probably had his hair combed like that since his teens(and if he was more of a regular I guess my parents would have nicknamed him “Elvis” which I shall do so now).

Enter the troublemaker. My brother had warned me about him earlier as he came in a week ago asking for free food(yes that’s what happened these people use to come in and say "pay you back tomorrow" and we never saw them again or they "forgot", I hope they understand that is one of the most shameful things in life to do). Anyway back to the story....

So I was serving the Elvis guy and asking if he wanted salt or vinegar on his chips. Lun was asking the troublemaker to leave as he was sneering and refusing to pay while swearing at us. Lun asked him one more time, the troublemaker said no. Lun then went round the counter area to remove him, but before he opened the door...the sneering troublemaking asshole's face was getting closer to mine as he was leaning his head over the counter...it was like the bit when that Alien corners Ripley in Aliens or Alien 3
His eyes were all messed up he was drunk or drugged up or something,his face was getting closer,the stench of his breath was unbearable, then suddenly.."BOOM!"

He staggered back, his nose was bleeding, he was suddenly sober and in a pathetic way whimpered quietly.."Why ...why did you hit me?" Curry Chicken and Special Fried Rice looked on in a amazement, my Mum who was shocked said in Cantonese “Why did you hit him?”, Dad was in the back cooking meals as he didn't realise there was any thing was wrong and sensing trouble Elvis hurriedly left the building. Unknown to my big brother Lun who opened the door and only heard the smack and Mum saying “Why did you hit him?”, Lun thought the asshole hit me and not the other way round, plus because of the thug’s 6ft frame against my considerably shorter self the odds were well stacked against him ….so my brother promptly dived on him and dragged him out shouting “Why did you hit my brother!!!!” Lun put him into an arm bar style hold while I ran outside and for good measure literally kicked the guy in the ass….before a big hand dropped on my shoulder. It was Curry King Prawn who told me to get inside. My Dad then came out and with Lun told the troublemaker never to come back to the premises again.

Afterwards Curry King Prawn and Special Fried Rice congratulated me on what I did. I was still in a daze as I had never hit anybody properly before that day and it was strange that I had pre-emptive butterflies to accompany it! I still don’t know how. I would like to say after that I went on and pulverised half the town I lived in with my iron fist, like many of today’s yobbish young brag about but no I didn’t go on a crazy fighting expedition. I will just save it for the “only if I really have to” file, like all respectful Martial Artists do.

Thanks for reading
Kit