Friday, October 24, 2014

My Last School Bus Fight

Friday Knight News

As I said last week, I'm going to feature on this blog my last four fights of high school and what they taught me about myself. I am currently writing a book entitled, "When Worlds Collide" (A Guide to Self-Discovery). It is a book about how to find the kintsugi process in our lives. A way to fill the cracks with gold.

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." Sun Tzu

The following is my account of my last fight on a school bus. Stating it this way makes it sound like I have had a lot of fights on school buses but that is far from true.  As a matter of fact I can only recall three fights that I ever had on any school buses.  The first one ended with me choking a bully into submission.  I never got in trouble for this fight as the bus driver promised to sweep it under the rug if I would release my attacker before he expired.  I guess he could tell that I was a little emotionally worked up over this fight.  The second school bus fight ended with me walking away from an upperclassman who had pulled a switch blade.  Which brings us to the fight in question, the first of the last four fights I had in high school, and what I learned from them.

As I mentioned last week I was sitting with an attractive young lady as I was trying to forget about another girl.  As I sat talking to her someone behind me had started flicking my ear very forcefully, the last flick had drawn a trickle of blood.  I turned around several times trying to catch the culprit and secretly suspected it was the senior that was sitting right behind me acting very nonchalant.  I had even questioned him about it and he held up his hands as if he didn't know what I was talking about.  I warned him as was my practice that the next infraction would result in a fight.  He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care and no sooner had I turned around, and my butt hit the seat, I received another hard flick to my already bleeding ear.

I didn't wait for explanations or make accusations I just spun out of my seat into the aisle and punched the senior with my left reverse punch.  A silence fell over the bus as I slid back into my seat.  The action had taken only a fraction of a second and the bus driver had not even spotted the source of the commotion.  No one was speaking whatsoever; the senior was slouched in his seat trying to recover when I saw the face of my buddy two rows back and across the aisle from me.  He was indicating by pantomime that he was the one that had been flicking me as he held up his hands apologetically.

By the time we reached the next bus stop the senior informed me that we were getting off to fight and I immediately agreed as it was my standard stop anyway.  I also had tried to apologize but he didn't want to hear about it.  He did something that I had never seen before as we were disembarking from the bus.  When everyone on the bus got up to follow us and watch the fight he ordered everyone to sit back down.  The odd thing about it was everyone complied, even the people who were supposed to be also getting off at this first stop.

As the bus pulled away he was ready to fight right there in the street but I asked for a favor.  I pointed out that the house on the corner was my parents and that my mother was home and I didn't want her coming out.  He agreed and so we walked past the barn that served as a garage in my parent’s backyard to fight.  I warned him that I studied martial arts and offered him a free punch to call it even.  He refused my offer and insisted on fighting.  I stood with my hands at my side facing him and explained once again my error.  I let him know that I would not take the first shot at him as I now knew he was innocent. This was my first lesson and it taught me not to let my emotions cloud my judgment.

He shrugged his shoulders and acted as if he was going to turn away when he threw a looping right hand sucker punch.  My front kick caught him in the solar plexus and dropped him before the punch could land.  I apologize to him as he got up onto his hands and knees but he was not content to stop just yet.  He stood up still doubled over catching his breath, I stood watching and waiting. When his hands clenched into two fists, I knew he was ready, and I sidestepping while throwing a roundhouse kick again to his solar plexus.  This time he only fell to his hands and knees and he commented after he caught his breath that I really did know karate.

After this, he did not stand up fully before he made his next attack which was an attempt to tackle me about the waist and take me down.  I did a hard block on his arm followed with a reverse punch to the stomach and switching angles I threw a reverse punch with the other hand to his liver.  He decided he had had enough after that and he offered me a truce.  He told me there would be no reprisals if I didn't say anything about the fight at school and I would give him some karate lessons, (he only wanted to spar).  I tried to explain to him that what I did wasn't karate but he just expressed that in his opinion it was basically semantics. I agreed to his arrangement which was also my second lesson from this incident and it taught me that allowing someone to save face was more important than I had previously suspected.

"We make war that we may live in peace." Aristotle

I knew that supposedly he and the fellows he ran with were the people everyone went to buy pot and other stuff.  Still I had no problems from the gang of guys that he ran around with at school and he only took a few lessons before giving them up, explaining that sparring only got him beat up more. He believed he was better off with what he knew and would be further ahead by not getting beat up by just avoiding karate guys. He must have trusted me though, because he showed me his pot growing operation at one point before I moved a few weeks later. 

Below are links to some of my Kindle version books from the "Dream Walker" series. My stories are about martial arts adventures that are intertwined with paranormal or supernatural events. The following links are to the Kindle version books from the "Dream Walker” series. Our adventurers find themselves on a quest where they are confronted with both conspiracy and mystery. Their challenge is to unite their mind and body skills together utilizing what they have learned in the martial arts with the transcendental power of dream mediation. They attempt to do this while they are trying to make a life for themselves and elude those that seek to use and control them.

Conversations with a Sage (Book 1 of the Dream-Walker)

Conversations with a Sage: This explores Xander Davidson's early encounters with the mysterious fog like Dream Walking martial art sages. He ponders if they are real or if they are only remnants of his dreams. He mainly keeps this secret world to himself as he tries to copes with abuse, growing up without support or guidance and the mystery of his family's past. 

Xander and the Assassins Gift (Book 2 of the Dream-Walker)

The Assassins Gift: Xander Davidson struggles with the conspiracy of his family and the group that is actively trying to manipulate him to join them or die. The young Dream Walkers learns an early lesson to be careful about whom they let into their circle.


Warriors of Perception (Book 3 of the Dream-Walker)

Warriors of Perception: Xander Davidson and his band of friends embark on a mission to free themselves from their oppressors. They bravely face the challenge all the while vying for the right moment to turn the tables.


Jace Lee The Shift (Book 4 of the Dream-Walker)

Jace Lee The Shift: We find a new apprentice, Adam, that is fighting for his life. He is struggling to understand the amazing skills of his mentor, Jace Lee; a younger man that has trained under Xander Davidson. All the while his mentor attempts to reconcile the fact that his skills do not match up with the other Dream Walkers.


Jace Lee No Agenda (Dream Walker Book 5)

Jace Lee No Agenda: Jace Lee attempts to find himself on a self-imposed vision quest of sorts. Instead he finds himself being stalked by the same group that had previously sought after his teacher, (Xander Davidson). Instead of mastering his odd Dream Walking skills he finds love and the potential loss of his powers.

Jace Lee and the Tutelage of Ming Wu: Dream Walker 6 

Jace Lee The Tutelage of Ming Wu: Jace Lee rejoins his teacher Xander Davidson as they cope with a possible combined threat (the mysterious), Ming Wu and the Council that has continuously monitored the Dream Walkers.       

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