Photo by Jay Soldner, Copyright Village Voice Media, 2007
Come on. Really. Is this my kid???
As I train, I secretly compile information to use against my master. I rent Gasser’s favorite fighting movie, a bad Antonio Banderas flick called The 13th Warrior. Surprisingly, it describes my exact situation: A novice outsider joins a pack of established combatants and learns their customs and moves. When Gasser isn’t around at practice, other fighters provide tips about his weak points; they say he dips his right shoulder before an overhead attack and his left shoulder before a stab. At one point, Williams offers up a cheap shot: a swipe to the outside right ankle that’s hard to defend. Hill breaks down one of Gasser’s special offensive moves, a fake overhead swing that ends in a chest stab. That move had been crushing me.
On a rainy day in mid-April, I decide to use Gasser’s move against him. Without warning, I execute the maneuver, sticking him in the chest.
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