posted October 01, 2007 12:23 AM
You might like this chapter I came up with in a Daria fanfic. This isn't all of it, I just included the middle part as it's long, and it's this part that I thought would be of interest (it takes place in early 2001):***************************
"Learn to put aside fairness and kindness to those who mean you harm and develop intensity and ferocity. This will grant you the courage and the fighting spirit needed to survive. But do not confuse this trained and refined courage with the chaos and disharmony of rage and casual violence."
Daria couldn't help but sigh in relief when Ms. Ribner clapped her hands three times and everyone stopped doing their exercises. She saw her mom go to one of the chairs by one of the mirrored walls and collapse into it. She looked as if she might be in a little pain and she definitely appeared exhausted.
"What did you think?" asked Quinn, bringing Daria's attention back to where she was.
"I don't know yet," said Daria. "I'm sure it will be useful somewhere. Now if they could just get the Yoda stuff out of it, I think they'd have a real good system."
Daria and Quinn turned as Ms. Ribner joined them. "I don't think Wing Chun has any 'Yoda stuff' in it," she said approaching. "There are concepts within it that may strike people as unnecessarily spiritual, but they are truths understandable to the practitioner. If you want pure fighting force, you might try Krav Maga instead, but I don't think it provides as much for the student as Wing Chun or many other systems."
"Krav Maga?" asked Quinn, genuinely curious.
"Krav Maga," said Ms. Ribner, "is the Israeli defense system known as 'Contact Combat'. It's an instinctive system designed to be quickly learned by men or women. It develops rapid responses, quickly executed defenses, fighting spirit, and the ability to apply techniques under stress. It's physically demanding and intensive."
"Sounds great," said Quinn sincerely.
"If that's for you," said Ms. Ribner. "But Wing Chun offers many insights about yourself and the world around you while you train. While it may take longer to learn enough to use as self-defense, it's also a simple system that can be easily learned by men and women both."
Quinn blinked. "That's great," she said after a moment. "I wanted to go ask someone I saw something. Is that okay?"
Ms. Ribner smiled sardonically. "Sure. Just don't offend people around here." Her tone was joking.
After Quinn left to talk to several of the ones she'd seen looking at her, Ms. Ribner turned back to Daria who calmly gazed at her. "You're a deep one, I can tell," she said to Daria. When Daria just stared at her blankly, she added, "Your face is still and unreadable, and yet I can see that brain of yours working behind you eyes."
Daria sighed. "We came here hoping to learn to defend ourselves. And a lot of this stuff is good, but--"
"It will take time?"
"Yeah," Daria replied.
"Yes, Wing Chun is an easy system to learn, the harder part being that process of unlearning what you had learned before."
Daria blinked at that. "And another thing is I don't trust mysticism or psychobabble. In my experience, most people who relied on one or the other were usually screwed-up. Or looking to screw someone out of everything they have."
"I'm not trying to screw you over, Daria," said Ms. Ribner plainly.
Daria tightened her lips as she wondered how Ms. Ribner learned her name so easily. "You know me from the news, don't you?"
"Yes," she said. "Sounds like a tough situation you and your family are in. But after watching you and your mother and sister today, I think you'll come out of this okay."
"I wish I shared your confidence," said Daria.
"Learn what you can, Daria. Wing Chun will not only teach you how to defend yourself, but will give you insights into yourself and the world around you. You'll grow as a person, and others will recognize it even before you do."
"Would Matthew?" asked Daria.
Ms. Ribner paused before asking, "The boy who first started shooting at your school, right?" When Daria nodded, she added, "Yes. I don't know how much that would've changed things, but the interactions between you would've been different. Your learning Wing Chun would have taught you social moves that might have defused or otherwise handled the situation without anyone getting hurt."
Daria's lips tightened. She was getting really sick of people telling her how evil she was. She could tell herself that, without the rest of the world jumping in. "I didn't use any eastern mysticism or martial arts, and if I had, I don't think it would've worked. I used a gun instead."
"You used what you knew," said Ms. Ribner casually.
"If I had tried your way," added Daria, "my sister and I would be dead."
Ms. Ribner paused, sensing the defensiveness in Daria. "I do not think you are a bad person for using a gun, Daria. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not a priest who says you are going to hell for not having faith or for not being a fatalist and accepting whatever some callous deity or fickle fate and chance sends you. You did the best you could in the circumstance you were given. You are remarkably aware, and yet you still lack harmony. That's okay. Most people learn to walk, talk, think, and act haphazardly from birth. What martial arts can do is teach awareness of the mind and body that bring you into harmony within yourself and the greater world around you. Harmony is something we learn. And I like your sister. I'm glad she's still alive. Thank you for saving her."
"It just seems," said Daria, "that he had a gun, and I didn't know what else to do."
Ms. Ribner nodded sympathetically, catching the guilt and sadness and loneliness barely cracking in her voice. Most listeners wouldn't catch it, but Wing Chun had taught her to really hear. "I understand. I'm not against your having a gun. Just remember that people facing someone with a gun respect the gun, not the person. If the gun can be taken away, so can the respect. Martial arts is something inherent and can't be taken away. A gun is a tool, and sometimes it's the best you can do. But while a gun can take down a martial artist, the martial artist will learn lessons that will help prevent such situations in the first place, and when she can't avoid them, it's not something that can be taken away from her. And she's less likely to lose her gun to an attacker, too, as well as less likely to need one in the first place."
"Cool," said Daria. "It's just the Yoda stuff just doesn't hold up to me. Too many people, including me, see passivity and yielding as a sign of weakness. I heard that in the women's self defense class. Some muggers will ask for change and the woman who stops to help is considered weak and therefore attacked."
Ms. Ribner shook her head. "It's not the same thing, Daria. Yielding is not fatalism, it's not surrender, and it's not giving up." She clasped her hands in front of her for a moment as she added, "When I was your position, I was told that the concepts I'm after don't translate into English very well. And even in the languages that are better suited for explaining this, it is still something one must experience before you understand it. Like sex."
"I'm not so sure sex is all that it's said to be, either," said Daria wryly.
"Sex, like other aspects of life and interaction, is often gone about wrongly, and so isn't the experience many are searching for. But you noticed the people in my class. You saw the students defeating skilled attackers, even if only in exercise. They did it by yielding at the right time. But they didn't give up, or even just get out of the way. "
"So you have no problem with FIST?" Daria was thinking of the book she got from WSD Class.
"Feminists In Self-Defense Training? Of course not. For introducing women to self-defense, it's a wonderful beginning."
"I didn't find it very helpful--"
"Why not?"
"Mostly it was telling me stuff that wasn't very useful, like beware of all men."
"Reading the rest of the book helps to put it in perspective," said Ms. Ribner, a bit of amusement in her voice. "And FIST styles are martial, but they're also an art; they're something you come to learn intuitively, which can sometimes provide the best form of thinking and strategizing of all."
Daria snorted and definitely frowned. "That's why I don't like mysticism and intuition and all that. Every cult leader and advocate of tyranny would agree with that statement. With the Inquisitors it was 'deeper indwelling of the Holy Spirit' that replaced reason and rationality, with the Nazis it was 'the voice of the Aryan blood and the voice of the Fuhrer,' with the Communists it was the Dialectic. Everyone out to hurt others denies reason first and says there is something better that can't be explained, but must be trusted and obeyed."
After blinking at this litany several times, Ms. Ribner laughed. "You are remarkably aware, but that is not what I meant at all!" She chuckled a bit more before adding, "This is not about surrendering your awareness to another, or allowing another to attempt to impose harmony on you from without." She shook her head. "It's rather the opposite. Martial arts teaches attentiveness to every little thing, from your thoughts to your actions. When untrained, whether you act as your habits dictate or consciously choose to act in a random fashion, you are reacting to details you haven't become aware of.
"Martial arts teaches you to pay attention to those details. Through the exercises, you will become aware of your own tensions, resistance, impulsiveness, and all that arises from the societal programming and life experiences. As you become aware of them, you can learn to adjust and correct them, which brings you into harmony. Someone who demands you simply obey them because they 'know what's best' is conning you. The only true teachers and guides are those who lead by example, not by word of mouth that requires blind faith because you can't see it in action."
"So we come, we see, and we believe what we're told?"
"Not at all. The styles teach awareness of the relation of the mind and body, attention to detail, to the person with other people. With practice, the student learns to send messages to the body that result in the fluidity of movement that you've seen here today. You come, you see, and you experience for yourself."
"So how do these exercises help the mind?" asked Daria.
"By working with the body, we can develop our minds. There is no gap between mind and body; they are one."
"I can see that there's some truth to that. But I didn't experience anything greater than that today."
"The exercises that are repeated over and over not only strengthen the body but also teach the awareness that leads to harmony between mind and body. You are essentially repeating your first lessons at carrying yourself in the world from when you are a toddler, but this time you learn better ways to be aware and how to act and when to not-act. And it takes just as long to learn the basics."
"Upgrade," said Daria neutrally.
"That's one way to look at it," she replied. "It's a better way to use your power. Most important is to try to create power from our mind, not from our muscles. That means we control our muscles, not the other way around. That requires awareness. With awareness, comes harmony."
"Fine," said Daria, "it helps you, but I don't see why you have to get all mystical about it."
"As you become more harmonious," Ms. Ribner replied, "all that you do becomes more harmonious, more aware. By doing this, you not only eliminate the disharmony from yourself, you influence and inspire those around you by your change and growth to follow your example. This leads to social harmony, and helps eliminate the kinds of unfortunate situations that started this."
"You mean," said Daria crossing her arms, "that learning martial arts not only improves the student, but the world around the student?"
"Wars, domestic and child abuse, even poverty and disease come from a lack of collective harmony. By learning harmony and inspiring it in others, the world around you is improved."
"Are you now, or have you ever been, a Communist?" There was only a trace of the amused cynicism for anyone to hear in her voice.
"No," she smiled, with a touch of amused cynicism of her own, "the Communists attempt to overcome the collective disharmony of capitalism with another form of collective disharmony."
"Which ideology has your experiences taught you to be the correct one?" The sarcasm was only evident as she said "experiences."
Ms. Ribner cocked her head a bit as she answered. "That's hard to answer, Daria. All I can say is harmony. Maybe 'No Way' is the way." She shrugged. "Look to Taoism for more."
"I heard Taoism was used by some anarchists."
"This is believable. However, many sifus discourage political activism of any kind, believing it to represent egotism at best, and inspiring violence at worse. Those who fight aggressively against the 'authorities' are often suffering from their own lack of harmony, and if they succeed in overthrowing the current system, they merely replace it with a new form of disharmony. That's not to say an anarchist or political revolutionary can't act with harmony and defy the existing rulers; nor is it to say that a king or politician can't act with the same harmony. It would be a better world if more acted with harmony, whatever their overall ideology and leanings. In a harmonious world, government could possibly become irrelevant so that anarchism also becomes irrelevant."
"The imposition of order leads to the escalation of disorder, and vice versa."
Ms. Ribner blinked. "You're familiar with the Tao?"
Daria shrugged. "No, Robert Anton Wilson."
Cocking her head, she asked her, "Have you heard the Taoist teaching, 'it may be good, it may be bad'?" After Daria shook her head, she continued, "A farmer lost his horse and his neighbor expressed sympathy for his loss. He said, 'It may be good, it may be bad.' Later, the horse returned, leading other horses. His neighbor congratulated him on his good fortune. He said, 'It may be good, it may be bad.' The next day, the farmer's son tried riding one of the new horses but was thrown and broke his arm. When his neighbor sympathized, he replied, 'It may be good, it may be bad.' The following day the king's men came through their village, looking for conscripts to fight in the king's war. Because the son was healing from a broken arm, he was deemed useless and left behind."
She gave a moment for Daria to digest this. "Do you understand the moral of this story?"
Daria shrugged. "You're saying that all that has happened may be good and it may be bad?"
"I'm saying," she replied, "that there is good and bad in everything that happens to us. Rather than looking for absolutes, look to what good there is and what good can come from it, even from what happened to you and your family. What we do with our fate is left to us and our attitude. We can do so much more when we become aware of these little nuances and achieve harmony with them. Mind, body, and awareness."
"So maybe with Matthew dead, he won't kill an entire family elsewhere?"
"Maybe," she said neutrally, "or maybe you and your sister will come to learn greater harmony through this and pass this harmony on to others. Then there will be less violence overall. This is why the sages cultivate the 'wait and see' attitude."
"I don't get that part," said Daria, "he might have destroyed my sister's life. He failed to kill her, his friend didn't manage it either, but my life is ruined. By the time this is all over with, I'll probably be as much of a sociopath as he was."
"I doubt it," said Ms. Ribner. "Bitter, maybe, or even an outlaw and revolutionary in the most extreme of cases, but not a sociopath. And if you learn minimal muscular effort that relies on the harmonious movements to be successful in resolving conflicts, it will cause you to question all you have learned about strength and power. You may even grow serene."
"Serene?" asked Daria in disbelief. "I'm not the mystical type. I just don't see myself as serene."
"You're young, and you don't know that yet. As with any art, Wing Chun also encourages self-exploration and expression which translates the new lessons of harmony and new insights about strength and power into relationships. The external exercises aid the internal look and the exercises with partners and opponents provide a mirror in which to see yourself, and how your actions affect the other. And things just might not turn out so bad after all."
"So?" asked Daria. She wasn't sure if the sifu was making sense or spouting word salad.
"So," added Ms. Ribner, "the guilt you're carrying is a burden that does not help you or anyone else. I'm not promoting moral relativism or defending sociopaths, either. I'm saying you're carrying so much guilt and grief inside and it's destroying you. You're looking to punish yourself even more than you look to punish others around you. Daria, I'm measuring you, and I like what I see. I'm not your enemy, and I wish you weren't your own enemy."
Daria blinked at that, fighting to maintain a grip on her feelings. Part of her wanted to yell at this ***** for going all Timothy O'Neill on her. Part of her wanted to collapse into sobs on her shoulder. But mostly, she was stunned, looking back at how she tended to attack those she needed for allies, and how she attacked herself when not attacking them. She was amazed that Quinn had stuck by her, and felt relief that she hadn't been as harsh on Quinn as she almost had been more than once.
"You okay?" asked Ms. Ribner. "Do you need a moment?"
Daria shook her head. "No. I'm fine." She glared a moment at Ms. Ribner, daring her to comment further. When no further comments came, Daria asked, "So how's this training the body suppose to help me explore myself and reach enlightenment anyway? I just don't get that part."
Ms. Ribner paused a moment considering before she answered, "As you outgrow your old concepts of strength and power--or upgrade, as you called it--you begin to look at new ways in other areas of your life as well. If you learn harmonious actions and minimal violence, your words, actions, and other forms of self-expression will follow suit." She smiled a bit. "And most of the time, other people will see the change in you before you see it in yourself. Many people want to see that change in themselves."
"Hmph," said Daria, "I'd figured most people learn martial arts because they just don't want to get beat up. Especially by others who have learned it."
"There is that, and we accept that reason. Martial arts are a means of defense. But the world would be a much better place if most people who dabble in martial arts didn't just learn enough to win a few fights but made martial arts an ongoing learning experience to the day they die. They'd be healthier mentally and physically, too."
"So how does this help AWSDA then?" asked Daria. "To teach women to use violence less?"
She shrugged. "Maybe. It's more accurate to say it teaches when to give and when to push, and just how, exactly, one gives or pushes. Giving isn't defeat, either. It's a strategy like anything else." When Daria just stared at her, she added, "Have you heard of the Bodyguard's contributions to women's emancipation?"
Daria shook her head.
"They were a group of women who snuck away from their homes to learn jujutsu. Two sisters in a prominent British family even climbed down the drainpipes of their house to learn this art. The women campaigning for women's suffrage suffered a lot of abuse, including whippings and beatings by police officers. The Bodyguard protected the workers from thugs on either side of the law. Sometimes they met violent cops head on and defeated them, but they also knew when to fall back and flow around those who stalked them as well as when to press forward. Those who attacked them usually had no idea when to do which, and so frequently failed in their efforts."
"So is it about teaching how to use violence strategically, or how to avoid violence?"
Ms. Ribner took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Everything you learn will dissuade attackers. Your genuine confidence, your balanced walk, your awareness are all means to avoid criminal assault, and sometimes even legal assault. By your increased awareness of yourself and your world you will not lose control so easily that you feel a need to resort to desperate measures.
"Likewise, your stance is more likely to inspire respect instead of envy and bitterness, and if others turn poisonous against you, you will know how to deal with it. You will learn better ways to resolve situations, but when you are attacked--or even when you must attack, though this should be rare if it happens at all--then you will be prepared for it. Being prepared is often enough to prevent the need for a cure in the first place."
"So you teach the soft instead of the hard martial arts?"
"Soft and hard categories are more acceptable in the West than in the East. The East tries to avoid categorizing as one thing or another. Wing Chun is especially resistant to being categorized as soft or hard. It's not about whether a style is 'hard' or 'soft' but about balance and harmony between them. By learning this harmony within yourself, you also learn to achieve this balance with the people and the world around you."
When Daria stared at her quizzically, trying to understand, she added, "Water is like this. It can softly flow around you, and it can hit you with a force capable of crushing and killing you. It is neither hard nor soft but both. This is the ideal of martial arts."
"Maybe," said Daria, beginning to shut down. She was finding this talk as emotionally exhausting as the exercises had been physically tiring.
"Daria," said Ms. Ribner, "our experiences define our perceptions and then our perceptions define our experiences. The trick in life is to keep our perceptions from becoming so ingrained that we fail to see other sides of the story, and other possibilities that exist around us."
"Yes, Master Yoda."
"I'm sure you see all those people on the news," continued Ms. Ribner, ignoring Daria's sarcasm. "Their perception of right and wrong pigeonholes their perceptions about everyone else according to their own experiences, and they fall prey to egotistical righteousness and the belief in the supremacy of their views, as if no other perception was as right as their own. Which is not only false for themselves--at best, they're right only some of the time--but is definitely wrong in regards to other people. Other people have had completely different experiences, and thus have completely different perceptions."
"Who are we to say who's on the dark side of the force?" asked Daria.
"If people do not realize that we are evolutionary beings who need to change constantly, they will ruin not only their own lives, but the lives of those around them, such as yourself. Ultimately, if we can't learn to see beyond our own perceptions--and the feelings of righteousness it inspires as we try imposing those perceptions on everyone we can--it could even lead to the extinction of our species." When Daria just stared at her, she smiled slightly as added, "Wars don't make one great. But Wing Chun can help you can see inside yourself, and as a result, see those around you more clearly." She smiled a little more as she saw Daria catch the phrase Yoda used in The Empire Strikes Back.
They both turned as Quinn rejoined them. She motioned for them to continue.
"It seems everyone," said Daria, "from the NRA to Handgun Control, wanted me to become their spokesperson and when I wouldn't, I was this evil villain out to destroy America. I learned to hate them all, just as they came to hate me once I didn't dance to their tune. More than that, it was like they all had someone close to them who offed themselves, or shot them, or took their precious country away from them as if it wasn't anyone else's country, too, and it's all my fault."
"They're scared, Daria," she said, "of change, of other people, of themselves. Many of them are haunted by the same guilt you feel but project it into the people around them where they can handle it. Taking responsibility for our lives and actions, especially in the case of a suicide of a loved one, is painful. Blame is easier and shifts the pain of taking responsibility. They, like you, need to learn to see actions without blame. When that happens, then you can all learn patience and to forgive others--and yourself."
"The NRA say I'm not American or patriotic enough, HCI says I'm too sociopathic, and you think I'm not enlightened or something." added Daria sullenly, and hating herself for the bitterness in her voice but unable to stop it.
"I do not blame you for anything in my life, Daria, and I don't blame you for what you did. You did the best you could with what you had. So does everyone else. Regrettably, this Matthew had less than you did--perhaps not in intelligence, for I understand the boy was quite intelligent--but in knowing his own heart, or having a family he could depend on. He was helpless in a world that spit on him, and he learned how to shape the world in his own way while gaining the respect he needed for his own validation. Now that the world is spitting on you, I hope you can learn a better way to gain respect and acceptance, or even learn to not need the validation of others."
Unnoticed by Daria, Quinn tensed, as she suddenly saw how alike she and Matthew were. Different in many outward ways, but deep within, they were so alike. She blinked as she felt tears of compassion for the man who abused her and ultimately tried to murder her; she did not have to struggle to keep from crying, but she felt her hate dissolving, giving way to pity. The small part of her that was vindictive took some satisfaction in knowing that Matthew, while alive anyway, would have preferred her hate and fear to the sense of pity she now had for him. She swallowed and tried to rein in these feelings until she was alone.
Daria shook her head. "If we're not to judge--"
"Don't confuse judgment with awareness," interrupted Ms. Ribner. "And I'm not telling you to become apathetic. It's a two-way street. It's not where you forgive your enemies and offer them your other cheek. You simply reserve moral judgments while being aware of how they affect your inner and outer harmony and adjust yourself so you remain in harmony--and reserve moral judgment on yourself for what you do, as well."
"I don't know if I can do that."
"It's as hard as catching the wind at first. All that we are is a result of habits. Nearly everything we do is the result of a habit, a behavior we have learned for better or for worse. Even our thoughts are habitual. They can all be changed with conscious effort in time. It will happen gradually, and others usually notice even before you do. Some even find a day dawns that they have achieved inner peace and contentment."
"Um, whatever," said Quinn who was tired of waiting for a good breaking-in point (not to mention having to deal with these unexpected feelings). She drew a slight smile from Daria who mistook her need to interrupt with simple (and refreshing) shallowness. "I notice a lot of people here have good posture and stuff. Is this stuff used by models?"
"Oh, I'm not sure," Ms. Ribner said hesitantly. "I don't think so, though good posture and health are encouraged by these arts. If posture is your main concern, you might want to look into Tai Chi. That's not too demanding and I understand many follow it for posture and health." She shrugged. "But it usually takes longer to be able to learn how to defend yourself from attack."
"Is Wing Chun one of the popular forms of Kung Fu or whatever?" asked Quinn.
"Master Wang Kiu said that Wing Chun is a jewel among the martial arts. There are other good martial arts but among these Wing Chun stands out. It is simple, elegant, effective and enjoyable to practice. And despite the simplicity, there is a multitude of expressions that can take a lifetime to explore."
"Art," said Daria, thinking of Jane.
Quinn's bruised face crinkled in some thought before she spoke again. "What if I were to become an actress of a sitcom or movie, what's the most popular style?"
Ms. Ribner blinked several times at that. "It would depend, I guess. If you're more of an action heroine, then something like Krav Maga. If you're more into martial arts movies, then Wing Chun has a long tradition in the filming industry. Bruce Lee originally learned Wing Chun before he formed his own style, Jeet Kune Do, or the Way of the Intercepting Fist, and he's an icon now."
"Is Bruce Lee related to Jet Li? He's cute. So's that other guy."
Ms. Ribner smiled. "You know, I honestly don't keep up with that." She shrugged. "Try the internet, I'm sure it will answer any questions you have regarding movie stars."
"Like how many liposuctions or breast implants they've had?" asked Daria.
"Ewww," said Quinn, facing Daria, "no one wants to know THAT! That's private stuff!"
"Do you know how Wing Chun came to be?" asked Ms. Ribner.
Daria and Quinn shook their heads.
"A Buddhist nun living in the Ch'ing Dynasty named N Mew--spelled N-g, M-u-i, so don't get confused if you want to read up on her--studied various animal styles of Kung Fu--such as tiger and crane--and found them unsuitable to her body type. So she paid attention to her body and formed her own. She made her own style that fit her small stature and weak arms. Since she did not give very effective strikes at the midsection of a larger man, she developed kicks and punches to the head and lower legs, and she formed a new aggressive style that won many matches against the male masters of the art, thus legitimizing her style. She later taught this to a an orphan she had picked up, whom she named Yim Wing Chun, which means 'beautiful springtime' or 'hope for the future.' She passed all her skills and knowledge on to her and she then passed it on to others. It remains popular to this day."
"That's a nice story," said Quinn.
"Ah, the feminist martial artist," commented Daria.
"Wing Chun is not about brute strength, but about correct positioning, feeling, timing, and strategy. A woman your size, Daria, could beat up a man over six feet tall and weighing over two-hundred pounds. Skill more than makes up for size, and that was the original intent of the art."
"So it's not for the men?" asked Quinn quizzically.
"Many men practice and teach various styles of Wing Chun," she said. "But many women today do choose her style as it fits with women easier, and to honor her accomplishments among the male masters of the art. And as I said earlier, Bruce Lee was taught this art and he made it famous in the West."
"You said he made up his own style?" asked Daria.
"Jeet Kune Do, the way of the intercepting fist," replied Ms. Ribner. "Yes, he developed his own style. He didn't get to pass on all he knew, but he did create his own style which is also very popular, and an outgrowth of Wing Chun."
"An upgrade?"
"Another style," she corrected. "Martial arts is truly different strokes for different folks. What's important is what works for you. Because we all have our physical and mental differences, we all are better suited to a certain style than to others. I think you would be better suited to Wing Chun, but you might find Jeet Kune Do works better for you." She shrugged. "Or another style altogether."
"Like Krav Maga," said Daria. "Can you tell us more about that?"
"It is used by police, soldiers, agents, terrorists, and others. It makes me think of street fighting, personally. But for quickly learning how to take an attacker down, even one with a gun shoved in your back, it's hard to beat." She shook her head. "It has its points, but it's more martial than it is art."
"Well since we seem to have made some people pretty mad at us, and I may be going to prison, maybe that's what I should look into," said Daria.
Ms. Ribner looked a little distressed. "Yes, if you're in immanent danger. And don't forget to call AWARE, too! They provide tremendous support for those being stalked." After a sigh, she added, "Just remember that Wing Chun, and other styles, have a lot to offer you, too. And when you go to learn a new system, empty your cup before pouring in a new type of tea. You can make your own style that works best for you later, once you have learned the foundations of the various arts and styles you learn."
********************
End Excerpt
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