Getting dizzy, vision starting to go dark and my mind is about to go blank. Finding it hard to breathe. Will I make it? Can I make a comeback? How did I even get to this point. Am I about to die?
Those are the words that keep on playing on my mind that time. Before I go unconscious I would like to tell you how I got into this situation.
Living alone is fine but living alone in a scary neighborhood is a little bit rough. I came from a small town, a five hour drive from the big city. Trying to make a living on my own. At my age, I think it's time for me to move out and get some action.
Gender? Oh I forgot to tell you guys that I'm a full grown adult girl. I'm 22, single, let's not talk about my height though and I'm into photography. I have been living alone for almost a year now and I think I'm doing well (trying to be sarcastic).
So going back, I know you guys are wondering what's happening to me on the opening paragraph. Well it all started when I was on my way to work and just like any typical damsel in distress story, I got mugged by two guys. But in this story I didn't have a night in shining armor or a prince charming who saved me, all I have was myself. It all happened so fast that my brain didn't even process the whole thing. Next thing I knew, I lost my bag and I have a knife stuck in my gut. Both of them ran so fast that neither my voice can reach them. People just stared at me with their pity looking eyes. Murmuring how unlucky I am and that I wasn't wary about my surroundings. A few moments after the incident and the police came. They bought me to the hospital, asked me what happened and all I said that it was too fast for me to remember. The only advice that I got from the police was to learn some self defense.
A few weeks has passed, I still kept thinking about the advice the cop gave me. Self defense? Can a woman as weak as me learn how to defend myself without the use of a weapon(pepper spray)? So I did some research. "How to beat bad guys", "how to punch","how to kick" and so on. I also started watching movies with heroines like Black Widow, Lara Croft and Captain Marvel. Well those are unrealistic movies. Surfed for the internet for hours until I encountered a blog from a high schooler that says "women brawl for real". I got interested and read the article, it's about a mixed martial arts or MMA gym and the good thing is it's two blocks away from my apartment. So I rushed to the place and what caught my eye is that people started to leave.
An old man was shouting that it was time for the advance class, I stayed and observed. It was a coed MMA class. Big guys and small guys. There are even women who are big and small! I also saw the girl who wrote the article. No wonder her photos are so good, she's a regular at the gym and the grand daughter of the old man. I tried talking to her and introduced myself but she pulled me inside the practice area.
"I'll talk of you beat me" she said.
Being an idiot myself I agreed. I don't even know how to punch or kick. She toyed with me for a bit, until she slightly kicked my upper thigh and I fell.
Now let's go back to the start, I'm about to pass out. I hear people shout "tap out".
I can feel her arm tightly squeezing my neck and her legs squeezing and stretching my lower body. The pressure that this girl can do amazed me and at that point I want to train and learn how to do it.
Oops! I forgot to tell you guys that I passed out.
I woke up to the sight of people staring at me and they even clapped their hands. They gave me a round of applause for not giving up. Who knew getting knocked out would be nice.
She helped me get up. Gave me a fist bump and introduced herself. "Sup! I'm Irish".
"Cassey" I replied.
" So what brought you here young lady" the old man asked.
I told them my story. They also asked me how it felt when I stepped on the practice mat. To be honest I felt a strange sensation. I felt nervous, excited and my limbs were trembling. They all laughed when I told them. "Call me coach" the old man said.
" Come back tomorrow 7pm sharp".
Next thing I knew I signed up for a class, telling myself I'll give this a try for a month or two.
Have you ever tried waking up in the morning screaming from pain? Wanting to die? My small framed body feels so heavy and I cant even lift my arms. I think this pain came from the spar that I encountered last night. I can also find a small bruise on my neck. So I took some pain reliever to ease the pain and get to work.
Work went by so fast. I guess I'm excited to start my new class. Hopped on my scooter and went to the gym.
"Run! Run! Run!" Coach extremely shouted. I can hear his voice outside. They started the training without me. Well, it's my first day. So as I entered the gym. I rushed to the changing room to change and "BAAM!" Coach slapped me with a rolled newspaper. "Where the fuck have you been?!" He asked. "Stop sulking and start running" he said.
All the students ran around the gym. I started running. With a heavy body and a headache.