Private Finished An Offer of Self-Defence

Rory made a sound at Zora's hesitation. Something low enough that it was hard to determine if it were frustration or disappointment, or some mixture of the two.

"Yeah, we can. This time, don't hesitate and when you get out, you're going to want to hit a weak point." Rory pointed to the area around the xiphisternal joint, then at her shins, her feet. "if you're going to hit near the ribcage, don't make it a lasting blow. You're pretty small, so strike quick, not strong."

And then Rory was behind her again. Lorelai didn't move quick enough to be a blur, but it was speed mixed with flexibility that saw her almost 'popping' into place. She wrapped her arm around Zora's neck again, this time squeezing with a good portion of her strength instead of just holding the other woman.

The kick didn't hurt that bad, considering Rory was the type of person who'd broken her own bone to test if it could heal. She stood up after giving her knee a vague rub.

"I'm fine, that was very good." Rory grinned. "You know what you're learning right now? How to work with energy, rather than fighting against it. That's important not only to self-defense but fighting in general." And because Zora seemed like the type of person who liked examples to help them understand, Rory continued on with, "think of it like the current of an ocean. You don't fight the current when you're being dragged. You move with it and you push forward when it pushes forward."

And again, Rory slid behind Zora, one arm wrapping around Zora's midsection and the other clasping over Zora's mouth. "There are two ways to stop someone from attacking or fighting you. One, you cause them pain. Two, you off-set their balance."

Rory tightened her hold on Zora. "Go."

Rory grunted when the elbow connected with her side. The arm around Zora's midsection tightened further, pulling Zora hard against Rory's body to keep the latter from doubling over from the blow.

She held Zora like that for a second to let the other woman know the hold wasn't broken before Rory loosened her grip and removed her arm from Zora's midsection to gently take Zora's arm at the elbow and lift it.

"Not bad, but next time go for the face. Your thumb is a good start. The eye is best, but stabbing anywhere is good when it comes to the face. If you can't, jerk your shoulder upward into the chin."

"Don't worry, thinking of weak points like that will become second nature to you the more you practice."

And they did practice. Over and over. Those situations and more. The general theme of that day was 'attackers from behind' which, as Rory pointed out, was the most likely scenario when people went to grab or harm you.

She was sure that by the end of their nearly four-hour session, Zora was going to be sore, exhausted, and probably grumpy. But it was a good lesson either way. Rory taught her to deflect punches, hitting the wrist with your forearm and using your attacker's energy to push their hand off to the side and throw them off balance.

Where to strike the face, torso, and legs to best throw people off and where the weak points on the body were: wrists, throat, eyes, knees, and any connecting ligaments.