Requeening by Amanda Moore

Author:Amanda Moore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2021-08-19T00:00:00+00:00

Self-Defense Haibun

The school called it Assertiveness Training for girls 13 and over. At the end-of-day showcase they are practicing self-defense against their teachers who are disguised by inches of foam padding, blue mechanics overalls, and an alien-headed helmet with a narrow, deep slit at the eyes. It’s a wonder these attackers can see and breathe and move at all, much less so deftly, one charging the girl with his arm raised in threat. An instructor in the corner yells, “Block that!” and the girl is motion, uses her arm to stop the figure in blue and pummels his chest with her fist. “Groin!” shouts the instructor, and the girl obediently executes. “Say No! Knee!” and the girl kicks and keeps punching and no! no! no!, a timid yelp.

Backyard birds skim

juniper, blossoms, the feeder:

never alight.

The blue figure keeps up the attack and begins to pat the places she should hit—a goading challenge. She unleashes herself, extends limbs from shoulder and hip stiffly, gives it everything she has. Then she screams louder, NO! NO! and hits wherever she can reach. Undeterred, he grabs her by the wrist and pulls her body to his body, turns her around, pins her arms, holds her back to his chest until she screams again, real this time. She kicks his knee and is free. But it isn’t over. From behind, he sweeps her legs and is on top of her. I watch as breathless as the girl now wedged beneath him, shoulders pressed to the mat. “Eyes!” commands the instructor in the corner, and I realize mine are wet, that I am almost sobbing with this spectacle. Choreography so real, a relentless attack. As I despair she digs her thumbs into the slit of the helmet as if to gouge his eyes and is then on top of the man, banging his helmet into the floor NO! NO! kicking the groin, the knee, hitting the helmet until he falls back for good and it is over and everyone calls “Good job.”

Poison berry, potential

weapon: to be woman,

to know violence.

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