The next day Wolf ran to report to his first self defense class held in a clearing about a half mile from the main camp. The run left him breathless and he stopped before approaching the class. There were about ten students kneeling in a circle about two who were standing and facing each other.

The instructor standing next to them was the Wolverine, barefoot and dressed in loose fitting shirt and trousers. The lady knight looked radically different from the last time he had seen her. She looked to be the toughest person he had ever seen. 'Great,' thought Wolf, 'now I'm really in for it.'

The Wolverine waved him over and he went as directed and knelt down facing her as the other students were. "Hello everyone I am your instructor in self defense. In class I am referred to simply as Master." She indicated two older students. "These two students are my assistants in this class. The purpose of this class is to keep you alive when you are attacked; either unexpectedly or by overwhelming force. I teach by example and constant repetition. What you learn today you will practice in the morning before breakfast, before lunch, before dinner and before bed."

She and her two assistants then went through a series of moves in perfect precision involving steps, arm strikes, blocks, and turns. They repeated the steps two more times. She then had the students' line up to start performing the steps. They repeated the steps over and over again. She walked around correcting the students to get their moves right. When she reached Wolf he asked without thinking, "Master what is the purpose of this exercise?"

She smiled at him and said. "That is an excellent question." She called a halt to the exercise and had the students kneel again in a circle. She then had her two assistants stand to either side and had Wolf stand in front of her with orders to kick and hit at her when she approached him. She stood back a moment then launched into a flurry of action, performing the exercise at a much faster speed than the students had previously seen.

As she confronted the two assistants their blows were blocked and deflected, but when she confronted Wolf, she blocked his punch with her left forearm and with her right hand she grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm down as her left forearm came up to his neck. She froze in that position and although he had not been hurt Wolf felt overwhelmed.

"Those steps are precursors to defensive blocks and strikes, the repetition of these steps lead to speed and accuracy. Are there any more questions?" There were none. "Class is over."

She stopped Wolf from leaving right away. "I just want to explain why you suffered through that demonstration. First everyone gets their turn to be a victim; secondly it is to impresses on your memory how powerful these skills are."

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"I think I understand master."

The Wolverine put a hand under his chin, turning his head side to side, examining his bruises. She gently smiled, "I'll tell you a secret; blocking is more important than punching. This course is called self defense for a reason. It's to keep you alive. Learn to block."

"Yes, master."

"Good. I expect to see you an hour early tomorrow." She dismissed him.

The next morning he ran to make the appointment. The Wolverine stood in the field practicing steps and moves and he came up to her and knelt down to watch. She performed a very intricate series of moves involving leaps, kicks and punches.

When she finished she bowed and indicated for him to stand up and bow. She had him practice his steps over and over, while making adjustments to his form here and there. This continued until he started to sweat. She let him have a drink of water and a short break.

After Wolf had refreshed himself the Wolverine had him restart his steps; only this time she met him step for step with the moves she had been practicing earlier. Every move, block or punch he made met an opposing punch or block. He was amazed at the efficiency of the moves and at how well he was protected.

The Wolverine then did something unusual; she had Wolf sit opposite her, cross legged with his arms resting on his legs and his eyes closed. "Try to think of nothing, but your breathing and your heart beat. Listen to the sound your breathing makes inside you. Just relax and listen." He did as instructed.

When he opened his eyes again, they were surrounded by a ring of students all sitting in the same fashion with their eyes closed. A lot of today's students were older, including Red and Willow. Wolf could tell that today would be different.

The Wolverine called an end to the relaxation exercises and they all stood up and started their self defense exercises. After a few repetitions she had the new students kneel while the rest of the students started a different exercise. When they were done a few more students knelt and the exercises got more complex. With each new exercise more students knelt down until only four were left standing, Red, Willow, Bob and Bill and they performed the most demanding and complex exercise of all.

When all exercises were over Red and Willow bowed to each other and on cue engaged in actual combat, trading blows and blocks. It seemed that Willow would overpower Red, but despite Willows obvious size advantage, Red came off very well. The Wolverine called a halt and then it was the boys' turn. They went at each other with equal ferocity.

With the practice fighting finished the Wolverine arranged a demonstration. Six senior students held three jousting lances by each end in a large triangle around the Wolverine. She started into an exercise routine that Wolf had not yet seen. She began slow, going through the whole routine with kicks and blows to the lances. On the repetition of the exercise she became a whirlwind of fury, blowing through the whole routine. When finished the three lances had been broken into pieces by well placed kicks.

The Wolverine ordered the students, "I expect everyone to practice their routines before each meal and bed, and I expect to see all of you running everywhere you go." The students were dismissed.