Seth Abrams called out of the open doorway into the garage. "It's ready!" He heard someone reply from far in the back of the house, they were coming. He bounced a little on his bare feet and swung his arms uselessly while he waited.
First through the door was his son, Lincoln, affectionately known as Link. The nineteen year old boy was only slightly taller than his dad, at five foot eleven. He had a compact, beefy look that he had inherited from his father, and unkempt hair in need of a haircut. The boy insisted that it was part of his 'fit,' whatever that meant.
He observed his dad's work with a skeptical eye. "Geez. Gym mats. Did my old elementary school have a yard sale, or something? I think I used to fluff a parachute on those exact mats."
"Well, yeah. Maybe not your school, exactly. Got 'em at an auction the school district was holding. Five bucks for the lot." Seth kicked a corner of one of the mats, which puffed up some dust.
"I smell asbestos," Link said, coughing. "These things are ancient." Seth made a face at him.
"They're fine. Asbestos was banned in... Well, long before these were made." He couldn't remember the exact year, though, and he was trying to match it up with the manufacturer's tag he'd seen when he was laying them out. He rubbed at his short hair and thought about it, until someone else came in behind him.
Mandy, his wife, was focused more on Seth's outfit than the garage renovations. "That still fits you?"
He looked down at himself. "Well. It's a gi. It's kinda made to be one size fits all." Still, he had to admit, he was a little proud of himself. He hadn't worn this since the kids were still in diapers, and only then for Halloween one year. The green belt at his waist didn't dangle as far after he knotted it, for sure, two stubby ends stuck straight out rather than pointed towards the floor. The pants still fit. Kinda. Much lower on him, he'd had to roll up the cuffs to avoid walking on them. He figured his waistline had just suffered the effects of gravity. And the gi didn't close all the way like it should. At least his chest wasn't hairy.
Of course, from his angle, he couldn't see the little vee of skin that showed under the belt, where his treasure trail began to escape the sides of the white garment. But what he didn't know didn't affect his pride or his confidence.
Mandy shook her head. "Okay. Well, I hope I'm not overdressed." She'd worn knee length skorts and a sports bra, he'd told them to get ready for a workout.
Link was in sweatpants and an anime T-shirt. As close as the kid was going to get to fitness wear. The twenty year old kid had just gotten a job, finally, maybe hed be able to afford a wardrobe now. Reagan, his daughter, came in last. She was in soft pajama pants and was braless under a rainbow tank top. Her smaller breasts didn't exactly need the athletic support and restraint her mother's did, he supposed, so good enough. Although her pierced nipples really stood out, at about the yellow-into-green color level. He quickly looked elsewhere, her piercings were usually on display, one way or another. She had a lot, she'd been busy since she'd turned eighteen several months ago.
"All right, everyone's here. So, I've taught you all firearm safety, right?"
They all nodded, Reagan with an eye roll. Seth ignored it. "Well, this family self defense class is for when you don't have a gun. Just some basic techniques we're going to practice. Everyone warm up..." He began leading them in the calisthenics he barely remembered from his time in the dojo, twenty years and more ago. Toe touches, which only the girls managed, jumping jacks, which Rae did with her hands over her chest to keep things inside her top. Some deep knee bends and some windmill spins from the waist. He thought there was more to the warm up routine, but he both didn't remember and was dizzy, so he stopped after that.
"Right." He held his hands on his knees, addressing the floor. "So, next. Shoes off. And get on the mats." He stood up and shook his head, trying to clear it.
His family might be sullen and doubtful, but at least they were obedient.
"Rae, since you're starting college this year, you'll want to pay special attention. Those places are just chock full of rapists." He was awfully proud of her though, she'd won a scholarship to a school he'd never be able to afford to send her to. Her competitive nature had landed her as her valedictorian of her class, with a four point eight gpa, had led her volleyball team to a state championship, and she'd somehow found time to run the school's LGBT alliance club.
She arched a pierced eyebrow at him. "Not that worried, dad."
"Well... pay attention anyway." He ruffled her pink hair. He still found it funny that she kept it shorter than Link's. Neater, too. She took an awful lot of pride in her appearance for someone who said she wasn't interested in boys. "You never know."
"Isn't Wellesley a girls-only school?" Link asked, scratching at his stubble. The boy might be able to grow a beard at some point, but he'd shave it off after only a week, saying it was too patchy. This was day four of the current attempt.
Seth frowned at the boy. "You know how it is nowadays. Co-ed everything. They probably have those bathrooms there, whaddaya callem. Unisex?" He turned and took a stance in the center of the mat. "Besides, I'm told girls can be rapists, too."
"Yeah, Link. Don't be sexist." Rae said, giving him a half-grin. "Girls can be anything they want."
"Oh. Right. I abase myself before your superior female form. I'm just a cis-male pig who forgot his place in this post-Barbie world." He rolled his eyes. She punched his bicep, keeping her smirk intact.
He gestured his wife forward. Mandy stepped carefully on the unfamiliar and soft ground. "I'm surprised this worked out," she mentioned. "The extra mats cover up the clutter pretty well."
He smiled. "Well, can't have someone falling into the drill press, not on my watch. Anyway, the first thing you need to learn is how to stand. A good stance, good balance, makes all the difference in a fight."
Mandy narrowed her eyes. "Are we going to be fighting?"
Seth sighed. "I mean. No. Sparring? Play fighting. It'll help in a real-world attack. You have to know how to move, how your attacker is going to move. But! Before that, you have to know how to stand. Like me, feet like this."
Mandy looked at them. "Kinda like a warrior pose. Okay." She shifted her feet and her hips. "Like this?"
"Very good. Now. You should be bent, loose at both knees. Springy. Now. I'm going to try to push you over, and if your stance is good, you shouldn't move your feet. Okay?" She nodded, her jaw set.
He pushed her shoulder, she stayed planted. Hm. He remembered how his instructor had done this to him, everyone in his class had stumbled with that first demonstration. Heck, Seth himself had taken three quick steps to stop himself that first time.
He pushed harder, both hands and a bit of a windup. He didn't put all of his weight behind it. She barely wobbled. He judged her to be sturdy enough, amazing for a first timer. "Huh. Very good. Alright, kids. Line up, and copy your mother."
Link was the second test, and he went sprawling on his back. "Get up. Come here, and... See my feet? Like this." Link shrugged and tried again, this time he only stumbled two or three steps.
Mandy sighed. "Link, honey. Let me help."
Seth stood back. "Feet wider. Kinda grip the ground with your toes?" She touched his leg. "Over just a bit, you want all your weight on the balls of your feet."
"Balls," Link chuckled.
"Yes, very funny. Now, your knee. Like this." She lifted her leg, put it right next to his. Then her back leg did the same, and they were hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder. She reached out and touched his waist. "Move your hips a little, they're off kilter. Oh!" She snatched her hand back. "Um. Or maybe I was seeing something else." She cut her eyes to Seth, who nodded. This was going great. "Last thing. Um. Lean back into me, you're going to want your shoulders lined up with mine. It's all about weight distribution."
Link looked behind him, his face was red. Probably with embarrassment from that tumble. "Like this?"
"You can lean back a bit more. If you want."
Seth nodded again, as Mandy's chest got squished and bulged at the top of her bra. "That looks like a firm stance, son."
"Really firm," he said, still looking at his mother over his shoulder. She put a hand on his hip again to steady herself, and Link drew in a sharp breath. Shawn put his back to them, they were doing fine. He felt no need to test their balance, they seemed rock solid like that.
Reagan hadn't lined up with the rest, she had just assumed her stance where she stood, her legs locked in, her arms relaxed. She leaned over slightly, craning her neck to see past him. "Ready for your test?" He asked.
She shrugged, still craning her neck. Well, she'd never be settled into her stance like that. Shawn put out a hand and shoved her shoulder. She spun from the hips, her arms loose and swinging, but her feet didn't move.
At least he'd gotten her attention. Quickly, he tried for a two handed shove before her shoulders squared back up.
He got a double handful of something that brought him up short.
She squeaked. Her face twisted a little. "I mean. Ow." She pulled her hands up, slid them under his... He had kinda frozen up. "Piercings," she explained. "Weird, I'm used to them being pulled. Pushed, was... interesting."
Seth took a step back, his face as red as Link's had been. "Sorry." His hands still held their shape, even though he'd dropped them to his waist. "Um. Firm. Stance. Very, uh, pointy. I mean. On point." He nodded. Yes, that was what he'd meant.
She still had that weird expression on her face. Half smiling, half dismayed, like she was confused. "Thanks." She was still covering her chest with her hands. She was rubbing her breasts. He hadn't meant to make them sore, but it had been a pretty... solid... shove. He felt a little bad about that. But... omelets, eggs. She didn't look mad, exactly, so he moved on.
"All right. So we can stand," he said, turning back to the other two, who were stepping away from each other. "And that's a great start. Now, we're going to learn some defense moves. Let's pair up."
He directed them. Mandy stood in front of Rae, and he stood in front of Link. "Hmm. That stance is still a little crooked. We'll work on it more later. Okay, so I'm going to try to come in and grab you by the neck. You try to dodge."
Link tucked his chin and swayed out of his dad's reach, easily. "Good job. Now, Mandy, try that same move on Rae. Try to keep your feet planted, and just move your torso out of the way."
"Oops," Mandy said. Reagan let out a little surprised yelp.
"You're worse than Dad," Rae said, smiling, "he didn't pinch."
"Sorry. Want to try again?" Mandy didn't sound sorry, she sounded... Flirty? Seth wasn't sure what to make of it, and he lost the thread of thought after a moment.
"Yeah..." Rae was cupping her chest, a slow smile spreading on her face. She dropped her arms. "Yeah, I'm ready for you this time."
Seth watched as his wife lunged forward, and Rae dodged to the side. Mandy overbalanced, and the girls ended up in an embrace. They both giggled.
"Good enough. Alright, Link, now you try to grab me, the same way."
Link tore his eyes from the girls, who hadn't separated yet. "Oh. Right." He shifted his hips again, and took a breath. "Ready?"
"Ready," Seth said, then "Urk." The boy was really fast with his hands. "Okay," he grunted. "Good. Now. Let me. Show you. How to. Get. Out of. This." He wiggled his hands up between his son's firearms, and forced them apart. "Haah. Like. That."
"Oh, was I supposed to be fighting you?" Link patted his dad on the shoulder. He was bent over, hands on knees again.
"It's. Okay. Just. Demonstrating. Ladies. Your turn."
The girls finally separated, still giggling. "Sorry. We weren't watching?" Mandy bent to look Seth in the face. "Are you okay?"
"Fine. Um. Link is going to. Try to choke you? He's fast." He straightened up. "And if he succeeds, I'll show you what to do."
"Okay." Mother and son squared up. "Hang on. Little dizzy. Those gummies are. Hm. Something."
Seth was grinning. "Told you to only have one."
Reagan giggled. Her eyes were wide and dark. Seth hadn't heard her giggle like that in a very long time. "They're kicking in, huh?"
