It was worth it
The Green Belt was teaching the pretty photographer how to do a hip throw, Ogoshi. Yes, he was a karate student, but, as Sensei said, “Karate is a striking art with throws while Judo is a throwing art with strikes. The difference is a question of emphasis.” Also, one of the brown belts in their karate class was the local Judo sensei.
The Green belt was on Summer Break. He had made the rank of 4th Kyu, green belt with brown tips, at the end of the spring semester. Now he was home working his summer job and enjoying life. He worked on his karate everyday. Today it was even more enjoyable. He liked to teach and he liked his student.
She was a traveling photographer. They had met at his father’s store, a small outlet of a major national chain. The company hired a photography company to come into their stores and do portraits of the local children for Christmas presents. Those days, it was all film, no digital, so it took a bit of time to fill the orders. She shot the photos and took the orders, then shipped it off to the main lab for processing and delivery. As the son of the Manager, the Green Belt could also get his portrait taken, even though he was well over the maximum age.
After his sitting was over, one thing led to another and before you could think, a new friendship had formed. In their many conversations it became apparent that her job carried some inherent risks. She was in a strange town every week, staying in motels often in not always the best part of town. The Green Belt decided to teach her a few moves and she was a willing student.
Flash forward one year. He is back at home for the summer and, late that summer, the photographer returns. They rekindle their friendship and she tells him that her lesson from the previous year had come in handy.
She was through for the day and was walking the one block back to her motel. As she passed a bar, one of the patrons came up and accosted her, trying to grab her. As she told it, “When he reached for me, I’m not sure exactly what I did, but he ended up on his back on the sidewalk trying to get his breath. I ran the rest of the way to my room.”
That was the day the Green Belt knew that learning Karate was worth all the time, pain, sweat and effort he was putting into it. Even if he never had to personally use it to defend himself or others, it was worth it.
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