Author's note: After School Special time folks ;)

"How many of you have seen Roadhouse with Patrick Swayze or any Steven Segal, Van Damme, Arnold Swartzenegger movie? …Well, you're never going to be those guys, in fact those guys aren't even those guys-- they're actors acting, and perhaps occasionally performing their own stunts. So forget Hollywood, TV, or any other preconceived notion that you may have that by the time your through taking these classes you'll be able to rip somebody's throat out or obliterate any opponent, no matter how much stronger or bigger they are than you, no matter what weapon they may be carrying. Cause it ain't gonna happen.

Repeat after me, 'there is no Vulcan death grip'.

If you really want to protect yourself or the people you care about you need to understand here and now that self-defense isn't about some fancy moves designed to mystically destroy your enemies. It's simply about keeping yourself Safe and in Control of your own choices, it's about your body being Yours and nobody else's. It's having the necessary mindset to do whatever you have to do to stop an attacker, even if that means taking your index and middle fingers and jabbing them into his or her eyes, Hard.

Today's lessons are about fighting dirty, hitting where it will do Maximum damage with the least amount of effort, to give you the time you need to get away.

Now, I can tell by the looks on some of your faces that this makes you uncomfortable that just the thought of putting somebody's eye out gives you the heebeegeebies. And that's fine; it's normal; it means you care about other people…but it's Wrong. It's the type of thinking that could wind up getting you killed. We are not talking about situations where you are the aggressor picking a fight, we are talking about a situation where you've been Forced to defend yourself or someone you care about. No One has the right to control you or hurt you; but you have every right to protect yourself, to stop them.

Remember, self defense isn't about hurting people, it's about staying safe…"

Standing silently in his heavy padding, listening to his partner, returning the wide-eyed gazes of the fascinated students, Lucas couldn't help but feel proud. He'd made the right decision asking her to help him conduct this seminar. He could tell by the energy radiating off of her in waves, by the sincerity behind her speech, that she'd finally gotten it. She finally understood what his school meant to him, what teaching the martial arts had done for him. He'd be surprised if she'd belittle it again.

"….that said let's take a ten minute break before drawing straws over who gets to plummet Lucas first…after me of course."

As the students filed off to stretch and go to the bathroom, Lucas found himself irresistibly drawn to her. He couldn't help but gloat, she looked far too happy.

"Who better than Sami Brady to give a lecture on the merits of self-preservation?" He smirked.

"You said it! After putting up with your mother all these years, you'd think I'd have a metal by now. Is bitch-dodging an Olympic sport?"

"Cute Sami."

"I try to be."

"Admit it. You're enjoying yourself."

"Watch it Lucas, I swear if you say what I think you're going to say…"

"I told you so?"

"Yes, the magic words. You do realize that I still haven't informed our attentive, impressionable class that even the Best defense techniques are not guaranteed to work All the time…for instance when a drunken fool passes out on top of you."

"Jeez! I told you I was sorry already. How many times-"

"Ssh. Calm down, muscle man. No need to get all 'poofed' up. I'm just teasing."

Pushing a well-positioned forefinger into his cushion-suited chest, Sami laughed until Lucas couldn't keep from chuckling as well.

He'd forgotten how easy it was, how good it felt to be her friend. So good in fact that he decided to push his luck, "Speaking of which, you never did tell me how I ended up in your room."

He meant for it to be playful, but her smile faded in the quiet. She timed it to the second he started to sweat before winking, "that's for me to know and you to Never find out."

Teaser: You can never have enough knowledge…the boys teach the girls a few new moves.

Note: The information regarding self-defense came from:

http://users.binary.net/thomcat/Selfd.html .

I encourage you to check it out because it really does make you think.