He hadn't seen much if any defensive actions from Tully when the miners initially attacked, other than trying to avoid them. Shintaro knew exactly what he will begin teaching her to better avoid the situation she had found herself in that day. Not that anything which happened that day was her fault, the drunk miners were the ones to harass then grab at her.
"First thing is to understand is jujitsu is all about using your opponents strength against him. Even a strong grip can be overcome if you're quick enough to act." Shintaro wasn't sure how much of how he was taught martial arts he should use, as so much of the lessons was influenced heavily by Japanese believes and culture. Also, some techniques could be fatal even without the use of a blade. In America killing one's opponent would be frowned upon and likely any woman responsible for a man's death may not get fair treatment compared to a man in a similar situation. Still, there were many things he could teach her which would help deal with drunken fools.
"Do you remember how that miner, Cecil I believe his name was, had grabbed you? I will like you to grab me in a similar way." Shintaro stood and moved so he had a bit more room to move without worry about tripping over anything or being hedged in by the alley walls. He also wanted to make sure Tully wouldn't be hampered by their environment either. Of course in a real fight using one's environment to one's advantage would be a lesson for another time.
"That fancy-talkin' man an' th' marshal said if ya kill someone defendin' someone else, or yerself, then it's all right," Tully explained it as she understood it. "I'd as soon not get that close again if I don't gotta."
She nodded when he asked permission to touch her...that alone reassured her that he wasn't going to hurt her, and she stepped closer. "I'm ready." Still, she took a deep breath and braced herself, determined to let Shin teach her to fight off assailants.
Shintaro nodded, understanding her desire to avoid life and death situations. It wasn't often women were put in such positions but it happened. Most samurai women had a knife to protect themselves or to end their own life to spare them the dishonour of being abused by attackers.
"When you are grabbed by the arm like that thug did, there are a few things you can do," Shintaro explained, "Grip my arm like that man did the other day."
He waited till Tully grabbed his arm then before she could get a really tight grip he turned his arm slightly and pulled free of her grip with a quick movement. He didn't really pull his arm back just found a way to easily slip free of her grip.
"It doesn't take much strength to free yourself," he explained, holding his arm out again. "Grip me again, this time I will explain how I got free so easily."
"You see how the hand wraps around my arm, especially the gap between your thumb and fingers?" He touched the area he meant. "That is a weak point, where the grip strength is the weakest. The thing to do is rotate your forearm if the grip is there, so the narrowest part of your arm faces that space then pull in that direction. If you are quick enough he won't be able to grip tighter before you're free."
"Here, you try it," he said, then waited till she was ready to make the attempt before reaching out and grabbing her by the forearm, keeping his grip firm but not too tight. He wanted her to get the hang of the movement before practicing with a tighter grip.
Serious now, Tully listened and paid close attention to what Shin was telling her. It made sense, when he had her grip his arm, that the weak spot would be where the fingers met. And while it seemed so logical, she'd never really thought about it before.
Then it was her turn to try breaking away, and when he took her arm, she hesitated, not because she was afraid, but because she was studying, thinking it through. A moment later, she twisted her arm as he had showed her, and with little effort, she was free.
"It works!" she exclaimed, grinning. "Try again, tighter, don't be afraid ta hurt me, I gotta know..." If she really could escape someone bent on doing her harm.
Shintaro was pleased to see how attentive Tully was to his instruction. Her first successful attempt to escape his grip on her arm seemed to please her greatly. He knew she would need much more practice to be able to perform the maneuver quickly, preventing an attacker from tightening their grip before she could slip free. Fortunately this wasn't the only thing he could teach her to deal with attackers.
He gripped her arm again, this time holding more tightly, about the usual strength he would use if he wanted to hold a person's arm so they couldn't easily pull away but not his full strength. Shintaro wanted her to be challenged but not defeat her attempt.
Tully drew a breath, reminding herself that this was a lesson and not an actual attack, then started to twist her arm away, through the weak spot between his thumb and fingers.
But then she hesitated and looked up at him. "I want ta kick ya," she declared, "or ram inta ya. I mean, do more'n just get my arm out..." She chuckled a little and shook her head. "I wanna do ya harm at th' same time as gettin' away!"
He couldn't help but chuckle at her words. "Yes, just escaping isn't always the most effective way to stave off men who are far too handsy."
"Breaking away from somebody grabbing your arm, just to put distance between them may be all that's necessary to escape. If they are persistent, using kicks or other attacks is an effective deterrent but they come along with some risks. Drunken fools like those who attacked you the other day would have escalated, making the situation more dangerous. Fortunately I can teach you ways to incapacitate foes without causing serious harm."
"There are many strikes, joint locks and chokes that can be used in close combat, some more dangerous than others. Many that I know aren't meant to just discourage an attacker, often they are meant to incapacitate quickly especially in life or death situations. I will teach you the least lethal as I expect you don't want to seriously injure those who try to take advantage of you."
"Right..." Tully nodded understanding, realizing that there was a difference between the likes of Cecil and that...beast who had attacked her and Frances. In that case, she had known from the start that he wouldn't stop until he did them harm, so she had to be aggressive and fight any way she could until he was no longer a threat.
Cecil, on the other hand...
"Reckon it'd just be more satisfyin' ta inflict some damage before runnin' off, but I reckon that means th' risk of gettin' grabbed again." And if that happened with the likes of Cecil, she knew things would be bad because he'd be mad that she'd gotten away in the first place.
"One thing at a time, right?" Build on what you learned, until eventually she'd be able to fight off a demon.
Shintaro nodded. He couldn't teach her how to defend herself in one training session. Even if he tried most likely she'll forget half of his instructions or mixed them up. Not due to any fault of her own but it took time and practice to learn these techniques properly so they could be performed quickly. They weren't always easy, especially if one's opponent is familiar with the techniques. In such a case it all fell down to one's experience, knowledge and ability to adapt quickly.
"Practice is very important and being in good shape. I can show you some exercises my Sensei taught me to build strength in the body and hands." Shintaro didn't consider all women weak, though women of wealthy samurai clans likely were, since they didn't have to toil in the earth as the women of farmers did. He definitely knew Tully didn't live the life of a courtesan or wealthy merchant's daughter, so suspected she had some strength in her. Either way, the exercises he'll show her will only improve her strength. These weren't body building type exercises but more geared to improve her overall strength, flexibility and nimbleness.
"Here are a few other techniques I think you'll find useful," Shintaro said. He then demonstrated the move he pulled on Jimmy his first day in Kalispell. It wasn't a very difficult technique in theory, twisting a hand back to inflict high levels of pain without too much use of strength. It was more leverage and working against the joints. There were a few other simple techniques he showed her that inflict sharp sudden pain but weren't too damaging, though he did explain the risks if too much force was used. After that he just had her practice everything he taught her so far in self defense. All the while he kept an eye to see in what ways she was struggling or feeling discomfort from the unusual physical activities. He wanted to give her exercises which would strengthen her weak areas more than where she was already strong.
Tully was no stranger to physical activities such as swimming and climbing trees, scrambling on rooftops, and she knew that there was going to be close contact if Shin was to teach her, so she had good strength and agility and was able to pretty much keep up.
No, her problem was self-control, keeping her emotions in check so that she didn't just strike out blindly and lose focus. She'd been doing well, pushing down the urge to panic, but then there was a hold, sudden, that caught her off guard, and the panic took over. In an instant, she was hitting, kicking, trying to bite, even though the perceived threat was no longer there...