Side Control (The Dojo)

by Patrick Jones

  “You look straight ahead until—,” Rex starts, but Jackson finishes.

  “The other guy blinks.”

  “Mr. Hodge, can I talk with you?” Jackson asks.

  Mr. Hodge nods and motions for Jackson to join him in his office. “I know what you want.”

  Jackson’s confused. Does Mr. Hodge know he’s come to talk with him about Tyresha?

  “You want to know when you can fight again, right?”

  Jackson breathes a sigh of relief. “I’m ready.”

  “You need to wait thirty days, but I’ll get you signed up, if you still want to do this.” Mr. Hodge motions for Jackson to sit down across from him in the small, trophy-filled office. “Weren’t you headed to the army?”

  Jackson shrugs instead of answering.

  “Well, when you came in, you said that you were mainly interested in the training, and I’ve got to say, you’ve been a demon. You may not be the best fighter here, but you’re the best-conditioned athlete.”

  “Marcus is tops, I agree.”

  Mr. Hodge shakes his head. “No, Jackson, you could be better than him. You have more tools, and I’ve always thought you were a natural athlete. You just have to want it more.”

  Jackson pauses, thinking that over. “Mr. Hodge, how can you say that after everything I put in?”

  “After I spoke with your mom and she dropped you off here for the first time, I knew you had what it took. You were lost and angry, and you needed something only MMA could give.”

  “Bruises? Pulled muscles?” Jackson quips.

  Mr. Hodge laughs and puts his hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “No, self-confidence. You needed to prove something to yourself, and I think you’ve done it, both in the gym and the ring.”

  “If I’m all that, then how come you say I don’t want it more?” Jackson asks with intensity.

  Mr. Hodge points at Hector. “You see, for Hector—and so many of these other fighters—fighting is their life. It’s all they care about. But for you, Jackson, it’s always been a means.”

  “A means?”

  “You turned eighteen, and you didn’t join the army. Why not?”

  Jackson bangs his gloves together. “I’ve fallen in love with fighting. But joining the service was my first love. It’s hard.”

  “That’s what I mean. I’ve done both, Jackson, and both have their rewards. But you can’t do either to the best of your ability until you decide.”

  “What do you think I should do?” Jackson says.

  “You have to think and decide for yourself,” Mr. Hodge says. “You’re a warrior either way. You could be a leader either way.”

  Jackson laughs. “It’s easier to just do what you’re told. Be a good soldier.”

  “But that’s not who you are anymore, is it?”

  Jackson nods in agreement. “No.”

  “That’s good.”

  Jackson looks over Mr. Hodge’s shoulder at the American flag in the corner of the dojo. “My dad was a leader. He was a company commander. He was wounded on his first tour. He could’ve left the army on disability or could’ve stayed stateside, but that’s not what he wanted.”

  “What did he want?”

  “I guess he wanted a second chance. On his first tour, there were some losses in the unit. I think he always blamed himself—that’s what my mom said. So he decided to return. He went back and never came home.”

  Mr. Hodge starts to say something, but he stops when Jackson starts to cry. Mr. Hodge passes by Jackson and closes the door. As Jackson continues to cry, Mr. Hodge says nothing. He just puts his strong arm on Jackson’s shaking shoulders.

  “Thinking about my dad—it’s sad, but I also get so angry.”

  Mr. Hodge’s hand on Jackson’s shoulder reminds Jackson of his dad. “Which one is stronger?”

  “Neither,” Jackson says as he wipes his eyes. “Mostly I’m just proud.”

  Jackson finds Tyresha in the dojo. They find a corner and pretend to spar during the takedown drill. “I just got done talking to Mr. Hodge.”

  “Did you tell him?” Tyresha wraps her hands tightly around Jackson’s neck.

  “I wanted to, but then, I don’t know. We got sidetracked.” Jackson tells Tyresha about the conversation, trying not to get emotional in front of her. “Now might not be the best time.”

  “No, Jackson, we can’t wait any longer. Besides, sounds like you both got your guard down. Let’s do it now, together.”

  Jackson wraps his hands around the back of Tyresha’s neck. “You think that’s a good idea?”

  “If there’s one thing I know about Mr. Hodge, it’s that he respects people showing him respect.” Tyresha releases Jackson and waves over Mr. Hodge.

  Jackson lets Tyresha do most of the talking, trying to read Mr. Hodge’s emotions.

  Hodge looks back and forth between the two. Finally, he sighs. “I’m sorry, but just like the military, it’s bad to fraternize. One of you will need to—,”

  “Leave? Okay, I quit.” Tyresha taps Mr. Hodge’s arm and looks at Jackson. “You’ve sacrificed enough.”

  “You’re sure?” Mr. Hodge asks.

  “Positive. I can train elsewhere.”

  “You can finish up today. So for now, get back to work.” Mr. Hodge walks away.

  “Thank you,” Jackson whispers into Tyresha’s ear as he prepares to finish the drill.

  “You’re welcome, Jackson James,” she whispers, scooping Jackson’s legs out from beneath him. As he crashes to the mat, Jackson can’t help but laugh.

  There’s a buzz in the dojo, and not just because of the rematch between Jackson and Rex. Eyebrows rise as Tyresha walks to the cage with Jackson, her left hand on his right glove.

  When Rex comes to the cage, he’s not wearing a shirt. Jackson can tell that he’s been working out. He’s not the sleek Golden Gloves striker, but he’s bulked up so that he weighs maybe only a few pounds less than Jackson. That’s good, Jackson thinks. Then Rex won’t have any excuse when he loses.

  Mr. Hodge calls the two to the center of the ring. Because Rex is just sixteen, Mr. Hodge put the fight in the ring instead of the cage. But it won’t matter if there are four or eight sides, Jackson thinks. Rex has no place to run.

  Tyresha kisses Jackson on the cheek. She’s dressed in street clothes, wearing his army jacket. Joseph pleaded guilty this morning, so the jacket isn’t needed as evidence anymore. The prosecutor wanted Joseph to do time at the Home School, but Joseph’s lawyer—a law school friend of their mom—successfully argued against it and won over the judge.

  Jackson touches gloves with Rex, but it’s not respectful. Even in that small display, Rex pushes Jackson, smacking his glove harder than Jackson expects. As Jackson retreats to the corner, he knows he’s got the fight won. He’s aggressive; Rex is angry. It’s over before it begins.

  Mr. Hodge blows the whistle, and Rex starts off with a flurry of punches and even a kick. They land with a lot more force than Jackson remembers Rex having, but they’re not hard enough to do any damage. Rex keeps pressing while Jackson backs up, taking shots while waiting to shoot. When a big looping left misses, Jackson grabs a single leg and dumps Rex on the mat. In seconds, he’s got side control and Rex is scrambling. Rex is stuck on his side, unable to generate any offense or put up any defense. Jackson works for an armbar or the Americana lock. Rex fights it off but in doing so moves his chin, allowing Jackson to slip on the rear naked choke. Jackson’s got the bottom controlled but needs to get his hands up top to apply pressure. Jackson’s face is buried in the back of Rex’s neck, and he hears Rex struggling, fighting through the pain. The noise distracts Jackson or maybe reminds him of the pain he felt when he started MMA. The pain of feeling lost and angry.

  Aggression, not anger, wins a fight, Jackson thinks, and then loosens the hold.

  Rex scrambles to his feet, and the two square off again. While Rex’s punches sting, they don’t bite, and Jackson shakes them off. They’re in the clinch when the round ends.<
br />
  “You okay?” Tyresha whispers as she gives Jackson a sip of water. He nods. “You can beat him anytime, right?” Another nod. “Then why don’t you?”

  Jackson doesn’t answer. As he waits for Mr. Hodge to blow the whistle, he stares at Rex. In Rex’s face, Jackson sees pain, frustration, and doubt. Jackson sees himself when he first started MMA. He sees Joseph, feeling lost and alone, easy pickings for Hakeem. All Rex needs, Jackson knows, is to reclaim his pride.

  The second round is similar: Rex strikes and Jackson answers with more strikes and takedowns. On the ground, Jackson controls Rex’s every move. Rex slips out of another submission attempt and gets to his feet. Jackson follows and brings the action to him. When Rex throws a looping left, Jackson fights his instincts more than his foe. Rather than going for a takedown, Jackson throws an off-balance hook, leaving his chin wide open.

  “Are you okay?” Rex asks Jackson. Mr. Hodge stands between them and then raises Rex’s hand.

  Jackson spits out his mouth guard. “I was wrong. You were a quick learner.”

  Rex shrugs, smiling. “I had good teachers.”

  Everybody in the dojo applauds, including Tyresha once she sees Jackson quickly return to his feet. Mr. Hodge follows Jackson toward the locker room.

  “What was that?” Mr. Hodge asks before they reach the door.

  Jackson stops, glances at him, and shrugs. “He won.”

  “I think you let him win,” Mr. Hodge says. “Why would you do that?”

  “It seemed like the right thing to do,” Jackson mumbles. “A small sacrifice.”

  Hodge shakes his head. Jackson knows he can’t understand. It’s easy to make a small sacrifice when you’ve already made a big one. His family made the biggest one of all.

  “If you ever pull a stunt like that again, then you’re gone too. Do you understand?”

  Jackson nods. His jaw hurts, but his pride isn’t hurt at all by allowing Rex to reclaim his.

  “So why’d you do that?” Mr. Hodge asks.

  Jackson pauses. He’s thinking about Joseph. “Sometimes I guess you got to do the wrong thing in order to do the right thing.”

  Mr. Hodge looks at him, confused.

  “I knew Rex needed to get his confidence and courage back,” Jackson says, keeping his voice down as he takes off his gloves. “When I came in here two years ago, I didn’t have those either. I was a punk, but because of you, because of this dojo, I’ve learned what I can be.”

  “And? Have you decided about the military yet?” Mr. Hodge asks.

  Jackson looks at the flag in the dojo and thinks about everything it represents. But then his eyes scan the dojo itself and all the hard work, the blood, sweet, tears, and time that it’s meant to him.

  “Jackson?”

  And just like he’d done so many times in the past, in the cage, when Mr. Hodge asked him a question, he said nothing. He just stared at the real estate below him and nodded his head.

  “Are you sure you’re ready?” Sergeant Donaldson asks. Jackson turns to his mom and Tyresha. They nod, as if to remind him they support his decision.

  “I’ve thought about this for a long time,” Jackson answers. “Where do I sign?”

  Donaldson hands him the paper. After he signs, Donaldson says, “Congratulations, son.”

  Jackson pauses like he does when anyone calls him son. If his dad were still around, would he be saying those words?

  “I have something for you.” Jackson reaches into his pocket. “I’m fighting again tomorrow. It would be great if you could come, since it will be my last fight for a while.”

  Donaldson smiles and takes the tickets. “Well, basic isn’t long,” he says. “But I hope you win tomorrow night.”

  Jackson kisses his right fist. “Hope won’t have anything to do with it.”

  “We can use men like you in the Army National Guard,” Donaldson says. “But I thought you had your heart set on being in Special Forces, one of the elite units.”

  “I’m already in an elite unit at the dojo.” Jackson hugs Tyresha and smiles at his mom.

  “What made you decide to join the National Guard instead?”

  “I want to honor my dad by joining up, but I also want to keep fighting,” Jackson explains. “It’s like in MMA—sometimes there’s a split decision.”

  “I’m proud of you, son,” his mother says.

  Jackson nods. He’s a son, brother, fighter, and soldier, but mostly he’s Jackson James. And for the first time in a long time, that fact alone makes him proud.

  armbar: a submission achieved by locking and hyperextending the opponent’s elbow

  choke: any hold used by a fighter around an opponent’s throat with the goal of submission. A blood choke cuts off the supply of blood to the brain, while an air choke restricts oxygen. Types of choke holds include rear naked (applied from behind), guillotine (applied from in front), and triangle (applied from the ground).

  dojo: a Japanese term meaning “place of the way,” once used for temples but more commonly used for gyms or schools where martial arts are taught

  grappling: using wrestling and jiu-jitsu moves based on leverage and positioning, rather than striking, to control an opponent

  guard: a position on the mat where the fighter on his back uses his body to guard against his opponent’s offensive moves by controlling his foe’s body

  hammer fist: rather than hitting straight on with the knuckles, this involves striking downward using the bottom of the fist, like a hammer pounding a nail

  Kimura: a judo submission hold. Its technical name is ude-garami, but it is usually referred to by the name of its inventor, Japanese judo master Masahiko Kimura.

  mount: a dominant position where one fighter is on the ground and the other is on top

  side control: grappling position in which a fighter is on top of his or her opponent with their bodies at a 90-degree angle

  shoot: in amateur wrestling, to attempt to take an opponent down

  sprawl: a strategy to avoid takedowns by shooting the legs back or moving away from a foe

  submission: any hold used to end a fight when one fighter surrenders (taps out) because the hold causes pain or risk of injury

  takedown: an offensive move to take an opponent to the mat. Takedowns include single leg, double leg, and underhooks.

  tap: the motion a fighter uses to show he or she is surrendering. A fighter can tap either the mat or his opponent with his hand.

  TKO: technical knockout. A fighter who is not knocked out but can no longer defend himself is “technically” knocked out, and the referee will stop the fight.

  UFC: Ultimate Fighting Championship, the largest, most successful mixed martial arts promotion in the world since its beginning in 1993

  Flyweight under 125.9 pounds

  Bantamweight 126–134.9 pounds

  Featherweight 135–144.9 pounds

  Lightweight 145–154.9 pounds

  Welterweight 155–169.9 pounds

  Middleweight 170–184.9 pounds

  Light Heavyweight 185–204.9 pounds

  Heavyweight 204–264.9 pounds

  Super Heavyweight over 265 pounds

  Patrick Jones is the author of numerous novels for teens, including the Dojo series, as well as the nonfiction books The Main Event: The Moves and Muscle of Pro Wrestling and Ultimate Fighting: The Brains and Brawn of Mixed Martial Arts from Millbrook Press. A former librarian for teenagers, he received a lifetime achievement award from the American Library Association in 2006. He lives in Minneapolis but still considers Flint, Michigan, his hometown. He can be found on the web at www.connectingya.com and in front of his TV most weekends, watching UFC and WWE pay-per-views.

 

 

 
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