The Serpent Queen

Strike First | Part Three

Cobra Kai's best and only students were yet again back in the dojo training. They stood next to their Sensei and a dummy, standing at attention like soldiers.

Their Sensei, dressed in his black gi, stood in front of the training apparatus, "You can't strike first if you don't know how to strike. The cobra strike is composed of two parts. The lunge..." Johnny punched the dummy's face, "...which requires the use of the whole body...and the bite, which is everything that happens after you make contact, all right?" He continued to push the entire dummy back to demonstrate what he meant. "You don't stop here where knuckle hits the bone. You punch through the bone, like the guy you really want to hit is standing behind this asshole. All right?"

The students nodded in response and watched him let out a sharp exhale and like a cobra striking its prey, he punched the dummy's face very quickly and viciously, "Hyah." He turned to Phoebe and Miguel who stood speechless. This was real karate training, "All right?"

Moving his left hand to lightly hit the dummy's nose, he demonstrated, "Strike here, you bloody his nose." He switched fists to punch the dummy's mouth. "Strike here, you break his teeth." Finally, he switched fists again to punch the dummy in the throat, "Strike here, you could severely damage his trachea." Johnny realised how that sounded. "Obviously, that's only for extreme situations. All right, line up. Ladies first."

Phoebe looked to the males looking at her. She nodded and stood several steps away, but right in front of the dummy. Getting into a fighting stance, Johnny added, "Focus. I want you to practice."

Just then his phone rang. It was just a basic ringing sound, a far cry from the Guns N' Roses ringtone that he told them to get. He would be probably he called a hypocrite after he finished the phone call. "Focus! Keep practicing. Punch through the dummy." He called before answering it and walking away.

Phoebe punched the dummy with a right jab. It was a stronger hit as she was right handed and all her strength was behind it, "Hyah."

After a few minutes of talking on the phone, Johnny came back to see how his female student was doing, "All right, no, no, no, no, no. Stop. Stop. What's the first rule of Cobra Kai, Phoebe?"

"Strike first." She answered.

"To strike first you need to be aggressive. You're punching like a scared little girl. Afraid you're gonna break a nail or something? Where's your aggression?"

She shrugged, "I'm naturally not an aggressive person."

"What makes you angry?"

She was confused and stunned by the question, "What?"

"What makes you angry?" He repeated.

"I don't get angry."

"Everyone gets angry."

"I-I don't know." The girl stammered, "I mean, I get angry, I just don't show it."

"Why not?"

Phoebe said nothing, but just shrugged.

Johnny sighed, "It's not that 'emotionless unfeeling Brit' bullshit mentality, is it?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"How did George and your mom raise you? That's shitty parenting right there. They didn't raise you right. What kind of kid rebels against their parents and doesn't show anger towards anything?..."

"Uh....Sensei. That's really mean." Miguel warned, in an attempt to get him to shut up. What was Sensei doing just insulting her, George and Sophie?

Johnny ignored him and continued his rant, while invading her personal space, "You know, your dad back in the day was a loser and you're just like him, a pathetic low life! I knew I shouldn't have brought a girl into this sacred dojo. You're all weak, scared and too worried to break a nail, ruin your makeup or mess up your precious hair. You whine, talk and don't listen. You know what, Phoebe? Get out! You're not welcome in this dojo or any dojo in the Valley. Have fun doing backflips and cartwheels for the rest of your life. Go back to England, join the circus, and be a pathetic loser there!"