Basement
“It’s you or your mother.”
That was the choice his father gave Jon.
His father used to say the same thing to Jon’s brother.
The choice was simple for Jon. He turned and went to the basement.
Jon felt the pain of the beating but he learned over time to not show it. He relocated it. If his dad hit his face, Jon would will the pain to his leg. If his dad punched the stomach, the pain went to the feet.
If you move the pain around, it doesn’t add up. You still show some — just enough so it eventually stops. But this way you can take a lot.
Jon knew he was helping his mom and his dad. It really wasn’t his dad’s fault. He had this rage and anger he had to get out.
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So it was either Jon or his mom. Easy choice.
It took years but eventually the beatings stopped. Jon aged out and started to fight back. His dad never did hit his mom. He learned to drown himself in a bottle instead.
Mom died, dad got sober, Jon and his brother reconciled with their dad. It wasn’t “happily ever after” but it was something.
None of them were ever close.
Jon knew what gakushuu really meant long before he ever heard the word. A Japanese dictionary will tell you it means “training lesson”. Gakushuu seminars are popular in aikido and karate.
Like most things in Japan there is a hidden meaning. Gakushuu lessons prepare students for hidden techniques, the supposed “secrets.” Card magicians call this the “real work.” You can’t find it in books.
The ability to “endure” was just such a secret technique. The other students thought these endurance sessions were special training; for Jon, they were Tuesday.
Jon was the best deshi, the best attendant, his teacher had. He was the best uke, the receiver of technique. He knew that if you try to block a punch and twist your arm just right you can block with the side of your forearm bone.
It hurt the attacker most times. Numbed their arm at worst. He could take hundreds of blows from dozens of other students. That was Jon’s secret at gakushuu.
That and his time in the basement.
