The first blow took me completely unawares.
I had been used to people attacking in a set, stylised way.
We had always practiced a particular sequence or pattern in the War Dance, we always knew what was coming and how we should ourselves move.
Here in the cage, it was completely different!
No-one was here for brotherhood or for spiritual growth-
they were here to bash your brains in, throw you on your head, strangle you, twists your limbs beyond their natural range.
Those that were most successful at this won fame, adulation, social standing and wordly riches.
Not to mention the women........oh the women!
I had imagined myself a hereditary warrior, steeped in the highest traditions and methods of combat-
and now I was being thrown around like a child.
People didn't just fall down at the slightest touch like they did in the Dance.
Here you had to put them down, and keep them down!
My learning accelerated at a dizzying pace, as I strove to implement all my faculties to keep from getting squashed underfoot.
Pain- as they say- is a great teacher, and death the most unforgiving of examiners...
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