Black Belt Called MMA Champion A Fake In Front Of 200 People — 2s Later, Everyone Regretted It
Chapter 9
Theme:
Font Size:
24px
Grant clicked off his microphone and made his way back toward his tripod just as Derek stepped onto the center of the mat.Derek stood at the center of the mat, addressing the crowd with a microphone now clipped to his gi collar."All right, Cedar Falls," he said, his voice booming through the speakers. "Tonight, I want to show you something. Because too many of our seniors, our neighbors, our friends, feel unsafe out there, and that's not okay with me."The crowd murmured its approval. It was, admittedly, a good message. True, even: people did worry—purse snatchings, home invasions in nearby counties, a world that sometimes felt less safe than it used to. The problem wasn't the message; it was the man delivering it, and what he was about to do with the trust the room had just handed him.He started with something easy. He had one of his own assistants play the role of an attacker, grabbing at an imaginary purse while Derek demonstrated a smooth pivot and release. The crowd applauded. It looked impressive, clean, exactly like something out of a movie."See how simple that was?" Derek said, grinning. "Anyone in this room could learn that in one session."A few people in the front row murmured to each other, impressed. Pauline, standing near the side of the stage, allowed herself to relax a little. This was going well; this was exactly the kind of program Cedar Falls needed.Derek could have stopped there. He could have run through a few more staged demonstrations with his own trained assistants, kept the whole thing safe and polished, and everyone would have gone home happy. But staged demonstrations don't sell memberships nearly as well as real ones do. And Derek Vance never missed a chance to make himself look good in front of a paying crowd."Now," he said, scanning the room, "let's try something with a real volunteer—someone who's never trained a day in their life. Because that's the whole point, isn't it? This should work for anybody. Let's start with something simple," Derek continued. "A wrist grab. This happens more than you'd think: someone grabs your arm, maybe trying to pull your purse, maybe trying to pull you somewhere you don't want to go. I'm going to show you how to break free."He scanned the front row for a volunteer. "How about you, sir?" Derek said, pointing directly at Walt Higgins. "You look like you can handle yourself."A ripple of laughter moved through the crowd. Walt hesitated for just a moment, then stood, straightening his flannel shirt, and made his way up to the mat. If nothing else, the man had never backed away from anything in his life."All right," Derek said once Walt was standing across from him. "I'm going to grab your wrist—nice and firm, like a real attacker would. Then I want you to watch how quickly you can break free."He reached out and gripped Walt's right wrist hard.