Chapter 6 - The Young Fighter Knew My Name for a Reason
The fighter who recognized me came over after Dustin was ordered away from the mat.
His name was Tyler.
Twenty-four.
Former Marine.
He had left active duty the previous year.
He looked at my jaw.
“You okay, Sergeant Miller?”
“I’ve been hit harder.”
That wasn’t bravado.
At my age, I also knew being hit unnecessarily was nothing to celebrate.
Tyler smiled slightly.
“My first MCMAP instructor was Staff Sergeant Alvarez.”
I knew the name immediately.
“Luis?”
“Yes, sir.”
I laughed.
“I trained him when he was young enough to think every problem could be solved with a faster takedown.”
Tyler nodded toward Dustin.
“Apparently some people never learn the next lesson.”
“What lesson?”
“That knowing how to fight means knowing when not to.”
Exactly.
That was the lesson I had spent fifteen years trying to drill into young Marines.
Technique was easy compared with judgment.
Anyone could learn to throw a punch.
Discipline meant having the ability—
and still choosing restraint when restraint served the mission better.
Dustin knew how to hurt people.
May you like
He had mistaken that for strength.
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