“So you want a name that is tough?”
“Yeah. The toughest. This is the toughest bike. It needs the toughest name.”
“That sounds like a good plan. So what is the toughest name?”
“Good question,” I replied. I sat there for a minute, thinking. What was the toughest name? Then I remembered Uncle Jake telling me a story about a really tough group of SEALs he worked with that fought super hard against the enemy. And I remembered what they were called. BRUISER.
“What about The Bruiser?” I said. “Like that group of SEALs you said you worked with.”
Uncle Jake smiled and nodded his head. “The Bruiser. I like it. And I think it fits perfectly. Go ahead,” he said as he pointed to the stickers.
I pulled out the stickers and started to peel of the T to get started.
“Hold on,” Uncle Jake said. “First, figure out exactly where you want to put it. Then take this ruler and draw a straight line with the pencil so it looks professional.”
I did as instructed and then I peeled off the T and put it in place. It looked good, so I followed with the rest of the letters. Once I was done, I stepped back and had a look.
It read THE BRUISER. The bike looked EVEN BETTER NOW. IT WAS AWESOME.
I got on the other side of the bike, drew a line, and put the stickers on that side, too. DOUBLE AWESOME!!
“Well,” Uncle Jake said, “hopefully you can sell it for enough money to get The Bentlee.”
“What?!?!” I shouted. “The Bentlee? Why would I want The Bentlee now?!”
Uncle Jake had a big smile on his face. “Well, I haven’t even seen The Bentlee, but I don’t think it can be any better than The Bruiser!”
“NO WAY!” I shouted. “NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!”
“‘Not even close,’” Uncle Jake said. “That’s what happens when you do the work—when you build something yourself with your own hands. It is really YOURS. Good job, Marc.”
“Thanks, Uncle Jake. Thanks for making me do the work.”
“No problem, Marc,” he said. “No problem at all.”
Then he pushed the button to open the garage door, handed me my helmet, and sent me out on my first ride.
And IT WAS AWESOME!
CHAPTER 18: IT REALLY WORKS
I rode The Bruiser to camp today! It was FUN and FAST! When I got to camp, I showed the bike to Nathan. He asked me who made The Bruiser bike. I told him ME! He was super excited about it and told me it looked like a SERIOUS MACHINE! I even let him take a ride around the rec center before camp started, and he said it rode like a RACE CAR!
After camp started, Nathan and I headed to the classroom for another art session. Today we were making a bridge with straws, tape, and toothpicks. The bridge had to reach across eighteen inches and be able to hold a five-pound weight at its middle point. It was pretty cool. Whichever team built their bridge the fastest—and passed the test—was the winner.
We were the third-fastest team, but the team that got it done the fastest had some big problems when the weight was placed on their bridge—the whole thing collapsed! So we ended up in second place, which wasn’t too bad.
It turns out Nathan is a pretty cool kid now that I am getting to know him.
It seems like he was interested in a lot of things I do but didn’t want to ask about them before. Today he asked me about jiu-jitsu.
“So what is the deal with that jiu-jitsu stuff you do? Is it some kind of karate?”
“No, not really. Jiu-jitsu doesn’t use punches and kicks like karate and a lot of other martial arts do.”
“Well, how can you ever win a fight without punching or kicking? Isn’t that what fighting is?”
“Punching and kicking aren’t the only form of fighting. Jiu-jitsu is more like a form of wrestling. You use moves to get dominant positions on your opponent. But then you use something called a submission hold to get your opponent to tap out.”
“‘Tap out’?” Nathan asked. “What’s that?”
“That is how you give up in jiu-jitsu. It is how you surrender. When someone gets you in a hold that could do some real damage, like an armlock or a choke, then you just tap them a few times until they let go.”
“And that’s it?”
“Well, in practice that’s it. That’s why it’s called practice or training. You and your opponent are not trying to hurt each other. You are just trying to get to the position where you could. Once you get caught there, you tap out. If you are the one that catches someone in a submission hold, you hold it until they tap out. But you don’t ever put too much pressure to where you might actually hurt them. Unless it is a real self-defense situation, then you could apply more pressure and really hurt someone in order to protect yourself.”
“And you really think this stuff would work?”
“I know it works, because I use it every day. That is the thing with jiu-jitsu: You really use it when you practice. Of course, you don’t actually hurt anyone, but you do get them to the point where they have to give up. Then they tap. So it is like a real fight, but no one gets hurt.”
“It sounds pretty cool!”
“It is pretty cool.” Just as I finished saying that, I remembered that I had jiu-jitsu that night, and I decided it would be great if Nathan could come and learn some, too. “Do you want to try some this afternoon? I have class at four o’clock.”
“I would, but … well…”
“‘Well’ what? Come on! You will like it.”
“But … I mean … how much does it cost?”
I hadn’t even thought of that. Uncle Jake and I had already seen that Nathan and his family didn’t have much money. Luckily, my jiu-jitsu academy lets people come their first time for free.
“Don’t worry about that right now. At the jiu-jitsu academy, the first class is free.”
“That’s cool. I definitely want to give it a try!” Nathan said with a big smile on his face.
That afternoon we picked up Nathan from the rec center and brought him to jiu-jitsu class. Once we were there, the instructor, Coach Adam, gave Nathan a gi—the uniform used in jiu-jitsu—to wear and invited him out onto the mat.
Then Coach Adam told me to teach the basics to Nathan. So I did. I showed him all the positions that we normally use in jiu-jitsu: mount, guard, half guard, full guard, across side, and, of course, the back mount. Then I showed Nathan some of the techniques used to escape a mount. Finally, I showed him a couple of submission holds: first a really simple shoulder lock called the “Americana” and next a choke from the back called “Mata Leao,” which means lion killer.
Each time I put the hold on and started to apply pressure, Nathan would tap and then say, “Do it again! Do it again!” So I would do it again and then with each move he would say, “Let me try it!”
Then I would talk him through the move on me, and he would do it to me. He couldn’t believe how easily the moves worked and how simple it was to get someone to tap out if you knew the technique.
After a while, Coach Adam had us join with the rest of the class, and we worked on a couple more moves. Then when we were done with that, he set the class up for rolling and told me to train with Nathan.
Of course, even though Nathan knew the basics, he didn’t know enough to do anything against me but tap out! Nathan looked a little frustrated that it was so easy to tap him out. But at the same time, I could see he was REALLY INTO IT.
I think Coach Adam wanted to prove that jiu-jitsu really works, and since I’m bigger than Nathan, Coach Adam had Nathan train with Nora, who is quite a bit smaller than Nathan. But that didn’t matter, of course, since Nora knows jiu-jitsu. She was able to tap him out pretty easily, too.
When class was over, we walked down the stairs and Coach Adam gave Nathan a piece of paper that had the class schedule and the prices.
I watched Nathan’s face fall when he saw how much it costs to train at the academy, and he looked pretty sad. We got in the car and didn’t say much on the way back to the rec center t
o drop him off.
Once he got out of the car at the rec center and we drove away, Uncle Jake said, “Did you see Nathan’s face when he saw how much the classes cost?”
“Yes, Uncle Jake.”
“I don’t think he can afford to pay that much.”
“I don’t, either,” I told Uncle Jake.
“We will have to find another way, Marc.”
“Another way?”
“Yes. Another way for Nathan to get money or a way for Nathan to pay.”
I had no idea what this meant, but if it was coming from Uncle Jake, I was sure it meant something good.
CHAPTER 19: HELP
Today started off kind of weird. Not necessarily bad but just weird.
You see, when I was working out with Uncle Jake this morning, I told him something.
“I’m bored, Uncle Jake.”
“Bored? How can you be bored? You’re busy all day.”
“That’s the tricky thing. I know I’m busy all day with working out and mowing lawns and fixing my bike and going to summer camp and doing jiu-jitsu. But even with all that stuff going on, I still feel kind of bored. And I feel like I’ve done what I’ve wanted to do, so other than focusing on my jiu-jitsu tournament, I just feel, like … I don’t know … bored.”
Uncle Jake look at me for a few seconds and then said, “Good.” That is what he always seemed to say when something was wrong.
“Good?” I asked. “How is that good?”
“Well, first of all, being bored means you’re comfortable with what you have going on in your life. It is good for a few reasons. Number one, it means you have accomplished your goals. That means you have achieved what you wanted to achieve. You have a bike. You have made some money. You are making steady gains in your workouts and getting stronger. So that means you can set some new goals, like you have for jiu-jitsu. Now that you have the tournament coming up, you can focus on that. It makes it exciting. And you can do that for the rest of the things you are doing—find new goals. But the most important thing about being bored is that you have the capacity—and by that I mean the time, the money, the knowledge, and the willingness—to help other people. To help someone else. That is what a warrior should always strive to do. What is number five of your Warrior Kid Code?”
“That is right,” Uncle Jake said. “That is perfect. Warriors help other people whenever possible. Well, before, when you were struggling yourself, it wasn’t possible for you to help other people. You had to help yourself first! How could you teach things you didn’t know? How could you share money you didn’t have? How could you train someone else when you needed to be trained yourself? But all those things have changed now. You are a totally different person. Before, maybe you could help your mom clean the kitchen or help your dad clean the car. And even though those are nice things to do, now you can really help other people—you can have a legitimate impact on their lives.”
“That sounds cool, Uncle Jake. But I’m not sure I get it. How can I help people in a big way?”
“There are all kinds of ways to help all kinds of people. But let’s make this really simple. There is one person in your life that you can really help a lot right now. Who is it?”
I knew exactly who Uncle Jake was talking about. “Nathan?”
“Yes. Nathan. He is a good kid, but he definitely faces a lot of challenges that you don’t have to face. I’ll tell you what: When we get done working out, go upstairs and write down three things that you can do to really help Nathan and then we will figure out how you can make them happen.”
“Okay, Uncle Jake.” So we finished up the workout (by doing one hundred burpees in a row!!) and then I went to my room, took out a piece of paper, and wrote down what Uncle Jake asked me to. When I was done, I went down and told Uncle Jake I was ready.
“What do you have?”
“Well, Uncle Jake. Here are the three things that I think Nathan could use some help with: First, he really liked jiu-jitsu class the other day, but I know he doesn’t have enough money for it. Two, he doesn’t have a bike. When he rode The Bruiser the other day, he looked so happy. But if he hasn’t got enough money for jiu-jitsu class, then I’m sure he doesn’t have enough money for a new bike. And finally, since Nathan doesn’t seem to have much to do after camp every day, it seems like it would be really nice if he had a cool place to hang out.”
“Okay. Those are good. I like those, and I agree. I think those would be great ways to help Nathan. Now let’s think about how we can actually accomplish them. But first things first—you have been working hard all summer to make money. Do you realize that we might have to spend some of that money to help Nathan? Are you okay with that?”
This was a tough question. Uncle Jake continued, “Before you answer that, understand that we are going to start by making sure you have money. That means taking twenty percent of what you’ve earned and putting it into savings. And that isn’t just for now—that is always. You should always save twenty percent of your money. Then if there are other things you really need, you can buy those as well. And you should also know this: One of the few things in the world that feels better than earning money is earning money and then putting it toward a good cause to help someone else. I know that sounds strange, but it is true.”
I wasn’t sure how that could actually be true, but I decided to listen to Uncle Jake since he always seemed to be right about everything.
“Okay, then, Uncle Jake. I will save twenty percent of my money, and if I think of anything else I really need, I will tell you. But if I need to spend some money to help Nathan, I will do that.”
“All right. And I’ll tell you what. Since you are being generous, I will be generous, too. Anything that we need to spend to help Nathan, I will give half of it so that you only have to give the other half.”
“Thanks, Uncle Jake!” I told him, but then I realized I had no idea how we were ever going to do this, so I asked him, “But exactly what are we going to do?”
“Well, first off, for jiu-jitsu, we will go and talk to Coach Adam and see if he can give us a deal on the class price and if there is anything you and Nathan can do to help out around the academy. Next, we are going to buy a bike for Nathan.”
“Buy him a bike? I don’t have enough money for that!”
Uncle Jake laughed. “Don’t worry, we aren’t buying him a new bike. We can drive around and look for someone who is selling used bikes. We will buy a rust bucket—like your old bike—and then you and Nathan will repair and fix and paint it and put it all back together again.”
“Awesome!”
“And while you two are refurbishing the bike, guess what?”
“What?”
“Nathan will have somewhere to go and something to do after camp every day. So that problem is solved, too.”
“YES!” I shouted. “This plan is PERFECT!”
“Nope. There is no such thing as a perfect plan. And the plan doesn’t happen if someone doesn’t MAKE IT HAPPEN. So let’s stop talking and get to work. We will start as soon as camp is over today by going to talk to Coach Adam.”
“Got it, Uncle Jake.”
This was awesome. And I was already realizing that Uncle Jake was right once again: It did feel good to help people.
CHAPTER 20: JUNKYARD
When I got home from camp today, Uncle Jake was waiting for me. He told me to grab all of my money, and we went straight from camp to Victory Mixed Martial Arts, where Coach Adam teaches jiu-jitsu. There was an adult class being taught, so we waited on the side of the mat for it to finish. When it was over, Uncle Jake told me to go talk to Coach Adam.
“Coach Adam, I have a question to ask.”
“Sure, Marc. What is going on?”
“Well. You remember that kid I brought in the other day, with the black hair?”
“Oh, yeah … Nathan. He seemed like a really good kid. How did he like his first day of jiu-jitsu?”
“He loved it, Coach. He really did.”
&nb
sp; “That’s great. It seemed like he liked it. Is he going to start training here all the time, like you do?”
So far, the conversation had been pretty easy. But this was the part I was nervous about. “Well, Coach, actually … he would love to start training here every single day, but the problem is that his family … well, they can’t really afford to pay that much money. I was wondering if there was any way that he could train, well, maybe for free?”
Coach Adam sat quietly for a few seconds.
“Free?”
“Well, yeah. His family doesn’t really have much money.”
“And so you just want him to be able to train for free?”
I could tell already that Coach didn’t like this idea very much! But I kept trying! “That is the idea, Coach.”
Coach got an understanding look on his face, and I thought maybe we had a chance, but then he said, “Listen, Marc. I understand that he doesn’t have much money and that you are trying to help him, and that is really nice of you. But don’t forget that I still have to pay rent for this building. I have to pay for insurance. I have to pay for any repairs that need to be done to the building. And I have to pay people to clean the place up: the mats, the locker rooms, and the bathrooms—everything. And on top of all that, don’t forget that I have to have money to pay for my own house and my car and food for my wife and my baby daughter. And what happens when other people find out that I let some people train here for free? What will they think? Maybe they’ll all start asking if they can train for free, too. And then what I am supposed to do? Is that fair? I don’t think so. Your friend Nathan might not be able to afford to pay for classes, but I can’t afford not to have him pay. I’m sorry, Marc, as much as I would like to help, nothing in life is free.”
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