"I don't teach pretty techniques to SEALs; all I care about is winning the fight," he said. "Knife combat, chokes, eye gouges, nut shots, biting, whatever it takes to live. Maximum damage in the minimum time."

"Will you teach us?" Amy asked. "We'll be here at least a year. We have classes in the fall, but it's all online. We can work around your schedule."

"I don't do gentle, and you'd need to train five days a week to get up to speed in that time," Hammer said.

"I don't wake up at five-thirty in the morning to run the beach because I'm on vacation," I replied. "I saw your...