Net Force - Tom Clancy [77]
He would not leap from a bridge, nor swallow his pistol barrel, nor would he run away and hide. He would continue to do the only thing he had ever really known how to do, and he would do it as well as he could. It was what he had. Aside from Anna, it was all he had ever had. It was his path, and he would follow it until it ended.
The dry wind followed him as he walked toward his hotel.
Saturday, October 2nd, noon Quantico
Toni bent over, touched her toes, then dropped into a deep squat. Her knees popped. She stood, and shook out her legs. She was one of only three people in the Net Force gym. Most people didnt work Saturdays, and normally she wouldnt have worked, either, but until they had something on Days death, plus the new business about Alex, she wasnt going to be taking any days off. Hardly anybody would.
She looked up, and saw Rusty come out of the mens locker room. She hadnt expected to see him here today. The FBI trainees usually got weekends off at this stage of their schooling.
Guru, he said, offering her a short bow.
Rusty. I didnt think youd be here today.
Well, I knew youd be working and I didnt have anything else on my schedule. I mean, if its okay?
Sure.
Toni found she enjoyed teaching. It did force her to think about her own form, to make certain it was right before she tried to pass it along. Guru had been right; the teacher learned as much as the student.
They loosened up for another five minutes, stretching and rotating joints. Okay, lets begin, she said.
He faced her. They bowed in and she started him on the first djuru.
As Rusty went back and forth, repeating the simple block-elbow-punch combination, Toni corrected his form, demonstrated the footwork, adjusted slightly the positions of his hands. She had always had to do a motion dozens or hundreds of times before it sank in, but Rusty was a quick student. He picked up the lessons pretty fast.
After ten minutes of djuru practice, Toni stopped him.
Okay, today were going to work on sapu and beset moves.
He nodded, but looked puzzled. Uh-huh.
She smiled. Sapu is a sweep, uses the inside of the foot or leg. It means, literally, broom. Beset is a drag, using the heel or back of the leg. Step in right side and throw a right punch.
Rusty nodded, and obeyed. He threw his fist hard, because to do less was to have to do it over again. She double-blocked with her open hands and then stepped in with her right foot just to the outside of his. Okay, you see where our feet are? I am outside your attacking foot. We call this luar. Okay, back up and punch again, same way.
He complied.
This time, she blocked and stepped inside. This position is to the inside, or dalam.
He looked down. Luar is outside, dalam is inside. Okay.
Right. In silat, there are basically four positions you can assume in relation to an attackers feet. So I could have either of my feet forward in relation to yours-left or right on the outside, left or right on the inside. If you came in with a left lead, Id have the same positions available for that foot, too. So, Ive got four basic responses no matter which foot you put forward.
Okay.
Punch again, slow this time. The first technique Ill show you is called beset luar.
Which hand?
Doesnt matter. What you can do right, you can do left. What you can do inside, you can do outside. What you can do high, you can do low.
Sounds like something I should be writing down.
Dont worry about it. Youll hear it again. And again. And again. Silat is not about hard and fast techniques. It is about laws and principles. It takes a little longer to learn it this way, but once you do, youll have something you can use anytime. Obviously I have to show you specifics, but the goal is become a generalise. Punch again, slow.
He stepped in and threw a lazy straight right fist at her nose.
Okay, heres the block, from the outside. Then I shove your arm out of the way and around, like so. She rolled his arm down and across his body to the outside, held onto it just above