The Way of the Warrior - Chris Bradford [77]
‘So where do I find the Chō-geri?’
‘It is not a matter of “where”, Jack-kun. It is a matter of “how” to find it. Chō-geri is an ancient Chinese martial arts technique lost in time. It is named the “Butterfly Kick” because it is a flying kick in which all the limbs are extended in a position similar to that of a butterfly’s wings in flight. It’s a highly advanced manoeuvre that will cut a swath through any attack. Chō-geri is rumoured to be indefensible.’
‘So why tell me about the key if no one knows it?’ said Jack, getting frustrated with Yamada’s continual enigmas.
‘I didn’t say no one,’ he replied, then studied Jack for a long time. Jack felt distinctly uncomfortable, as if the sensei was somehow peering into his soul.
‘I could teach you it,’ he said eventually, ‘but it may be far beyond your abilities.’
‘B-but…’ stuttered Jack in disbelief. ‘Pardon my disrespect, Sensei, but aren’t you too old for martial arts?’
‘Oh, the blindness of youth,’ said Yamada, getting to his feet with the help of his walking stick.
Jack was about to apologize profusely when, without warning, Sensei Yamada let go of the stick and sprang into the air.
The old man’s torso twisted, his arms swung in an arc and both his legs shot out, striking high over Jack’s head. Sensei Yamada rotated all the way round before landing lightly back upon his dais.
Jack sat open-mouthed as Sensei Yamada nonchalantly readjusted his kimono, picked up his walking stick and prepared to depart.
‘How on earth did you do that? How could you?’ stammered Jack, flabbergasted at the old man’s incomprehensible agility.
‘Never judge a sword by its saya. I am a monk, Jack-kun. But what am I?’ he said cryptically, before blowing out the candles and shuffling off into the darkness.
The remaining trails of incense smoke spiralled like ghosts into the air and he was gone.
Jack left the Buddha Hall in a daze, astounded and perplexed by the old monk who had flown through the air with the grace of a butterfly, then left on a riddle.
Jack found Akiko and Saburo sitting on the steps. He slumped down next to them.
‘Are you all right?’ asked Akiko, clearly concerned that the lesson had taken a great toll on Jack.
‘Fine. But you won’t believe what I just saw…’ replied Jack and he told them about Sensei Yamada’s startling abilities.
‘In the name of Buddha, Jack! Even I can work that one out,’ said Saburo dumbfounded. ‘He is sohei!’
‘Sohei? But I thought all the warrior monks were killed by Nobunaga?’
‘Clearly, not all of them,’ said Saburo, gazing in awe at the Buddha Hall. ‘I bet you Sensei Yamada can strike a man dead just using his ki!’
‘Here comes Kiku,’ said Jack, seeing the little girl emerge from the Hall of Lions and run across the courtyard towards them.
Kiku raced up the stone steps.
‘What is it?’ asked Akiko, worried by Kiku’s obvious urgency.
‘Yamato has run away!’
35
THE SWITCH
‘Jack-kun! Jack-kun! Jack-kun!’
Jack blinked into the bright summer sunlight. It was going to be another scorching day, he thought, as he was drawn out of the cool shade of the Hall of Lions and into the baking courtyard by the cheers of the gathered students.
The past three months had been a gruelling schedule of relentless training for Jack, Akiko and Saburo. Yamato, whose absence had been keenly felt by all of them at first, had been almost forgotten in the face of such an onslaught of instruction. Jack had lost count of the number of ‘cuts’ they had practised with the bokken to improve their kenjutsu, the quantity of arrows they had shot, lost or broken in kyujutsu, and there was not a single part of their bodies that hadn’t been bruised during taijutsu.
On top of that, Jack had needed to fit in clandestine training sessions with Sensei Yamada in his attempt to learn Chō-geri with the hope of revealing the meaning to his vision. But the intricacies of the complex technique still eluded him. He had done everything Sensei Yamada instructed, but he simply was not good enough. At the rate he was going,