Young Samurai _ The Way Of The Dragon - Chris Bradford [53]
Spread throughout the display were more specialized weapons. Jack wasn’t surprised to see a Japanese fan among the arsenal. He’d faced one of these innocent yet deadly weapons when a kunoichi, a female ninja, had tried to club him to death with one – the spine of a tessen being made of reinforced metal. But there were also manriki-gusari chains, several curved-bladed naginata, sickle-shaped kama and a large oak club encased in iron with vicious-looking studs.
‘Move it! There’ll be a war on before you’ve made your mind up,’ grunted Sensei Kyuzo, the tuft of moustache beneath his nose twitching impatiently.
Jack decided to go for the club. If Sensei Kyuzo wanted a weapon then he’d get one.
But the club was so heavy Jack discovered he could hardly lift it. It went crashing to the floor, crushing his foot. The class burst into fits of giggles as Jack hopped around in agony.
‘You need real muscles to wield a kanabō, gaijin!’ snorted Sensei Kyuzo. ‘Choose something suited to your limited capabilities.’
Irritated, Jack grabbed the nearest thing to him. A tantō.
As usual, Sensei Kyuzo had picked on him to be his uke, demonstration partner. Jack, therefore, knew he was about to suffer the customary abuse and humiliation of being thrown, kicked, pinned and punched across the dojo floor. But this was the first time they’d used weapons in a taijutsu class and Jack wasn’t looking forward to the consequences.
‘A predictable choice,’ said Sensei Kyuzo, ‘but a practical one for demonstrating how to disarm an opponent. Stab me in the stomach.’
Jack blinked in surprise.
‘Do it!’ commanded Sensei Kyuzo.
Jack thrust the blade at the sensei’s gut. The taijutsu master slipped to the outside and slammed his fist on to the back of Jack’s wrist while simultaneously striking Jack in the throat. The tantō dropped to the floor a moment before Jack did.
‘The first principle of disarming is to get out of the way,’ lectured Sensei Kyuzo as Jack lay gasping for breath. ‘Even if the technique is executed poorly, you’ll have avoided immediate danger.’
Jack slowly got to his feet, massaging his throat. As he was still conscious, it meant Sensei Kyuzo had pulled the strike. But the blow had definitely been harder than necessary.
He spotted Akiko with her head in her hands, dismayed at his treatment by their sensei.
‘Choose another weapon,’ ordered the sensei, without giving Jack time to recover.
Jack decided upon a bokken. By selecting the wooden weapon he was familiar and quick with, he might stand a chance of getting his own back. Jack turned to face his teacher.
‘A sword-bearing samurai is harder to disarm,’ explained the sensei, nodding at Jack to begin. ‘Distance and timing are crucial.’
With lightning speed, Jack cut down at Sensei Kyuzo’s head.
Only because the taijutsu master knew what to expect was he able to evade the sword so easily. Stepping to Jack’s right-hand side, he blocked and grabbed Jack’s elbow and wrist, executing a lock on him.
‘The second principle is to inflict pain, thereby distracting and maybe even disabling your opponent,’ Sensei Kyuzo explained as he added pressure to the lock and made Jack’s face contort with agony. ‘In this instance, you can follow through with the sword and cut your opponent in half.’
Forcing the bokken down and round, he freed the sword from Jack’s grasp and drove the blade up between his legs. The class all winced as the kissaki of the bokken was then drawn from his groin up to his chest. Even though the contact was light, it still hurt and Jack was very glad he hadn’t selected a steel katana.
‘If you can gain control of your opponent’s weapon, even better. This is the third principle,’ lectured Sensei Kyuzo, ignoring Jack’s suffering. ‘Now, come at me with a spear.’
Infuriated, Jack picked the lethal trident-shaped spear and