Redemption by Danny Dufour

The place was empty with the exception of a little Asian man who was up front with eyes closed as though he was sleeping. He was meditating, Danny noticed. The man was dressed in black with a Mao-collared Chinese shirt. Danny thought he couldn’t hear him, but the man opened his eyes and smiled at him. He’d known the whole time he was here.
    “Hello, my name is Sifu Kwan, welcome to the Kwoon . What can I do for you?”
    “Uhhhh… what?”
    Master Kwan smiled.
    “To the Kwoon . In Chinese, that means the training space for martial arts.”
    “Ok. I want to learn martial arts!”
    Master Kwan approached Danny and saw the bruise on his cheek. He understood what it meant.
    “I see. Well, you knocked on the right door, my dear boy. What’s your name?”
    “Danny.”
    “It’s a pleasure.”
    “ Sifu is your first name?”
    “No, that’s simply Chinese for master or instructor. Kung fu is a Chinese martial art. There are different kinds, but Wing Chun is the one we teach here. Have you ever practised martial arts?”
    “No, never.”
    “Well, maybe now’s the time for you to see if this likes you. Are you interested?”
    “Yes.”
    “Very good.”
    “When can I try it?”
    “Why not now?”
    “I… uhhhh… ok.”
    “Perfect!”
    Master Kwan always wore a smile. It gave him a serenity and tranquillity that Danny liked. He invited Danny to enter the room and they placed themselves in the centre. He took a position in front of Danny.
    “Wing Chun is in fact the name of a woman. The legend says that the style was invented by a Buddhist nun in a Shaolin temple called Ng Mui. History says that Wing Chun and her father were pursued by Manchus who accused her father of crime. They took refuge on Mount Tai Leung where she met Ng Mui who taught her the art. Wing Chun taught the style to her husband who, in return, passed down the art to other disciples and christened it Wing Chun in her honour. It’s difficult to know if that’s the exact truth from facts from a very long time ago, but in any case, that’s what is told. What’s peculiar about our style is that we use the force of the adversaries against them. More force they use against you, more force can be countered against them. The best attack is one that leaves the point closest to your target. You will learn to feel what your adversary will do and not guess, because the hand is quicker than the eye. The secret rests in relaxation, you will adhere to the movements of your opponent to feel their attack. When the force will be greatest, you will give way to reposition and attack. Our hits are as explosive as a gunshot and not as a hammer that strikes an object. Take a reed for example, versus an oak. To you, which is more solid?”
    “The oak.”
    “Ok. Because of its robustness, its size, the roots buried deep in the soil, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “And if I tell you that an immense hurricane came along, what would fall first?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “The oak is fixed, buried. Against a force as powerful as that, if he doesn’t bend, he will break or even become uprooted despite his imposing stature. The reed, as for him, mends at the lightest touch of wind. He adapts to the lesser force that touches him, small or large. Certainly, he becomes tilted, maybe damaged a bit. However, he stays rooted, because he has adapted to forces that he meets that are greater than he. Be like the reed, Danny, and you will win.
    He was fascinated by what Sifu Kwan explained. He wasn’t certain that he really understood his explanations, but he definitely wanted to learn.
    “A martial art isn’t only a question of hitting with a fist. You must be calm and drain your mind to react against an aggression. Wing Chun will teach you to enter yourself also, in short, to know yourself better as a person.”
    “I want to learn.”
    “Wonderful, so let’s begin. I’m going to teach you the first basic form, called Sil Lum Tao . It means “The Little Idea”. You have all