1 Prodigal Studen (1/2)

Each year, tens of thousands of people are reported missing in the U.S.Today, a young man practicing at a dojo will be reported missing.

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”Wu-da-da-da-da-da!”A young man attacked the wizened man furiously, his hands steadily moving faster than his rapid heartbeat.The release of a short breath in the manner of the late Bruce Lee punctuated each blow.However, nothing landed, and nineteen-year-old Koji Adalwin Becker grew more and more frustrated with each failure.

In contrast with the young pupil, his sifu, Luon Yi Man, kept a serene facial expression as the teacher blocked with his eyes closed and one hand behind his back.The master was secretly pleased, though, because every attack targeted a pressure point, which was the philosophy of Dim-Mak, the mysterious but deadly martial arts taught at the Yin-Yang Self-Defense Academy in San Francisco, California.

The two continued their training session non-stop for another ten minutes before Sifu Man called for a halt.The master opened his eyes, which expressed his happiness with his pupil's progress.”Good job, Koji,” the teacher praised with a smile.”You're my best pupil!” he added with mischievous eyes.

”I'm your only student, Sifu!” the pupil replied glumly with a respectful bow from his waist.This verbal exchange was an old joke between the two even though Koji WAS the last student at the dojo.

The master patted the young man on the shoulder.”Now clean up and go home.You have school tomorrow.I don't know how you keep up with your studies and homework if you're staying here so late every day.I'm headed out now to meet friends,” Sifu Man said.

”Yes, Sifu!” Koji replied with another bow.The teacher enjoyed meeting his old friends over sake and karaoke, and he left the chore of cleaning the dojo to his student.The pupil joined his teacher once and regretted it.Imagine being in a room full of drunk old men, each singing poorly while trading insults for their mangled songs.

Once his sifu left the dojo, Koji entered the closet and pulled out a bucket and a big rag.He went to the washroom to fill the bucket with water.While carrying the heavy bucket, Koji walked carefully to avoid splashing water on the ground.He plunged the cloth into the water and wrung some of the moisture out.

Koji placed the wet rag on the ground.He bent his hips and leaned his torso forward until his hands were on top of the cloth.He locked his knees and started pushing the rag on the ground.”Vroom-vroom!” he said while pretending to be a race car driver at the Indianapolis 500; this was his dream when he lived overseas with his dad, who was serving in the U.S. military and stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

At first, Koji hated this chore and felt it was beneath him.But sifu insisted on him cleaning the floor over the pupil's protest, and eventually, Koji understood why.The task appeared simplistic, at first.But it required a delicate balance and concentration.If he goes too fast, his legs will soon tire out.If Koji loses his focus, his elbows will bend, and his back will slouch.This task trained the pupil's focus and concentration, and Koji was a stubborn person who took pride in doing things the right way.Thus, he worked diligently to clean the dojo before he left for the evening.

Koji's mind returned to the day he walked into the dojo for the first time.Back then, the thriving academy had many pupils, and the student practices were noisy and lively.Koji was majoring in Eastern Medicine in college, and he was intrigued by the notion of targeting acupressure points as a form of martial arts.Through research, he came across Dim-Mak and wanted to study this martial art.Unfortunately, Koji learned that Sifu Man's style of Dim-Mak focused on self-defense rather than the ”death touch” which made Dim-Mak notorious within the martial arts world.

Nonetheless, Koji decided to enroll in the school.At first, the instructor made his new student study and memorize a chart which showed all the pressure points which Dim-Mak targeted.Also, Sifu Man forced him to engage in physical training to strengthen Koji's body.