Jogr's Martial Arts Training

When it comes to her younger brother, Magra had long ago ceased getting surprised at the things he could do. But when her husband suddenly agreed to be his student, Magra totally didn't expect it at all. For days she had persuaded Jogr to ask Kraszad to teach him martial arts, but Jogr steadfastly refused each time.

Magra was a bit suspicious at the suddenness of Jogr's change of heart on the matter, but she was happy enough to let it pass.

A few days after Kraszad took Hubr under his wings, Magra's younger brother sought her help to persuade Jogr to learn martial arts from him. Kraszad explained to her that there were lessons he might not be able to teach Hubr by the time he would have to leave.

Of course at first leaving meant going back to the academy until it turned out to be a secret mission that would keep Kraszad away for a really long time.

When Kraszad told her that he had to teach Jogr some techniques, which later on Jogr would have to pass on to Hubr and possibly Hegla, Magra was not only convinced of the matter's importance but also touched deeply by her younger brother's care and foresight.

That same day, Jogr indeed reported for training together with Hubr and the other kid. Magra made sure to be there. She wouldn't have missed it for the world!

But while she was excited to watch her husband on his first day of martial arts training, Jogr was the opposite of ecstatic. In fact, he had gestured for her several times to banish herself from the common room, which had since served as the training room. He kept glaring at Magra, but she just rolled her eyes at him.

At one point, Jogr was looking at Magra when he was supposed to execute a block. Kraszad pulled his brother-in-law's ear to set him straight.

"I know Namgan is a charmer, but we're practicing how to block here, so I need your full focus," Blink chided his much older brother-in-law.

Magra could not help giggling at the sight of her twenty-eight year old husband getting scolded by her sixteen year old brother.

At the sound of her giggling, Jogr glared at Magra once more.

"The next one hits you right in the head," threatened Kraszad's ever-gentle not-so-quite-threatening voice.

Just as Magra was expecting, Jogr looked towards her, and Kraszad promptly palmed him on the forehead. The hit was nothing more than a tap, but Jogr clearly resented it.

Kraszad whispered something to Jogr and, from then on, Jogr became a lot more pliant. He still glared once in a while at Magra but made sure to do it surreptitiously.

They had a five-minute drill wherein they kicked and punched at a pair of mitts worn by Kraszad on his hands. Magra had learned that the pair of mitts were sewn by the other boy's mother. Both boys were breathing hard at the end of the drill but were otherwise just fine. As for Jogr, he could not even last for two minutes, drawing another muffled giggle from Magra.

After the drill, the two boys fought against each other. Magra's heart welled with pride seeing her Hubr trade blows with the other boy without getting into a disadvantageous position. In fact, Hubr held the initiative in most of the exchanges. She had heard from her husband that Hubr could hardly last more than five strikes before getting tagged when the two first started sparring.

When the training session was over and the other boy and his father had left, Jogr suggested to Kraszad that Magra "should not be allowed inside the training hall."

"On what grounds?" Magra quickly rebutted. "This is my home, too, and I have every right to be anywhere in it when I want to."

"It makes me feel self-conscious," Jogr admitted half-whining.

"It makes him feel self-conscious, and that affects his performance," Kraszad seconded.

Magra glared at her brother who responded with a smile that turned his eyes into adorable slits.

Failing to gain the reaction she wanted, Magra shifted her fiery glare towards her husband. Jogr bowed his head not daring to challenge her in a staring contest.

"On the other hand, I'm not an unreasonable person. Sure, I won't stay around to avoid making somebody embarrass himself. But, you might as well also forget eating your meals on time."

Magra was hoping for an alarmed reaction from the two guys, but was miffed to see them merely shrug their shoulders and raise an eyebrow.

"What about I refuse to wake up early in the morning to brew coffee?"

"You know, Namgun, I think you are merely being a bit too onion-skinned. What's wrong with letting Namgan cheer your effort?" It was Kraszad who reacted first.

Kraszad's sudden turnaround contorted Jogr's face into a most unsightly countenance.

"Such a fine brother you are to leave me hanging by a precipice for a cup of coffee."

"Once again, you exaggerate, Namgun. Think about it. You'll have to be the one to wake up early in the morning to brew the coffee. How can you let me, your martial arts TEACHER, suffer the humiliation of settling for second-rate, nay fifth-rate coffee when I could always have first class coffee and all you have to do is to recognize the natural order of things."

Jogr furrowed his brows. Kraszad's emphasis on the word "teacher" must have rubbed salt on an open wound.

"Seriously!"

"A good student must always show his gratitude towards his teacher by going all-out to please him." Kraszad assumed what he must have imagined to be the posture of a sage spouting some profound insight.

"What rubbish! Are you seriously deserting your earlier stand for the sake of coffee?"

"First, you don't call your teacher's words as rubbish to his face. That is an ironclad rule that deserves no less than the worst punishment, which I am going to overlook for now considering our special relationship. Second, I know this wise man who recently said that drinking terribly-brewed coffee early in the morning is bound to make the rest of the day just as terrible."1

Dumbfounded, Jogr looked at his wife and his brother-in-law alternately. Magra regarded him with a defiant glare, chin raised and fists on her waist. Kraszad was still assuming his stilted interpretation of a profound sage. Jogr looked like one struck with a spell of stupefaction.

Inwardly, Magra was laughing at her husband and was therefore struggling really hard to keep her current posture.

The next day, Kraszad went with Jogr to the farm, despite the latter's objections. In the afternoon, Magra noticed that Jogr was very well-behaved. She had this naughty idea of making an effort to distract him, but he refused to get drawn into it even when she gave it her all.

That night Magra put her flirting skills to good use to get Jogr to reveal what her brother told him at the farm that morning. Jogr tried to be elusive by changing the subject. However, a woman's persistence was always bound to break a man's will. Magra also used a dirty trick. She seduced her husband by saying she was so hot for him and won't he take off their clothes? But, just as he was ready to get it on, she held him back saying she'd only have him if he would tell her what she wanted to know.

It turned out Kraszad had explained to Jogr how important it was for the family that he learn the techniques and principles quickly and thoroughly.

***

The next morning Kraszad tried but failed to contain a befuddled expression from creeping on his young, handsome face. Magra and Jogr were both sporting a very relaxed countenance that seem free from worries.

Kraszad kept looking alternately at his elder sister and his brother-in-law to get a good read of their facial expressions. Magra could not help but smile. For once her nimgun was baffled. And it was by something somebody who was married could have easily guessed.

Suddenly…

"Could it be you did something fun last night?" Kraszad commented.

Jogr and Magra both nearly dropped their cups at the seemingly out-of-the-blue observation uttered by their sixteen year old nimgun.

From Kraszad's subsequent reaction, it appeared that he was merely stating an innocent observation. His youthful countenance reddened. Worse, he accidentally scalded his tongue after tipping his cup before he could blow on the steaming hot coffee.

Although she didn't really want her brother to burn his tongue, the accident at least prevented a very embarrassing atmosphere from potentially making them feel awkward toward each other for the better part of the day. She immediately helped her brother to the wash area and handed him a bowl of cold water.

Not knowing what he was supposed to do with the bowl of water, Kraszad let out his tongue and licked on the cold water like a dog. The couple burst out laughing at his appearance.

"Nimgun, it seems you already know how to use your tongue," Jogr couldn't help saying after a fit of laughter.

Magra rolled her eyes at her husband. Meanwhile, Kraszad could only look dumbfounded.

Jogr laughed so hard that he had to clutch his stomach.

When he was done, he looked suddenly alarmed as Kraszad was gazing at him with a peeved look.

"You better explain to your teacher what is so funny, or I'll make you perform knuckle push-ups after our training session," Kraszad said slowly as if he were giving instructions to a retard.

Jogr looked first at Magra who gave him a stern warning with her eyes. He sighed realizing he had had too much fun at Kraszad's expense.

"Fine, I'll take the knuckle push-ups," he said.

After a few meaningless joshing between the brothers-in-law, Kraszad seemed to have remembered something important. He asked to be excused to get something from the common room. He came back less than five minutes later carrying three thin handmade books.

He sat down and turned serious.

"Namgan, these are manuals of the three movement sets of the [Returning Palm] style, which I created personally," Kraszad explained as he handed the books to his sister. "It has a Fourth Movement, but I am still on the process of perfecting it.

"As soon as it's ready, I'll draw up the manual and leave it to you."

Magra took the book and clutched them close to her bosom like some rare treasure. At this very moment she did not dare to interrupt her brother lest he got distracted and forget something of importance.

"I have already taught Hubr the first two movements, but I am hoping that Hegla would take some interest in martial arts eventually.

"I am sure by then Namgun could capably teach her, but there are those who can learn just from reading the manual.

"As for the Third Movement, I want Hubr to begin training in it a year from now, by which time he will have already reached [Advanced Mastery] for the First and Second Movement.

"Namgun, as Hubr's ability to comprehend martial arts technique is stifled by his age, you should be able to grasp the [Novice Mastery] level in the next two days and be able to reach [Advanced Mastery] in the First and Second Movement a few days before I go.

"By that time, I shall have enough time to instruct you on the Third Movement and you should be able to master the entire set to the [Advanced] level and be able to teach Hubr next year.

"Even if I reach Advanced Mastery on the Second Movement in five days, wouldn't that leave you just two days to teach me the Third Movement and guide me until I reach at least close to [Novice Mastery]?"

"That's a very valid concern, Namgun. However, I have decided to await news regarding the foreign bandit I fought at Calandra from Senior Brother Garth or whichever senior would be coming over."

"So you're not leaving the day after the Rahang Nimgan?" Magra asked.

"That's correct, Namgan."

"You're worried about that foreigner bandit, aren't you?" Jogr asked.

"I hope I'm just worried over nothing, Namgun. But, as you are well aware, Ragha is a kingdom only in name. It is really just a collection of towns and villages that have yet to wake up from its dreams of the glory of the grand kingdom of old."

"I admit you are right about Ragha's situation, but what has that got to do with the foreign bandit?"

"Right now the only vestige of any leadership existing in Ragha is the meeting of the Council of Elders of Ragha. If anyone wants to expand their territory or acquire a kingdom, Ragha would be the perfect target."

Jogr and Magra contemplated Kraszad's statement.

"So you're saying we might be in the cusp of a foreign invasion?" Jogr asked.

Kraszad did not reply to Jogr's question immediately. He had a faraway look in his eyes.

"It's also likely it's just my imagination getting the better of me. However, this is a serious matter that Master Tszarek must be involved with. The presence of the martial arts academy should serve as a strong deterrent to foreign aggression, so Master Tszarek couldn't have chosen a better time to establish the academy when he did so eighteen years ago."

"But why would another kingdom think of invading us now knowing we have an academy that produces powerful martial artists?" Jogr wondered.

"You do understand what a probing strike is, don't you, Namgun?"

Jogr was startled. Magra, on the other hand, was somewhat confused.

"Calandra lies in a very strategic location with a hill that allows an unimpeded view of the plains for several kilometers out. If we did not come over, that foreign bandit, whom I guess is actually a soldier where he came from, would have been able to get a good estimate of the military strength of a major town and its nearby villagers. Also, he could have noted how many days it would take for the academy to mobilize its forces and reach Calandra."

"Are you saying that Calandra might turn into a major battleground in the case of a foreign invasion?" Jogr had become agitated by Kraszad's analysis.

As for Magra, while she marvelled at her brother's mind for strategy, she was overwhelmed by fear of the possibility of a bloody battle raging so close to home.

"You're now a village chief, Namgun. It's about time for you to see the bigger picture and expand your worldview beyond the borders of Kasgar."

Jogr's expression became even more agitated. In the end, he could only sigh over the matter.

"It's such a terrible situation being such a weak nation," he helplessly concluded.

"As it happens, Senior Brother Garth should be ready to depart for the academy right about this time. He'll be bringing along that foreign bandit. Let's accompany him to Calandra."

Jogr nodded his head to his brother-in-law and asked leave from Magra. The two departed immediately as soon as they bade Magra goodbye.

That afternoon, contrary to Magra's expectations, Jogr did not join the boys for training. It appeared Kraszad rescheduled their training. They now trained after Kraszad was done training the boys.

Magra eventually lost interest in watching her husband in training. While it had been amusing at first, she found it more and more boring as Jogr got more and more serious in his training.

1 See Jogr's dialogue in Chapter 10