Copperfox
Well-known member
When they had finished their tea, they started back outside, Yang first. Kim whispered to her husband, "Remember 'The Game of Death.' "
"Dan Inosanto, right. I'll remember." Alipang knew that Kim was referring to Bruce Lee's last movie, in which Lee had filmed a spectactular fight scene with his real-life friend Dan Inosanto, one of the greatest Escrima masters of the twentieth century. The point of that scene had been that excessive adherence to a rehearsed form was a fatal weakness when facing a fighter with flexible techniques. Fortunately, dear old Pitik Imada back in Smoky Lake had seen that movie too, and had always shown his Escrima students ways to grow beyond step-by-step forms and to be ready for diverse combat situations. That was why Master Pitik had called his style "Practical Escrima."
Glancing up toward Heaven, Alipang murmured, "I'll show them how well you taught me, Master."
Bert Randall handed each man two sticks, and told the spectators, "This will be purely a bout of weapon skill: no punching, kicking or grappling allowed. If either man loses hold of a baton while time remains in the bout, he will be allowed to pick it up again and continue." He began backing away. "Are you both ready?--Timekeeper, call the start." Alipang stood in a traditional Escrima starting stance: his right hand high, with its weapon reaching back over his right shoulder, the left arm crossed over his belly, so that the left-hand stick was near his ribs on the right side. Yang stood holding both sticks out in front of him, right hand leading, causing Alipang to guess that Yang had training with the straight sword which was the Chinese counterpart of a rapier.
"Fight!" shouted Phosphorus Andrews.
This time, Alipang let Yang make the first move. The Chinese came in thrusting rather than swinging, tending to support Alipang's guess. Alipang fended off these thrusts with stick movements which followed the traditional pattern, his speed compensating for the predictability. But he didn't stay traditional for long; he had no intention of playing Dan Inosanto to his opponent's Bruce Lee. At a chosen instant, he did the swiftest dive-and-roll he could manage, coming down close to Yang's left leg. Swinging both sticks at ankle height, he took Yang's feet right out from under him.
Even surprised, Yang was able to control his fall enough to avoid having his wind smashed out of him by the impact; but this time it was Alipang who was quicker to regain his feet. Like wooden cobras, his batons both peppered Yang's head and arms with blows at about one-quarter strength; not until five blows had landed was Yang able to parry the next few. "My turn to say, that would have put me out of action!" Yang declared with a tigerish smile. "But as it is--!" Now he drove in with a fresh attack.
For the rest of the two minutes, except for a few very brief drops to a kneeling posture to strike low, both men remained upright; and there was hardly any pause in their furious exchange. The clacking collisions of their sticks came so fast that, by the sound, one could almost have imagined a giant woodpecker was at work. With sight as well as noise to go by, the onlookers stood mesmerized at the unrelenting speed of the duel. Besides the early scores, Alipang made five more hits on Yang: two to the ribs, one at the side of a knee, one didn't-touch-but-would-have-landed at the crotch, and one on the knuckles of Yang's right hand, making him drop that stick, which Alipang allowed him to retrieve. Yang only scored on Alipang three times--two light blows to the head, logically enough since Yang was a little taller, and a thrust to the chest. But as Alipang had done in the unarmed bout, Yang kept up his maximum effort to the very end, forcing his adversary really to earn the victory.
"Stop!" cried Overseer Andrews; and Captain Butello shouted, "A great fight by both men, but Dr. Havens clearly wins this one!" The applause had been terrific enough after the first bout; now it became even louder, because the several Overseers present joined in cheering for Alipang--all except Vargas and Huddleston, though they had watched the match very closely.
"That was epic! That was radical! It was worth all the aches I'm going to have these next few days!" whooped Alipang. "Mr. Yang, you're my favorite enemy!"--and he threw his arms around the Chinese, who still was not accustomed to being hugged, but who at least understood the gesture of good sportsmanship.
Bert Randall closed in to clap them both on the shoulders, then said to Alipang, "It was wonderful--never saw anything better! Please, Dr. Havens, could I be your second favorite enemy? I mean, could I try a little go with you, light contact or none, just to get the feel of what you two did? I can tell you're not all worn out. Please?"
"Give me a minute, and I'll oblige you," Alipang told him; "non-contact." Kim ran up to object to her husband exerting himself longer, but as they embraced he whispered to her, "This might get him to add his voice for you-know-what."
So there was a bonus Escrima bout for the crowd to see, albeit somewhat anticlimactic. Yet still worth seeing. At Bert's request, they used only one baton each; "We've got Filipinos in Australia, y'know, but they've only taught me singlestick so far." Bert's technique was visibly limited in scope, but he had speed, strength, and accuracy; though Alipang dominated the non-contact match, the Australian did score two simulated hits (to Alipang's thirteen) before they halted.
Now it was Bert who hugged Alipang. "Thank you, Master, for that's what you are. I genuinely learned a move or two from that. You let me know if there's anything in my power that I can do for you." His tone seemed to suggest that he expected Alipang to have a request.
"Dan Inosanto, right. I'll remember." Alipang knew that Kim was referring to Bruce Lee's last movie, in which Lee had filmed a spectactular fight scene with his real-life friend Dan Inosanto, one of the greatest Escrima masters of the twentieth century. The point of that scene had been that excessive adherence to a rehearsed form was a fatal weakness when facing a fighter with flexible techniques. Fortunately, dear old Pitik Imada back in Smoky Lake had seen that movie too, and had always shown his Escrima students ways to grow beyond step-by-step forms and to be ready for diverse combat situations. That was why Master Pitik had called his style "Practical Escrima."
Glancing up toward Heaven, Alipang murmured, "I'll show them how well you taught me, Master."
Bert Randall handed each man two sticks, and told the spectators, "This will be purely a bout of weapon skill: no punching, kicking or grappling allowed. If either man loses hold of a baton while time remains in the bout, he will be allowed to pick it up again and continue." He began backing away. "Are you both ready?--Timekeeper, call the start." Alipang stood in a traditional Escrima starting stance: his right hand high, with its weapon reaching back over his right shoulder, the left arm crossed over his belly, so that the left-hand stick was near his ribs on the right side. Yang stood holding both sticks out in front of him, right hand leading, causing Alipang to guess that Yang had training with the straight sword which was the Chinese counterpart of a rapier.
"Fight!" shouted Phosphorus Andrews.
This time, Alipang let Yang make the first move. The Chinese came in thrusting rather than swinging, tending to support Alipang's guess. Alipang fended off these thrusts with stick movements which followed the traditional pattern, his speed compensating for the predictability. But he didn't stay traditional for long; he had no intention of playing Dan Inosanto to his opponent's Bruce Lee. At a chosen instant, he did the swiftest dive-and-roll he could manage, coming down close to Yang's left leg. Swinging both sticks at ankle height, he took Yang's feet right out from under him.
Even surprised, Yang was able to control his fall enough to avoid having his wind smashed out of him by the impact; but this time it was Alipang who was quicker to regain his feet. Like wooden cobras, his batons both peppered Yang's head and arms with blows at about one-quarter strength; not until five blows had landed was Yang able to parry the next few. "My turn to say, that would have put me out of action!" Yang declared with a tigerish smile. "But as it is--!" Now he drove in with a fresh attack.
For the rest of the two minutes, except for a few very brief drops to a kneeling posture to strike low, both men remained upright; and there was hardly any pause in their furious exchange. The clacking collisions of their sticks came so fast that, by the sound, one could almost have imagined a giant woodpecker was at work. With sight as well as noise to go by, the onlookers stood mesmerized at the unrelenting speed of the duel. Besides the early scores, Alipang made five more hits on Yang: two to the ribs, one at the side of a knee, one didn't-touch-but-would-have-landed at the crotch, and one on the knuckles of Yang's right hand, making him drop that stick, which Alipang allowed him to retrieve. Yang only scored on Alipang three times--two light blows to the head, logically enough since Yang was a little taller, and a thrust to the chest. But as Alipang had done in the unarmed bout, Yang kept up his maximum effort to the very end, forcing his adversary really to earn the victory.
"Stop!" cried Overseer Andrews; and Captain Butello shouted, "A great fight by both men, but Dr. Havens clearly wins this one!" The applause had been terrific enough after the first bout; now it became even louder, because the several Overseers present joined in cheering for Alipang--all except Vargas and Huddleston, though they had watched the match very closely.
"That was epic! That was radical! It was worth all the aches I'm going to have these next few days!" whooped Alipang. "Mr. Yang, you're my favorite enemy!"--and he threw his arms around the Chinese, who still was not accustomed to being hugged, but who at least understood the gesture of good sportsmanship.
Bert Randall closed in to clap them both on the shoulders, then said to Alipang, "It was wonderful--never saw anything better! Please, Dr. Havens, could I be your second favorite enemy? I mean, could I try a little go with you, light contact or none, just to get the feel of what you two did? I can tell you're not all worn out. Please?"
"Give me a minute, and I'll oblige you," Alipang told him; "non-contact." Kim ran up to object to her husband exerting himself longer, but as they embraced he whispered to her, "This might get him to add his voice for you-know-what."
So there was a bonus Escrima bout for the crowd to see, albeit somewhat anticlimactic. Yet still worth seeing. At Bert's request, they used only one baton each; "We've got Filipinos in Australia, y'know, but they've only taught me singlestick so far." Bert's technique was visibly limited in scope, but he had speed, strength, and accuracy; though Alipang dominated the non-contact match, the Australian did score two simulated hits (to Alipang's thirteen) before they halted.
Now it was Bert who hugged Alipang. "Thank you, Master, for that's what you are. I genuinely learned a move or two from that. You let me know if there's anything in my power that I can do for you." His tone seemed to suggest that he expected Alipang to have a request.