Good grief, this one's lllooonnnggg… 22 freaking pages on Microsoft Word. Compared to my average of 7.
This is an idea I had in my head since chapter 10 of "Aang, Katara, and a Plan." It didn't seem to fit in anywhere, so it is now a drabble. I'll continue with 'perfect opportunities' next chapter.
This one's informative and kataangy at the same time… Two for the price of one!
This story makes several real-world (mostly Asian) references, due to dialogue about fighting styles and weapons. Words that were not defined in the story will be defined at the end, in the footer.
This will be a little confusing, but I'll try and divide it like this: all Chinese styles and weapons will belong to the Earth Kingdom. All belonging to Japan will be for the Fire Nation. Everything else: Philippines, Korean, India, etc, etc will belong to the Air Nomads. Water Tribe borrows a little from all places.
Story is set about 2 years after the war ended. Aang just recently turned 15, Katara is 16. Sokka is 18 (he doesn't really show up). Toph's not there. I guess she went home. Katara and Sokka decided to stick with Aang and travel with him on his many missions and quests as the Avatar. In this story, they have taken a break from traveling for a day and are camping out in some forest.
I don't own Avatar.
The Martial Arts
It was about 4:45 in the morning. The perfect time to be awake. Aang often awoke at what some would consider an insanely early time. It was a reflex now. Back in the monastery, the all monks were up by 4:30. And that was if you were very tired. The early morning was… calm… and peaceful. It was still dark; no one else was ever awake, not even any wildlife, except for a few birds twittering every now and again.
Aang's day started as it would have in the monastery. Brief meditation and prayer, followed by exercise, and then hand-to-hand combat training. This was all to be done before sunrise. This time was meant for physical training, not bending.
Aang was in the exercise portion of cycle, finishing up his third round of fifty push-ups. He reflected on what this was like so long ago. It seemed to him like just a couple of years ago, when in reality it was over a century. Right now, he would be in the vast, stone-floored courtyard of the Air Temple, surrounded by hundreds of his peers, all following the instruction and example of the elder monks.
33… 34… 35… Aang sometimes found himself wondering why the monks were required train in the ways of the non-benders. Didn't his bending ability give him an advantage that non-benders didn't? The monks would usually give a generic answer, like it is important to draw strength from all places and people, no mater where, who, or what they are. During one of his last days at the temple, Gyatso explained it a little better. He said that, while it was true that bending was more powerful than punching and kicking, bending ability didn't give anyone an advantage. It simply gave them different abilities. Before there were any benders, the world was populated entirely by non-benders. They developed hundreds, if not thousands of variations of fighting styles, each one with just as much potential as any of the bending arts. The potential of that style was in the person wielding it, not the style itself. Therefore, if the monks learned how to fight hand-to-hand just as well as they could fight with air, they could draw on that knowledge to make their bending even more powerful.
47… 48… 49… Aang didn't understand why he continued doing these things. They just came. And he didn't understand why he enjoyed it as much as he did. He just did. This had actually been one of the most grueling parts of his training in the temple. He had to spend hours on end doing it when he was younger. … 50. Aang picked himself up off the ground and walked over to a nearby tree. He made his way over to the lowest branch and grabbed it. He pulled himself up until his chin was over the branch. 1… He came back down, then back up. 2… 3… 4…
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Katara lied awake in the tent, unable to fall back asleep. She had a dream about her mother, the day that she died. Katara was still a young girl in the dream. She was not there in person when her mother was killed, she could only imagine what it looked like. And most of the time she didn't want to. But these dreams forced it upon her.
In her dream, she could see the ruthless Fire Nation soldiers destroy her village. She could see her mother try to run to safety. Katara tried to run towards her, to help her, but… she was so scared of the Fire Nation soldiers… she couldn't make it without dying herself. In her dream, she could see the clear expression on her mothers face as she fell to the ground in pain, a large amount of her back scorched and charred.
The vivid images came back to mind and Katara shivered. She hated these dreams. They didn't come very often, but when they did they struck with full force. Katara slowly got up and headed outside of the tent to get a drink of water from a nearby river. After about 3 minutes of walking, she got to the water. She drank her fill then splashed a little on her face. She guessed it to be about 5:00 in the morning and figured that there was no use in trying to go back to sleep, no matter what time it was.
Just as she turned away from the river, she heard some footsteps in the grass over to her right. As a preemptive measure, Katara bended some water out of the river. She took a few steps towards a tree line blocking her view. She froze the water and made a small, jagged icicle. She poked her head around a tree and let the spear drop when she saw that it was only Aang.
He was in the middle of a small meadow. His eyes were closed and he was running through a series of katas that Katara couldn't put a finger on. She tried to identify it as airbending, but it wasn't as fast or energetic as that. Waterbending didn't fit either; it wasn't as slow and fluid. Fire couldn't apply; it wasn't as strong and forceful. And what he was doing was too well-connected and streamlined to be earth.
Katara watched in rapt fascination as Aang preformed this dance of jumps and kicks, punches and jabs, tumbles and strafes, and several powerful swings of the arm at full extension… Well, that could have been what had interested her… Or it could have been the fact that Aang was shirtless… Katara felt the heat slowly rising to her face, but she forced it down. She'd never admit it, but she had a thing for him since the very beginning, and, well, it didn't help that he was getting older and developing more and more. She couldn't help but notice how well he was shaping up every time she got a chance to see him like that. Months of training in preparation to face down the Fire Lord were well spent. His lean figure took well to his growing muscles. Even now that he had mastered all the elements he still insisted on a rigorous practice schedule. Katara didn't complain, though. She liked practicing, too. And then there's the added plus that it's practicing with Aang…
She pretty much knew that Aang felt the same way. Every time there was any body contact between the two of them, Aang would blush and try to find some way to hide it. She also thought that Aang had a pretty good idea of how she felt. She would usually act the same way. They also occasionally would say certain things to each other that some people might consider only belonged in a brothel or a bedroom. Anyways, they would often leave Sokka's jaw on the floor and innocent bystanders would find themselves covering the ears of little children.
While it was pretty much verified that they both liked each other, and to a pretty extreme extent, Katara was to afraid to ever say it aloud. Even if it's a sure fire thing, there was always that fear in the back of her mind… And that as the only thing keeping her from saying anything to him.
Aang finished his routine with a strong punch and a loud exhale. He opened his storm grey eyes and smiled, seeing Katara watch him with so much… intensity.
Katara saw him open his eyes and stepped out into the meadow.
"I've never seen you do anything like that." Katara managed to say to him while he still had his shirt off. Lately, waterbending practice with Aang had been nothing more than an attempt to waterbend while keeping her composure.
"You've never been up before sunrise before." Aang said with a smile as he pulled his shirt on.
Katara silently sighed in relief to herself once Aang's shirt was on. "You do this every morning? What's wrong with sleeping?"
Aang laughed softly. "Nothing, I guess. It's an old habit."
"So you picked this up at the temple… That's strange. It didn't look anything at all like the movements of airbending."
"That's because it's not of the bending arts. It's of the martial arts, a style called Cuong Nhu. It was developed by the non-bending Air Nomads before bending existed."
"You learned the martial arts in the Air Temple? I thought that-."
"That all we did was airbend and meditate? Yeah, most people think the same. I don't blame them. The monks were very secretive and never let any non-monks enter the monastery." Aang suddenly got a perplexed look on his face. "What are you doing up already, anyways?"
Katara had totally forgotten the reason she came out here in the first place. "I had a nightmare… If you don't mind, keep talking. It was taking my mind off of it."
Aang looked at her with a face that expressed concern. She smiled reassuringly, telling him nothing was wrong. He nodded.
"Well… We did a lot more than only bend and meditate at the temple. Those were just big parts of it. We practiced the martial arts, practiced calligraphy, and learned diplomacy, learned history, and all that kind of stuff. Most of the day was dreadfully boring. It was a lot like an academy or a school. I assume you had something like that in the Southern Water Tribe?"
Katara nodded. "Yeah, we would go to learn how to read and write and name the colors and do math and all that boring junk. We'd go for a few years, usually until the age of 12 or 13."
Aang nodded in understanding. "Yeah, it was pretty much that, with a lot more emphasis on the things some people would consider useless. Like calligraphy. Why couldn't we just write normally? It didn't have to be an art or a philosophical study… Anyways, all the monks had to learn at least one form of hand-to-hand combat before they could begin with airbending."
"Why? That seems like such a waste of time."
"The monks weren't exactly on a tight schedule." Aang replied with a laugh. "The elders said that the martial arts taught discipline and focus, along with several basic body movements that taught how to control your body's chi. And it helped a lot. When bending practice started, a lot of the initiate routines and stances came easily and naturally."
"Wow, I wish I could have done the same with water…" Katara said with a rather downcast tone, remembering that it took 14 years of her life to learn a few moves before they found a master. "So you learned… What was it? Cuong Nhu?"
Aang nodded. "Not only learned it, but mastered it." Aang smiled. "In the shortest time it has taken any air monk. Three years." He added proudly.
"Why so fast?"
Aang shrugged. "Another one of those Avatar things, I guess. I mean, I managed to master Water, Earth and Fire in 6 months. Three years doesn't seem so short anymore. Either way, I went on to learn 5 more styles, and I mastered 3 of them, making for 4 total."
Katara's eyes bugged out. "You learned 6 forms?! And mastered 4 of them?! What the hell did you do with your free time?"
Aang laughed. "Pretty much what you saw me doing earlier. I never got to leave the temple until I was 12. I learned them all by 9. And the other 3 that I mastered were by 11."
Katara's jaw dropped. "There is something decidedly freaky about you…" But you like that about him… Katara rolled her eyes at her mind's comment. It's true and you know it.
Aang smirked. "You wanna learn some? We've got a day to blow off."
Katara bit her lip nervously. "I've never really learned anything like that. Waterbending looks so different… I don't know what I'd be able to learn in a day…" Yeah, plus you don't wanna make a fool out of yourself in-front of Aang.
"You'd be surprised. You have unlimited potential. After all, you mastered waterbending in a few weeks. You catch on to things easily. You'll do great in this. Trust me."
Katara smiled and blushed at all the compliments raining down on her. When Aang was like this, it was impossible to say 'no' to him.
"Alright. Why not? It never hurts to learn something new."
Aang grinned. "Great. This will be fun, you'll see. And it'll be a challenge. You never give up on those."
"What do you mean 'challenge'?"
Aang's grin was lost. "I don't know if this will be easy for you or hard. It could come easy because you are already a master bender. You can control chi with ease. It could be difficult because you are a waterbender. Your movements are slow and graceful and beautiful." Aang blushed at hearing that last part come out of his mouth. Instead of mumbling something like an apology, he decided to continue on quickly, hoping that she didn't hear.
"The movements of any martial art are more boxy and jagged. They will go against your nature. It is the only reason that the Water Tribes never created their own non-bending fighting style. All the weapons and techniques of the Water Tribes are borrowed from the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, who developed the most common forms."
Katara stopped listening to everything Aang had said when the word 'beautiful' escaped his mouth. All her attention was now focused on keeping her blood from rushing to her face. She soon realized that he had been waiting for a response. She quickly shook her head, as if to clear all the thoughts that 'beautiful' had put in her mind.
"It doesn't matter. Besides, it's a good thing to be well-rounded, right? It will be nice to learn something new for a change."
Aang smiled and nodded. He motioned to her to follow him. Aang led them out into the middle of the meadow.
"Sit." Aang instructed with a smile.
Katara took a seat on the ground, and Aang plopped himself down in-front of her.
"Okay, before you can learn the art, you must understand it. Here I will cover the need-to-know parts. Strength comes from knowledge of your art, and that of your opponents."
Katara nodded in understanding. "Okay."
"The Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation… they developed the most critical, commonly used, and recognized of any of the martial arts. The Earth Kingdom created a style called Kung-Fu, sometimes called gungfu or wushu. The Fire Nation created Karate and the several, more fine practices of the jutsu's, which are specialized techniques that are not normally taught in standard Karate. In each of these styles, there are several sub-forms. The movements and techniques can change drastically from one sub-form to another.
"Instead of naming every form and what they do, I'll explain it like this. Kung-fu is much like the Earth Kingdom. It is powerful, it is strong and it is steady. The main concept of Kung-fu is to use strong blocks to defend, and powerful strikes to attack, all while constantly moving, evading attack. Kung-fu draws from inner-strength, the chi. It was created by a group of individuals, monks, who, by their religion, believed it important to reach oneness with all. They believed that by mastering chi, the energy of the universe, that they could find this path to oneness easier.
"Karate also draws upon chi for strength and it was created by monks who believed the same; however, it differs dramatically from that of Kung-fu. Karate is the more graceful of the 2 styles, with the exception of a few forms. The main idea of Karate is that there will be nothing to evade if the attacker has already been dropped. Karate is swift and precise, a deadly combination. It is much like the Fire Nation itself. Whereas Kung-fu uses a variety of aerial attacks, fighters of the Karate style prefer to keep their feet on the ground whenever possible."
A confused expression was on Katara's face. "I didn't know that there were other monks in the world. I thought that there were only those of the Air Nomads."
"Yes, there are several monks with different practices throughout the Nations. The Air Monks are actually a direct variation of a group of non-bending monks of the Air Nomads that existed before, when there weren't any benders in the world. Their fighting style closely resembles that of airbending. In-fact, the 2 groups of monks were pretty much identical, with the exception that one group could bend and the other couldn't."
Katara looked at him inquisitively then chuckled softly.
"What's so funny?"
"You. You've never been this serious before. You haven't made a joke the whole time we were out here."
"Yeh, well… Funny Aang wakes up at 9:00."
Katara looked at him with a blank stare for a moment. "Was that a joke?"
"Did you laugh?"
"No."
"Then I guess it wasn't. Look, were getting off topic. You now know some background information on the 2 main styles. Now we're going in-depth. Weapons and sub-forms."
Aang got up off of the ground and helped Katara up. They both blushed when their hands met.
"We're heading back to the campsite. There's a few things there that I want to show you if you want to understand everything I'm about to tell you." Aang began to walk, still holding Katara's hand, and still blushing. He normally would have let go, but she wasn't trying to get her hand away, so he figured to hell with it, I'm already gonna be with her all day and I still don't have the courage to tell her that I love her. Maybe this way I won't have to and she'll catch on to it. Yeah, I know that she blushes around me, and I know that she sees me blush around her. The only problem is I don't know if Katara feels as intense about this as I do. I mean, there's a crush and there is love. I'm in love and I know it. I don't want to tell Katara I love her and then scare her off. Love can be a scary subject sometimes…
Katara followed him and also noticed that their hands were still connected. She trailed behind him, not knowing why he hasn't let go yet. She wasn't about to complain, though. This was an opportunity to spend the whole day with Aang… Something she hasn't done since the end of the war, when everyone was celebrating. A smile tugged at her lips.
The two made their way back to the campsite. Aang walked over to where Appa was sleeping. He began to remove the saddle.
"Aang, what are you-."
"Shhh!" Aang commanded her to quiet down. He pulled a rather large bag out of under Appa's saddle. "I don't want Sokka to know I have these." He whispered "He goes crazy over pointy things."
Katara nodded and Aang climbed off of Appa. He slung the bag over his shoulder and took Katara's hand again. They both blushed. This time, Katara walked beside him, and they blushed even more whenever they found themselves glancing at each other. Eventually, Aang led them to the river by the meadow.
"Okay. In this bag I have several weapons of the martial arts. You'll see how each weapon reflects the style it was created for. And you'll also see how one style can affect another."
Aang pulled several wooden staffs out of his bag. They were all of different lengths.
"These are the most commonly used weapons of Cuong Nhu. The entire practice is based on the use of wooden weapons, like staffs. My airbending glider is an altered version of a typical Cuong Nhu weapon." He held up one of the smaller weapons. It was basically a 2 foot long stick made of bamboo. "This is a Tambo. It is small, fast, accurate and dangerous. Especially when using 2 at once. It is a weapon used in many forms and styles. The idea of this weapon is just basically bash your opponent into submission, aiming for sensitive spots, like the head. What you saw me doing earlier was a routine in which this weapon is used."
Continuing with the lecture, Aang pulled another long staff out the bag. These were blue in color, and had a large blade on one end.
"This I picked up at the North Pole. It s called the Yanyue Dao. It was made by the Earth Kingdom, but was soon being used in the Water Tribes. This is because the principle of this weapon is the same as that of waterbending. Now, just as a recap, waterbending is both positive jing and negative jing. This means that waterbenders redirect the attack, using the opponents own attack against them. This weapon follows that basic principle." Next Aang pulled out something that looked very similar to Sokka's machete-club.
"This is what Sokka's knife is based on. It is called a Bolo, sometimes called an Itak. The bolo knife was actually created by the Air Nomads, used in a fighting style called Eskrima. This also eventually made its way to the Poles. It's small and fast, but not particularly a good weapon. It was originally made for agricultural purposes."
Next, Aang pulled out something very familiar to Katara.
"You may recognize this as a Kyoshi Warrior fan. The term for it is the Tieshan, more commonly called the Tessen. The fan itself looks like a normal paper fan when folded. When opened, the fan, which is made of iron, can be used as both an offensive and a defensive weapon. The edges can be sharpened so it can be used as a slashing weapon. It can also block sword strikes and arrows, if you are quick enough. The tieshan was developed by the Earth Kingdom for a form of kung-fu called Huangshi. It eventually migrated over to the Fire Nation, getting the name Tessen and its own sub-form called Tessenjutsu."
He folded the fan back into its closed position and put it in the bag. "I don't really know my way around the tieshan. Suki just let me borrow it …"
Aang next pulled out a long rope that had a large iron dagger on one end. Attached to the base of the dagger was a large piece of red cloth.
"This is one of the several 'soft weapons' of kung-fu. It's called the Rope Dart. This weapon belongs almost exclusively to the form of Changquan. They are called 'soft' because they do not restrict movement. They are flexible and, in the correctly trained hands, very dangerous. I have not yet mastered its use, it's a tricky weapon. Its flexibility gives it a water-like characteristic that you might find familiar. In a way, it works a lot like throwing ice spears, except you have to recall the spear after the attack. The cloth is there to stabilize its movement through the air, and to make sure you know where the dart is. It can also be used to tie up opponents by swinging it around them, wrapping them up in the rope. Weapons like these are very versatile. If you ever get deep into the martial arts, this is a weapon I would consider you using once you have trained in a different form for a while."
Aang dug some more through his large bag. He pulled out 2 impressive looking swords.
"Okay, based on the descriptions I gave you earlier, you'll tell me whether the sword belongs to the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation. We'll start with this one. It's called a Dadao." He said handing the weapon over to Katara. The second she grabbed hold of the hilt, she struggled with its weight.
"Yeah, that's definantly Earth Kingdom…" She managed to say, sounding like all her energy was being used in holding the sword up.
Aang laughed at the look on her face as she struggled with the sword. "That's right." He took the sword away from her with his left hand and put it back in the bag. "The dadao is used in almost all forms of kung-fu. It literally means 'big-knife.' Its sheer size and weight matches the personality of the Earth Kingdom perfectly."
Katara was giving him an incredulous look.
"What?" Aang complained.
"You lifted that with one hand?"
Aang smiled. "My off hand, too. There was a reason I wanted to keep on training. It's a good workout."
Katara rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like 'show-off.' Aang grinned even more and raised the second sword.
"This one's called the Katana. It's a weapon of the karate style. There's an entire form based on mastering this weapon, it's called Kendo, the way of the sword. It was used by the samurai. The samurai were ancient warriors of the Fire Nation who lived by a strict moral and ethical code. They functioned a lot like a police force. Many considered them to have been the greatest swordsmen in existence." He handed it over to Katara, who liked it already due to the fact that she could pick it up.
"It's light weight, incredibly sharp, and carefully balanced at the hilt. These things are very durable. The Fire Nation has always been the most technologically advanced Nation, so it's no surprise that they developed the Katana. They have often been called the 'world's most perfect swords'. This is one weapon you could learn to use, as the movements are very fluid. All strikes and parries are connected to each other, causing it to 'flow,' much like the arm movements of waterbending, so it will come easier. I recommend something like this for you." Aang's face lit up as Katara began examining the sword in a way that a Master would. She had this natural ability to get things right the first time. It still impressed him to this day how quickly she had earned he title of 'Master Waterbender.'
"Why should the weapon and form resemble water? I mean, I'm glad to know that you are taking the fact that this could be hard for me into account, but you did say it would be a challenge."
"The weapon and form should always depict the personality of the person using it. Usually if the person and the form are well connected, the person will have an increased skill in using it. It has to do with how well your chi melds with what you are doing. I think that is why you were able to master waterbending so quickly. Your chi gives you natural talent and skill with water. Your chi will also support the most water-like of the martial arts. That pretty much limits you to the more elegant forms of Karate, like Kendo."
Katara looked down at the elegant sword in her hands. "I have to admit… you've got me interested with the katana. When I hold it, it just feels… so… natural. Like it belongs there."
Aang smiled. "That's how it is with all weapons for me. That must be why I like it so much. The fact that I'm the Avatar and I can control the elements of the Four Nations gives me a connection with all forms and styles. And, I don't know why, but I always wanted to share what I know with someone. It's nice to finally be able to do that."
Katara fully understood what he meant. When she was teaching Aang waterbending, it just felt so… right… to be able to share her knowledge. It now occurred to her that he had never taught anyone. Anyone at all. He was always the student, even now that he mastered the elements; he still persisted on training and learning as much as possible every day. He always had all this knowledge and wisdom, but no one to share it with. It must have felt great to be able to be the teacher for once.
"Okay, so Kendo it is?" Katara asked with a hopeful expression, katana still in her hands. Aang thought that she looked like a small child asking a parent for sweets. He silently laughed to himself.
"Sure. This was the second form I mastered, after Cuong Nhu. And it's one of the world's most renowned techniques."
Katara smiled and looked at the sword in her hand and smiled. Something about it… It was like it called to her. It felt the same when she first realized she had the ability to bend water. She scanned her new weapon up and down, learning its feel, design, the contours of the leather grip on the hilt, the smoothness of the folded steel of the blade…. But suddenly a thought surfaced that took away the smile and replaced it with a look of accusation.
"If you mastered this so early, why did waterbending give you so much trouble?"
Aang's eyes widened slightly at her question. "Well, I- uhh… I mean that it did an- I just…"
"If this is so much like waterbending, you should have mastered waterbending easy. But we trained for hours every day. It took you the longest to figure it out, you even mastered fire before you got water completely down."
Aang's wide eyes were now relaxed and a grin was spread across his face. "Okay, you're right. I should have mastered water much earlier. But if I didn't, that was an extra few hours every day I got to be with you."
Katara raised an eyebrow, giving him a conspicuous look. She was smiling as well. "So you kept yourself from mastering waterbending quickly so we could splash water at each other every day?"
Aang's grin widened to the point it could have ripped his face in half. He held out both his hands like he was a scale. "Spend three hours in the water with a beautiful girl in her underwear, or try and carry boulders while Toph yelled that I was a failure in life… I think the first one wins."
Katara stared at him blankly again. "Was that a joke?"
Aang's grin was gone, his expression now serious. "It's not 9:00 yet."
Katara blushed intensely, easily visible in the dark of the early morning.
Aang's grinned returned. "You know, you blush a lot more than you used to."
Katara's blush grew even more concentrated, causing Aang's grin to become all the stronger.
"I- well, I… umm, ahem… c'mon, you've got some stuff to teach me." Katara pulled him by the arm out into the meadow. Aang grabbed his bag as he was being pulled away.
Once Katara had led them out to the center, she let go of his arm and turned to face him, holding the Katana out in-front of her. "Okay, what's first?" She asked eagerly.
Aang walked up to her and snatched the sword out of her hand. "First, we don't train with these. These are dangerous, rare and expensive." He placed the Katana back in the bag. "The training sword of Kendo… is this," Aang told her as he pulled 2 swords, about the same lengths as the Katana, out of the bag. They looked like they were made of strips of bamboo.
"This is a Shinai, the practice katana. It's made of bamboo to keep it light, and it's in strips to keep the blade part springy, so no serious injury occurs. It is, in essence, a metal-less katana, without the curve of the blade. It's still a dangerous weapon if you know how to use it." Aang walked over to her and handed her one, then stepped next to her.
"This is the first thing you'll learn. Parrying is essential, if you don't want your head to be chopped off. Position your hands like this on the hilt, right hand on top, about 1 inch away from the hand guard."
Katara followed his example and mover her hand up the hilt. Once in the correct position, Aang proceeded to teach her how to block an overhead strike.
"When you move the sword up to block, don't be so rigid. Keep your arms loose, but not so loose that the strike gets through. And keep your right leg back, foot pointing 90 degrees away from you. Like this… Yeah, like that. Make sure you don't go to high… Alright, you've got the basic motion now. To get a feel for actually blocking, we're gonna run a drill. I'll attack at random intervals, and you'll have to successfully parry 20 attacks. Then we'll move on to the next set of parries."
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This went on until sunrise, Katara learning all the most basic parries, the head, the upper body, mid-body, the lunge at the torso, and the legs. Aang then felt she was ready to learn the first offensive moves.
"Okay, by parrying you should have a basic understanding of how these attacks work. Overhead is simple enough. Raise the shinai to the point where the bottom tip of the hilt is at forehead level. As you strike down, extend your arms so it ends up higher than it originally did. To gain a little extra power, step forward as you swing. In their simplest forms, these movements could be compared to those of the water whip… Now swing down the way I told you."
Aang stepped back and observed Katara's swing. She had gotten the basic defensive moves down, but it looked like the offensive moves gave her a little more trouble. She wasn't getting good extension and she was letting the shinai hit the floor with a loud thud.
"How was that?" Katara asked in a hopeful tone.
Aang rubbed his chin as he approached her. "Two things. The first is that you should never let the blade hit the floor. It leaves you completely open to attack. The second is that you aren't letting your arms extend enough on the way down. Let the weight of the shinai pull your arms forward slightly."
Katara nodded and tried again. The blade didn't hit the floor this time, but she was still not allowing the sword to carry the weight of the attack.
Aang approached her once more. "You're not letting the sword be the weapon. You have to relax a little. Like this." Aang got jut behind Katara and put his hand on the hilt with hers. Katara blushed vigorously. Aang smiled, remembering how often Katara would have to fix his stances, the way he was doing now.
"Raise it up to your forehead…" He moved her hands upwards. "Now, with the back leg, step forward, slowly. As you are half way through the step, begin strike down. Let the sword pull away a little." He helped her complete the strike. He remained with his arms wrapped around her, letting Katara look at him for a second, with Aang softly smiling. She was still red in the face.
"What?" She asked, her throat feeling dry.
"It's nice being on the side that causes the blushes, instead of getting them, for once." Aang said in a soft voice.
If Katara blushed any more, she could have died from the lack of blood to the rest of her body. "Well, honestly, it feels nice to be on the side that receives them."
"Hmmm, it does?" Aang shot her a conspiratorial look.
Katara nodded and smiled.
Aang got a huge grin. "Want me to make you blush some more?" He whispered in her ear.
The answer came in form of Katara's elbow strongly making impact with his stomach, resulting in Aang making an 'oooff'-ing sound, and Katara doubling over and laughing whole-heartedly.
"What's that tell you?" Katara managed to squeeze out between laughs.
"It tells me you have trouble taking anything I say seriously."
Katara stopped laughing. "It wasn't a joke?"
"It's not 9:00 yet." Aang said calmly, face straight and serious. Katara felt a tingling in her spine and she shivered. She blushed yet again, the third time in less than five minutes.
"See? I told you I'd make you blush again." Aang's usual grin was back.
"I- uh… let's get back to practice…" Katara said quickly, turning away from Aang. "Uhhh, what were we doing again?"
Aang laughed. "Alright. We were working on your overhead swing. Now, do what we did together, but faster."
Katara pulled herself together. She raised the shinai into the correct stance. Aang watched as she took a breath and swung the sword out in-front of her. She got it right this time, the hilt extending farther up, as she let the weight of her weapon do the majority of the work in her swing, only using her own strength to follow through. She looked over at him, as if to ask whether or not she got it right.
Aang smiled and nodded. "You did that one perfectly. Congratulations." Aang picked up his shinai. "But before you move on to the next set of strikes, you have to drill again." He positioned his shinai overhead, ready to parry. "Break through. Using the perfect form. Ten times."
"Ughhhh…"
Aang smiled. "No one said this would be easy. You can stop now, if you want. But if you want to keep going, break through."
Katara pulled her shinai up into position. She took her step forward and brought it down overhead. It broke through Aang's defenses on the first shot. Aang looked slightly taken back, but then remembered he was dealing with Katara, and reminded himself how good she is at this kind of thing.
Aang smiled. "Good. Nine more."
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They continued with the rest of the basic attacks until about 7:30. Up to this point, Katara had learned all of the defensive moves along with the overhead strike, the slash at the upper body, the lunge, the attack to the legs, and the hardest, the uppercut. Until now, Katara had only tried each of these moves standing stationary. Once she finished with the last drill, she looked up Aang. She had a thin layer of perspiration on her forehead.
"Now it's time to work on your footing." He walked over to her and took away her shinai. "You won't need this for this exercise." He dropped both shinai's next to his bag of weapons.
"This will teach you how to move around the battlefield and around your opponent. Kendo is anything but stationary. Strafing, advancing and retreating are essential if you want to gain the upper hand."
He positioned them in the center of the meadow, one facing the other. "Right now, there is an equal advantage. We both have an equal amount of land behind us and to our sides. We have the same amount of moving space. The point of footwork is to take that space away from your opponent, giving him less room to move and less room to get away.
"Let's say I start advancing on you like this." Aang began walking straight towards Katara. "What will you do to make sure I don't overtake you?"
Katara began walking backwards, keeping a little bit of distance between her and Aang. "Good. You know when to retreat. But I just gained about 10 feet of land. You just lost 10. Strafing comes in at getting that land back. Circle your opponent until you've got the space back."
Katara began to strafe around Aang, until they switched places, Katara now having more space behind her.
"Great. You understand the concept of elbow room. The more of it you have, the better off you are. But there advantages are not gained only by the amount of space you have. Let's say that I start to strafe around to your left…" Aang began to slowly circle Katara, walking around her left side. "What would you do to keep the advantage over me?"
Taking a moment to think out the symmetry of the meadow, she followed his strafe to the left. He stopped abruptly. Katara had to squint to see him through the bright morning sun. "Good. You understand the geometry of the battlefield. But I told you, advantages are not only gained by the amount of space you have to move. Right now, you are at the disadvantage."
Katara cocked her head to the side, as if to ask 'how so?'
Aang understood her body language, and pointed behind him and upwards with his thumb.
She suddenly got it. "The sun's in my eyes…"
Aang nodded. "The sun is in your eyes. This was to teach you that sometimes one advantage had to be lost to keep another, greater one. Keep this in mind, if you ever find yourself fighting in a place with lots of trees, bushes and obstacles like large rocks."
Katara felt the undying need to toy with him. His serious attitude nearly begged for it. "Yes, Sifu Aang."
Aang raised an eyebrow at her remark, but then shrugged it off. "C'mon. We're going back to the river for the next part. I have a feeling that being near water will help you feel more comfortable when we start making combinations." Aang picked up his bag of weapons and stated towards the river.
"Very well, Sifu Aang." Katara tried to say with as much of a straight face as she could.
Aang shot her a look. "You know I hate titles. Stop calling me 'Sifu.'"
Katara smiled. "As you wish, Master Aang."
"Do you want me to start calling you 'grasshopper'?"
Katara laughed. "No, I think I'll stick with 'Katara'."
"Then I'll stick with 'Aang'. Let's get to the river."
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Aang and Katara made it to the riverside. Aang dropped the bag of weapons next to him and pulled out the two shinai's. He dropped them on the floor and began taking off his shirt and boots, resulting in Katara blushing once more.
"You'll get the best feel for the water if we're in the water. Being around your element will help you make smooth, water-like transitions between different attacks and different blocks."
Katara nodded and began undressing down to her traditional white undergarments that she practiced waterbending in, thus making Aang blush in a severely bright red. They waded out into the water, until it was about half way up Katara's lower leg, like it usually was when they waterbended.
Aang stood next to Katara. "Okay, the first combination of attacks you will learn is the uppercut to the overhead strike. It's simple and effective. You already know how to do these attacks, now all you have to do is tie them together." Aang positioned his shinai to exhibit the move. "So you uppercut, from right to left or from left to right… it doesn't matter at this point. Now, at the top of the uppercut, instead of repositioning the sword for the overhead strike, you smoothly transition from one to another, never breaking the movement of the uppercut, so it looks like one action instead of two separate ones." Aang did the motions of combination as he went saying each one.
Aang did the move once more quickly to make sure Katara understood what it was supposed to look like. But instead of watching the technique, Katara's attention was focused elsewhere.
"Uh, I know I look good, but if you wouldn't mind redirecting your attention to the shinai for a moment, we can get on with your training."
Katara blushed but quickly retorted. "You flatter yourself." She said with a laugh. "Besides, it's not like you've been looking at my face the whole time we've been here."
Aang blushed as well. "I know I haven't. You look good, too. But either way, we need to get on with your training."
Katara smiled. "So, I look good, huh?"
Aang figured he'd play along. They had the rest of the day for practice. "Yeah, you do look good. You look great."
Katara smiled and began walking his way. "How great?"
"You're gorgeous."
Katara blushed even more. She slowly stepped closer. She approached until their faces were just centimeters apart. Aang's breathing hitched.
"You think I'm gorgeous?" She whispered.
Aang felt her warm breath on his lips. He shivered. She was so close… "Y-yeah… you're amazing."
If either of them moved just in the slightest, their lips would have met. Aang's face had an expression combining eagerness and apprehensiveness. Katara looked at him square in the eyes for a moment, before she got an evil smirk.
"Hmmm…" Katara hummed, as if thinking over the situation. Her smirk grew into a full sized smile. She turned and walked away, raising her shinai and began practicing the aforementioned technique.
Aang was frozen where he stood for a moment, trying to figure out what had happened. Once he understood what she did to him, he groaned loudly and fell over backwards, landing in the water.
He stood up and shook some of the water off. "You suck." He said plainly, sending her an angry glare.
She only laughed in response.
Aang sighed and walked over to her. "Okay, do it again."
"What?!"
"The combination. I didn't really see you do it the first time. I was too busy trying to figure out what the hell I did to deserve that kind of punishment."
"Heh-heh. Alright."
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She was actually quite good; she got it near perfect right away. Being near the water helped, it gave helped her feel the fluidity of her motions. Once Aang was satisfied that she had done it enough, they moved on to the other 2-move and 3-move combinations. They finished within an hour. The time was now about 8:30 in the morning.
"You're doing great. Even better than I expected, actually. It's only been a few hours and you have already learned the whole first tier of offensive and defensive moves. Be proud of yourself, you earned it."
Katara smiled. She liked this teacher side of Aang. He knew when to be critical and when to be supportive. And she never thought in a million years that Aang could be so serious. It was one of the reasons she was listening to him so well. It intrigued her. This morning she discovered a whole side to Aang that she never knew existed.
"So what do we do now?" She asked eagerly.
"Now, we put what you've learned to the test. Fight me."
Katara's eager face was gone. "Me? Fight you? Are you kidding?"
Aang looked up at the position of the sun. "It's not 9:00 yet. Now come on. I won't do anything that you haven't learned."
Katara looked nervous but she agreed. They faced each other and took the most basic of sword fighting stances, sword in front of you, angled out 45 degrees. Katara still looked nervous. Aang sympathized with her.
"I won't hurt you, and you won't hurt me. Pull your swings just enough so that they break the parry, but not enough that we hit each other. First one to get touched by the opponents' sword loses."
Katara was still a little apprehensive.
"Katara, you know what you are doing. Not even I got through the first tier of moves as quick as you did. Just remember what I taught you and you'll be fine. You were never this nervous when Pakku told you to spar with his other students at the North Pole."
"Well, yeah, but I knew that I could easily wipe the floor with any of them."
"Did I ever complain about sparring with you when I was learning waterbending?"
"No, but you didn't really have a choice. The world depended on it. You didn't have time to worry about embarrasing yourself in-front of me."
"That's what this is about? You're worried that you'll make a fool out of yourself with me here?"
Katara was a little pink in the cheeks, but nodded.
Aang thought to himself quietly for a second. "Look, I'll say something so embarrasing that it won't matter how bad you mess up."
Katara looked up at him. "What?"
Aang stepped closer to her. He blushed a little and tried to avert his sight from her. "I, uhh… I promised myself I'd never say this… I didn't know how you'd react…"
Katara saw him trying to look away from her. "Aang, what is it?"
Aang stopped fidgeting and looked her dead in the eye. He stepped closer to her. Aang closed his eyes. "Please don't hate me for this…" He mumbled under his breath. Katara heard it though.
"Aang, I could never hate you." Katara began to blush a little as well. "You and I both know that I like you too much for that."
"That's why I'm worried."
"What do you mean?"
Aang opened his eyes and looked at Katara. "I know that you like me. But I don't know how deep it goes. That's why I'm so worried about telling you this…" He paused. Aang closed his eyes again. "Katara… I love you."
Aang's entire body went numb after saying it; like that one phrase drained all the energy out of him. When he opened his eyes, he found Katara, her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"So I take it you love me back?" Aang asked sounding a little confused and a little drained.
Katara laughed. "Of course I do, you idiot."
Aang pulled away so that he could look at her. His hands were still on her waist. His face was pretty much one big smile. They looked at each other for a moment. And, within a split second, their faces came together and they shared their first kiss since that time in the cave two and a half years ago.
When they were done, Aang picked up Katara's shinai off the ground. He held it up in-front of her.
"You've got nothing to be ashamed of anymore. Fight me."
Katara looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding me? We just finally told each other that we love each other and we just kissed for the first time and the first thing that you want to do is fight me?"
"No, I'm not kidding you. It's not 9:00 yet. And I had to master all 4 elements and stop a war before I could tell you how I felt. The least you can do is finish your training for today." Aang was smiling.
Katara had her hands on her hips. "Why should I?"
Aang arms wound about her waist again. "If you win, there's more ways I can congratulate you on a job well done now."
Katara eyed him suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. Eventually she just laughed. "Alright. But, if I win, I get you for the rest of the day. If you win, I'll keep on training until you say when."
Aang, with his arms still around Katara, agreed to her terms. They separated and faced each other. They bowed respectfully and began the match. Aang started by circling her. She followed.
"Remember, sometimes an advantage has to be lost. Be aware of your surroundings."
Katara glanced around. Aang was positioning her right in-front of a tree, leaving her nowhere to escape to. She stopped her strafing and began advancing on Aang. She lunged at him; Aang deflected her attempted stab and riposted with his own lunge. Katara parried easily and then swung at his left side. He blocked and Katara pulled her sword overhead, swinging it down over him. Aang blocked her strike and forced her sword down. Katara now had a perfect opportunity to uppercut at his left side, as her sword was under his, but she didn't notice.
Aang took a few steps back and stood a little more at ease.
"You're not thinking enough. Don't allow your instinct to fight for you. Remember what we've been doing for the past few hours. Think about what your next move should be. Think about what your next three moves should be. Plan ahead."
Katara nodded and began advancing on Aang. She swung down overhead. Aang jumped back and she missed. She kept advancing as she attacked, forcing Aang to walk backwards. She took a quick step forward to close the distance between the two of them. With her sword still low from her missed overhead strike, she uppercutted towards his right side. Aang parried and knocked her blow back. Using the momentum that Aang gave her from his parry, she swung at his right side quickly. Aang saw the swing out of the corner of his eye and only had enough time to knock it back and retreat a few steps.
"Good, you remembered the combinations. Now how about defending?"
Aang began to advance on her. He took two quick strides and closed the distance between the two of them. He swung at her left leg. She parried and forced his sword back. She riposted with a lunge. Aang blocked and brought his sword overhead. Instead of parrying, Katara strafed around to his right side, causing him to miss and leave his right side entirely exposed. She lunged once more as quickly as she could before Aang would notice.
The tip of her shinai made contact with his arm. At first Aang looked surprised but then he smiled. "I told you that you had nothing to be worried about. You're a better waterbender than I am. It's only natural that you be good at this, too."
Katara was grinning, relishing her victory. "I think you remember our terms."
Aang was grinning too. "Yes, I do remember our terms." Aang walked up to her. "But first, I think I owe you congratulations." Aang pulled her into an embrace and kissed her passionately. Its intensity made Katara feel light on her feet. He pulled away so he could talk to her.
"Congratulations. You learned the basic techniques of Kendo in only a few hours. You did great. Better than I could have ever imagined" Aang let go of her. "Now, I do believe you've got me all to yourself for the rest of the day."
"Yes I do."
"So…" Aang slowly approached Katara with a grin on his face. He placed his hands on her waist. "What are we gonna do first?"
Katara got an evil grin. She held up her shinai. "Next tier."
Aang's grin fell off his face. "You're kidding, right?"
"Is it 9:00 yet?"
"If it means me getting back on your lips, I'll make it 9:00."
Katara laughed. "Kiss me." She commanded him.
Aang readily obliged.
That has to be the longest single piece I've ever written. It took me, like, four days. Whatever, it's finally finished. Here are the definitions (order in which the words appear)
Kata: Japanese word describing detailed patterns of movements practiced either solo or in pairs
Cuong Nhu: A Vietnamese martial art combining Shotokan karate, wing chun, judo, aikido, Tai Chi Chuan, boxing, and vovinam
Chi: the word roughly meaning "life energy"
Tambo: A very short staff about 2 ft long, the name is a reference in comparison to the longer bo staff.
Yanyue Dao: 5 or 6 foot staff with a large blade on one end. Sometimes called Guan Dao or Kwan Dao. In Chinese, it is properly called the Yanyue Dao, which translates into 'reclining moon blade.'
Bolo/Itak: A kind of machete used particularly in the jungles of Indonesia, the Philippines, and in the sugar fields of Cuba. The study of the bolo is common in the Filipino martial arts.
Tieshan/Tessen: Iron war fan used in both Chinese and Japanese feudal warfare. Easy to hide, can be carried into a place where weapons normally are not allowed.
Rope Dart: A long rope (usually 14' - 16') with a metal dart attached to one end. This was a weapon from ancient times, which allows the user to throw the dart out at a long range target and use the rope to pull it back.
Dadao: Translates directly to "big-knife." Known as the Chinese 'great sword.'
Katana: The word 'sword' in the Japanese language. Traditionally used by the Samurai. Are often called the 'world's most perfect sword.'
Kendo: Ancient Japanese practice of sword fighting. Practiced with the shinai, actual fighting is done with a katana.
Shinai: A practice sword used primarily in Kendo. Made of four bamboo slats.
Parry: A 'block' in swordsmanship terms.
Riposte: A quick strike after successfully parrying.