Aaron surfed the web, clicking on video after video of people performing various disciplines, but mostly the videos involving Tai Chi or Qigong were more favorable to their needs.
In each video, the experts performed flowing, choreographed, martial arts-based sequences, repeating simple movements that focused on balance, breathing, and flexibility.
After looking at several videos, Aaron frowned.
“I’m confused, Rykker.
How does learning to meditate and breathe help me defend myself?
I mean, I know it’s beneficial, it will help me with balance and stuff, that’s obvious, but I don’t know how it helps me deal with Tank.
I don’t think dancing in front of him is going to help in any way.
In fact, it’ll make things way, way worse.”
“A fair point,” Rykker’s voice rasped within.
“If you face this brute with nothing but half-hearted swaying, he will indeed crush you like a glimmer-gnat.
But master the breath and temper your vessel, and the strength within you shall rise like the tides.”
The elder mage felt the boy’s fatigue, a dull ache that weighed down the empty space where his body was suspended.
“What you see in those videos is the foundation, not the fortress.
Those fluid gestures, the practiced movements in the discipline of Qigong and Tai Chi, are teaching your body how to become a conduit for your life energy—the essence that binds all living things”
“By moving with passion and ardor1, you learn where your weight truly sits,” Rykker guided, his mental voice turning deep and meaningful.
“Soon you will learn how to redirect a mountain’s force without effort.
Ultimately, you’re teaching your body how to behave with tact and cunning to face whatever and whoever stands in your way.”
***
After wading through a sea of videos a bit longer, Aaron and Rykker finally settled on “Master Gee’s Tai Chi for Beginners1”.
For the next fifteen minutes, they were captivated as they watched Master Gee give a demonstration and explanation of each technique and step.
These eight techniques and five steps, totaling thirteen fundamental movements, represented the core of the martial art.
The instructor didn’t just show ‘the white crane’ and ‘parting the wild horse’s mane’—he transformed these simple motions into poetic, deliberate acts.
Although the movements seemed straightforward, Master Gee’s explanations and purpose behind each stance turned the routine into something deeply meditative and complex. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“This harmony and alignment is most favorable, Aaron.” Rykker touted.
“I am familiar with many of the movements, and a few of them remain in my practicum.
I particularly enjoy Master Gee’s teachings.
His foundation is strong.”
***
That was not the only video they selected.
Aaron insisted on having a video that focused on self-defense, seeking solid techniques to handle threats rather than just the internal energy flow Rykker championed.
Rykker tried hard to convince Aaron that self-defense was already built into Tai Chi practices—emphasizing yielding, redirecting force, and rooting—but Aaron was not convinced, preferring something more direct.
They searched for a video that was a combination of both; one that taught self-defense but had an emphasis on balance and flexibility.
The video they ultimately chose was titled “Develop Strength, Balance and Flexibility through Self-Defense Training” by Kuno Ji Soro1.
The video followed the teachings of Judo, the “gentle way,” whereby the individual underwent a comprehensive program of mental and physical training.
It taught trainees to use an opponent’s momentum against them through leverage rather than brute strength, specifically breaking an opponent’s balance while maintaining one’s own.
The video was designed for the Kohai (junior student) to develop “toughness”—steadiness and staying power in muscles, “flexibility”— mobility in the spine and joints, and “adroitness”—the quality of being skillful and clever in handling situations; a.k.a.
situational awareness.
It appealed to both Rykker and Aaron.
Rykker appreciated the Ju- part of Judo; the gentleness and flowing movement, while Aaron was satisfied with the -do part which was the way of, in this case, practical, effective self-defense.
***
While Mr.
Gee moved with the fluid grace of water on the screen, guiding Aaron through gentle, meaningful motions, Aaron’s small living space had turned into a dojo of awkward limbs and heavy breathing.
For nearly an hour, the blue light of the monitor highlighted his struggle.
Although the instructions—inhale, shift, extend—were simple, trying to achieve that flexibility and balance made Aaron’s body feel like a hodgepodge of mismatched parts. This chapter is updated first at NovelPing.
His lanky frame and towering, spindly stature made him so top-heavy that he moved with the unstable wobbling of a drunkard on ice.
Consequently, his ankles buckled every time he attempted a “single whip” or a slow weight transfer.
He didn’t just lose balance; he staggered frequently, tripping over his own feet.
Each time he hit the floor, the thud echoed a reminder of his physical limitations.
Although he replayed the video three times, and his movements became slightly less chaotic with each pass, the mastery Mr.
Gee displayed remained worlds away.
As he struggled, he was reminded of the time his mother took him to a specialist to uncover the root of his severe lack of hand-eye coordination.
This wasn’t mere clumsiness; it was a fundamental disconnect between his brain and his limbs.
He vividly recalled instances where his body failed to keep pace with his sight, leaving him to stumble through even the most basic tasks at the worst possible moments.
Following a battery of tests, the specialist diagnosed him with Dyspraxia, a developmental coordination disorder.
His mother was relieved that there was a medical reason for Aaron’s clumsiness, but the newly discovered disorder had no cure.
Aaron would have to focus extra hard on improving his motor skills and daily functioning in order to overcome this deficit.
***CONTENT WARNING.
Remaining part of the chapter is a memory involving domestic violence.
Cade was furious when he found out his wife took their son to a specialist, fuming over ‘bothering the doctors’ and needless medical costs, seeing the appointment as nothing more than a waste of money; money they didn’t have.
Aaron recalled the pushing and shoving and the sickening snap of his mother’s wrist followed by the verbal venom that accompanied his father’s rage over the unnecessary costs while his mother huddled on the floor.
It was a rage that resulted in fresh bruises, just like the ones he was currently earning while following Mr.
Gee’s video.
Now, his quiet room, once just a place to sleep, was where Aaron tried to rewire a lifetime of clumsiness and trauma, one shaky, uncoordinated breath at a time.
not a real video or personnot a real person or videointensity