Following both Master Jason's advice and my own curious nature I arrived persisly at the prescribed time to Master Chen's training room. Arriving early was just as bad as being late in Master Chen's eyes. "A strike made too early can be just as ineffective as a strike too late." he had said in the earlier days of our training. Given the nature of our last encounter I didn't want to start off on the wrong foot, plus I was looking forward to just getting this awkward encounter out of the way.
I opened the door to Master Chen's training room and looked to the normal spot where we would normally begin sparing, but he wasn't there. Instead I found him sitting cross legged on the floor at a traditional table that looked more like a stool, having what looked like tea. He had more than one cup which made me almost think that he may have forgotten about our training.
As though he read my mind he motioned to the other side of the table and said. "Have a seat Eathen." His voice was calm and even.
The was no confusion that he was talking to me. The confusion came from him using my name and from him speaking to me before outright attacking me. That and the fact that he wanted to apparently have a discussion over tea. It was all odd but not unwelcome by any means. Maybe this was what Master Jason Meant by keeping a open mind. With a silent nod I took a seat.
There was an uncomfortable silence while Master Chen gathered himself and composed his opening statement. "It has come to my attention that you’ve grown to powerful for me to train in the traditional ways of the sword."
I had to bite my tongue. When had it come to his attention before or after I nearly cut him to shreds and bled him dry, I wanted to ask, but didn't.
"However, just because you've managed to combine your average skills in multiple arts does not make you a Master swordsman. Nor does it mean that I have nothing less to teach you. It simply means that I must take a different route to ensure that not only can you wield your blade as a Master of the art but that you understand the art of combat as well." he said, as he poured two cups of tea.
He passed one to me and took a drink of his own. "Thank you sir." I said, trying to be polite and took a sip. It was bitter but good.
"If you are to be the inheritor of all of my skills you will need the knowledge that goes along with it. There's a great deal of knowledge that you don't know that will make you both a better swordsman and a better person so pay attention." he said.
“I will sir." I said nervously. Master Chen and I Never did much talking. It was like we were meeting for the first time However, this time around he was treating me with respect and I was having trouble finding the normal dislike that had usually come so easily.
He nodded in approval and took another sip before beginning what was going to be today's lesson. "So let us begin at the most basic understanding of combat." he said, pausing for effect and I nodded. "How many different directions can an attack come from?" he asked.
"Infinite." I said almost immediately after he asked the question.
I could tell by the subtle change in his expression that I hadn't made the connection that he wanted me to. He took a deep breath, "Maybe I'm asking the question wrong." he paused and thought. "If you are facing an enemy stand in front of you how many different directions can his attack come from?" he asked.
I was so taken back by the fact that he had just openly admitted to being wrong that I barely heard the question. It was like I was talking to a completely different person. I put that train of thought out of my head and focused on the question. Better not test the limits of his new found patients. I knew that the answer was meant to be broad and probably cover both bladed and unarmed combat, but for the life of me I couldn't figure it out. So instead of wasting time I tried to be humble as well. "I don't know sir." I said, with a hint of frustration. He was right. Even if he couldn't beat me in combat there was no question as to which one of us was the Master.
"You do know, but you don't know that you know and that is the point." he said, continuing to nurse his tea. "Nine. There are nine basic directions that an attack can come from." he said, pointing to the emblem on the chest of his robe. It was an eight pointed star but I didn't see the connection. He pointed to the top point of the star. "There's the downward vertical." he said and ran his finger to the bottom point. "And there's the rising vertical." he said tracing his finger back to the top. He moved his finger to the point to the left. "Then there's the downward left to right diagonal." he said as he traced his finger to the bottom right point. "And the rising right to left." He continued naming off the types of attacks and tracing the lines of the star on his robe. He covered both horizontal strikes and the two remaining diagonal strikes as well, which put him at eight of the nine strikes. He brought his finger to rest at the center of the star where all the lines intersected. "And this is the ninth." he said tapping his finger on the center point. "Do you know what this is, or rather what it represents?" he asked, still tapping.
I thought about all of the other points and the attacks that they represented. They were all slashes, having a start point and an end point. However, the center point had no obvious beginning or end point, which meant that it couldn't be a slash. Leaving only one obvious answer. "It represents the thrust sir." I said proudly.
"Yes it is. This," he said, placing his hand over the star. "Is more than just an emblem. The eight pointed star of destruction rests at the heart and soul of each and every single form of combat ever created. Without an understanding of the star you would have no chance of mastering any from of combat."
It made perfect sense, but by learning the rebound technique I managed to not learn anything about the eight pointed star until now. Even though I was able to stand in opposition to a Master of the art, it was only because of my combined training not because of my mastery, or lack there of, of any art. Suddenly I felt a flood of empathy for the old master. For so long I just thought he was bitter because I was overtaking him. In reality he was frustrated because I was beating him in his own art without even the most basic understanding of the art in his eyes.
I took another sip of my tea. "So with an understanding of the eight pointed star one could choose the best counter to an attack." I said.
He smiled after taking another sip. "Choosing a counter depends on if you want to redirect the strike or stop it outright. Stopping a strike outright is an easy application of opposing force from the opposite point on the star of destruction. However, even though there are many benefits of stopping the motion of your opponent, in many cases it is of greater benefit to redirect a strike with a glancing blow." he said.
Over the next few hours Master Chen shared all of the basic ways in which to best redirect both armed and unarmed strikes. Somewhere along the way the lecture turned into a conversation and I started to give my opinion on how and why I would do certain things differently. Master Chen didn't argue or tell me I was wrong but would entertain each option I made and would play out the hypothetical battle and move on. The one thing that stuck out the most was that he was not only respecting my opinion but talking to me like an equal.
Finally after two hours of talk about combat, both armed and unarmed, Master Chen picked up his tea trey and I was dismissed. Oddly enough I was looking forward to coming back and I couldn't help but wonder if Master Jason really could see the future.