Starfire: A Novel by Dale Brown

Author:Dale Brown [Brown, Dale]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Thriller, Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-05-06T04:00:00+00:00

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA

ONE WEEK LATER

James Ratel entered the back room of his dojang south of the city of San Luis Obispo to find Brad McLanahan already doing push-ups on the linoleum. “Well well, five minutes early . . . much better,” Chief Ratel said. “And you came ready for a workout. Maybe you are trainable after all.”

“Yes, Chief,” Brad replied, hopping to his feet and standing nearly at attention at the edge of the blue mat.

“Are you warmed up?”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Good,” Ratel said. “So far we’ve been concentrating on strength training, and I’ve seen progress. From now on you will continue these exercises on your own, on your own time. You don’t need to go to a gym for a good workout. Push-ups, crunches, dips, and pull-ups, all to muscle failure, with no more than ninety seconds rest in between. Every week I’ll test you again, and every week I expect to see improvements.”

“Yes, Chief,” Brad responded.

“Today will be your first self-defense lesson,” Ratel went on. He handed Brad a package. “From now on, you will wear a beol, or training outfit, what is called a gi in Japanese. Once we start more practical training, we’ll do it in street clothes so you’ll learn the feel in a more realistic way, but for now you’ll wear this. You have thirty seconds to change.” It took Brad less than fifteen. Ratel showed him how to properly tie the white belt, and then they were ready.

“We’ll start with the most basic self-defense tool first.” Ratel picked up a simple wooden walking cane with a pointed crook and two grooved grips carved into the wood, one near the crook and another farther down the shaft. “Many years ago, after the First Korean War, a South Korean master taught a school of self-defense called ‘Joseon,’ in which he used canes and farm tools for self-defense. The style was taught because during the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War Two, and during the North Korean occupation, South Korean citizens were not allowed to carry knives or guns, but canes, walking sticks, and farm implements such as rakes, saws, and thrashers were very common. A U.S. Army serviceman noticed that the canes were used by the locals as very effective self-defense weapons, and he developed a method for training others on how to use a walking cane for self-defense. It became known as Cane-Ja, or cane-discipline. For the next several weeks you will walk with a cane and carry it with you at all times, even if you travel on an airplane or go into a school or courthouse. After you learn Cane-Ja, you will advance to other, more violent forms of self-defense, where the cane may not be necessary, or that can be used if you lose or break it.”

“A cane? You mean, like an old guy?” Brad protested. “I’m supposed to act like an old crippled guy and walk with a stupid cane, Chief?”

“You should not act like an old man,” Ratel said.

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