MAY JOU
The student arrived at the school early. He wanted to work on some forms before the class started. It was another hot day, and the school had no air conditioning. He strode past the office to the changerooms but didn’t see the Master.
When he walked out on the floor, he spotted May Jou standing there. She wasn’t looking at him, but her eyes were focused on something.
The Student went as far away as possible. He didn’t want to disturb her or be embarrassed again. He began with the Iron Wire Thread Set. This involved specialized breathing as you tense and relax the muscles. It consisted of 4 movements on one side, 4 on the other, and then 4 movements with both sides.
Breathing played a key role and must be coordinated with the movements. Exhaling was long and slow, while inhaling was short and fast. All the movements were done in a bird stance.
He finished the set and glanced over at May Jou. She still hadn’t really moved. Coming from the other direction was the Master. The Master walked over to May Jou and spoke quietly to her. She bowed. Ignoring the student, the Master moved off to the side.
May Jou performed a salutation that ended with double kicks, a twin kick, and the tornado kick. After she did the tornado kick, she grabbed her foot with one hand and held it aloft. It looked as if she was doing a standing split. The student just stared at her.
As she began the formal routine, the Student recognized it. It was called Mighty Wings of the Eagle. He only saw it once before when he saw the Master perform it out of the corner of his eye.
She continued with the Mighty Wings of the Eagle routine as students started to drift in for class. The routine was eloquent with low sweeping arms and one-legged stances.
As she finished the routine, she knelt on one leg, the other extended forward. Arms wrapped around her head as if going to sleep on a branch of a tree.
The students started walking onto the training floor. The class was about to begin. It was the Student’s turn to teach the class. He was somewhat embarrassed to teach a class after witnessing May Jou’s performance.
Before he could start the class, the Master walked onto the floor. He shouted, “Line Up!” The scared students stood at attention, hands pressed together, ready for the formal greeting.
The Master gently bowed to the students. He then had them form a circle around him. He then ordered May Jou to the center of the circle. This was a classic Circle of Death training method. You never knew in what direction the attacker was coming from.
The Master began walking around the outside of the circle. As he did, he would tap a student on the back to attack May Jou. She remained calm, and as the student attacked, she moved effortlessly out of the way and then filled the gap with a counter. The students were in awe of the way she moved. Almost the way water flows in and around objects.
The Master picked up the pace. Soon, there were 3 or 4 attackers at once. May Jou weaved and flowed around each one. Thus, causing the attackers to bump into each other and leaving no room to attack all at once.
The Master yelled, “Enough!” Everyone stopped and stared at the Master. May Jou remained in the center of the circle, still calm and unperturbed. The Maser dismissed the class and walked over to the Student, saying, “Did you see what May Jou was doing?”
The Student’s mouth hung open in disbelief, so he just nodded.
“Do you understand what happened?” The Master said, staring into the Student’s eyes.
The Student squeaked out, “No.”
The Master yelled, “Why Not. Haven’t you read the Book.”
With his head down, the Student replied, “Not all of it sir.”
The Master turned and walked away. The Student felt he had let the Master down.
As he headed for the changerooms, May Jou walked over and smiled and said, “He’s that way with everyone he cares about. Just go home and read the Book. The chapter on Mind Like Water might interest you.”
With that, she turned and walked away.