Avatar: The Legend of Anzen Hyriu, Book 1: The Legend of Beifen

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Swing Kick

We walked out of math class after the test. I felt good about it but Koluk on the other hand did not.

"Hey don't worry, you probably did great," I said to reassure him.

"Yeah, whatever," he sighed.

"Well don't worry about that now," I said, "We have Warrior Training."

"Cause that went so well this morning," Koluk said.

"Well this time there won't be any seven-year-olds," I said.

We walked to the Training Field. It was a circular field with stands surrounding it. Many kids were already there stretching and warming up. Our teacher, Instructor Chen was talking with some of the older kids when he saw us.

"Koluk could you come here please," he said.

Koluk glanced at me before going over to him. I looked around and spotted Fai stretching by himself.

"Hey," I said as I walked over to him.

"Hey," he said.

I started to stretch too, "So what do you think we'll learn today?"

"I don't know," he answered, "but I hope its something cool."

I laughed, then looked in the stands and saw Hana watching me and next to her, I saw Lina, they both smiled and waved. I waved back and so did Fai who also saw them. The girls both looked at each other and giggled. I knew why, Hana liked me and Lina liked Fai, but he didn't know. Lina came to the lesson not only to watch Fai but also to see what I will be teaching her later.

"Okay class fall in line," Instructor Chen said. We all got into our lines. "Koluk and Tekton will demonstrate the new move you will learn today. It's called the 'Swing Kick'." There was excited muttering throughout the group. "Take a stance!" Instructor Chen shouted, Koluk and Tekton who was an older kid did as instructed. "Fight!" Instructor Chen said. They started to fight, neither gaining the advantage, then Tekton crouched down on his right leg with the left one sticking straight out, then he spun on his foot swinging his left foot into the back of Koluk's legs, knocking his feet out from under him causing him to fall flat on his butt. Some kids laughed.

"You think its funny, but this move can be very effective against a variety of opponents. Now I will show how to do the 'Swing Kick' then you can try it for yourselves." He showed us how to do the move then we tried it. Instructor Chen, Koluk, Tekton, and a few other older students walked around helping out those who were having the most trouble.

"For those of you having trouble with it I suggest spinning on one foot first or sticking your leg out before trying the whole thing," Instructor Chen told us.

I didn't do that because I thought that that felt uncomfortable so I spun on my left foot sticking out my right foot a little bit. Every time I could spin and not fall or stumble, I would crouch a little lower and stick my leg out a bit farther. I saw that some of the kids took Instructor Chen's advice; some kids saw what I was doing and decided they liked that better, while others still tried to do the whole thing at once and fell down each time. Fai was one of those people.

"Hey Fai, try it like this," I said and showed him what I was doing, "and just work your way down until you get it."

"Ok," he said a little unsure. Then he balanced on his right foot, stuck out his left a little bit, and spun without falling or stumbling. "I did it!" he said with a huge smile on his face, "thanks Hyriu."

"Don't mention it," I said as he tried again but crouching lower and fell.

"Everyone look at what Hyriu's doing," Instructor Chen said and motioned for me to show what I was doing. "Now that is a very smart idea Hyriu. If anyone is still having trouble then see if Hyriu's way helps you better."

Some did and found that they did like it better. At the end of the lesson, most everyone could just about do the 'Swing Kick' with out too much trouble.

Instructor Chen walked up to me, "Hyriu, I have never seen a class master a move so quickly before. You could be a very good teacher; you might even become the next Instructor of Hydronia. I thought it might be Koluk or Tekton, but today you demonstrated something that they don't have, teaching skills. While they may be some of the best warriors I've seen, they can't explain things well to others. I wasn't top of my class either but I could teach, and that's what got me this job, and you have some of the same traits I had when I was your age. Today was a prime example of what you can do, especially with your friend Fai. He is a good student and his heart is in the right place, but he is not a very good warrior and usually needs extra time to master a move, but today you helped him and he mastered the move a lot faster than normal. I could very well see you amount to something big one day."

I was stunned, "Thank you sir," I finally managed.

"Have a good day Hyriu," he said and patted me on the back and walked off.

Koluk, Fai, Lina, and Hana all came up to me.

"What did Instructor Chen say, "Koluk asked.

I told them what he said, leaving out the part where he said Koluk and Tekton couldn't teach. They all looked stunned and I saw a twinge of jealousy in Koluk's eyes, but it disappeared quickly.

"That's great," Hana said.

"Yes that is truly fantastic," Lina said.

"That's awesome man," Koluk said.

"Well he's right, you are a were a really good teacher today," Fai said, "I don't know if I ever would have gotten the hang of the 'Swing Kick' without your help. Who knows people might start calling you 'Swing Kick Hyriu'."

We all laughed.