Back, Press Forward and Push, to the more exotic movements with names like Step Back and Repulse Monkey, Stork Spreads Its Wings and Retreat to Ride Tiger.
He went through the form three times. Sounds natural to the creek, birds calling and fish jumping and branches creaking in the breeze, seemed muted and distant. One was aware, watching Moses practice his art, of the inherent possibility of mankind. One grieved that, in five thousand years of practice, that potential had yet to be achieved. But for a few precious moments Moses shrugged off the millstones of modern man and reached back in time for the grace and strength and endurance inherent in us all. It was always there, waiting to be tapped. It was only that so few knew to reach for it.
Bill looked around to see that Tim was watching Moses, too.
Moses said, “Come here, boy.
At first it didnt seem that Tim would obey.
Moses waited, without turning, without moving, without repeating himself, facing north, waiting.
Tim approached reluctantly. “What? He affected a yawn.
“This is called a modified horse stance, Moses said, sinking back into the bent-knee, arm-bent-at-the-elbow position.
“So?
“So, Moses said, displaying a rare patience, “this is the best exercise to tone your muscles for the practice of tai chi chuan.
Tim opened his mouth to say “Who cares? caught Bills eye, and changed it to the less dangerous “So?
“So do it. Now. Moses stood straight and walked behind Tim, poking his hands into the backs of the boys knees and manipulating Tims arms into the raised position, much as someone would operate a marionette. “Not like that, like this. Not straight, curved, and cup your hands. Deeper. He nudged the backs of Tims knees again. “Youre young and healthy, you can go deeper than that.
“Why would I want to? Tim muttered, just loud enough for Moses to hear.
Surprising everyone in the clearing, Moses laughed. “Oh, you want to, all right, young Gosuk. You were watching me, and you thought what I was doing was way cool. He raised his voice. “Amelia!
He had to shout her name three times before she came to the door, rumpled clothes and bloodshot eyes and hair askew. She looked hungover because she was.
“Down here, Moses said, pointing next to Tim.
Befuddled, she shuffled down the steps, and stood next to Tim, swaying a little. Tim watched from the corner of one eye. She was pretty, underneath all the bruises, and not that much older than he was. It seemed strange to think of her as married. People seventeen didnt get married, they went to high school. Melanie Choknok, the junior he had a secret crush on, was Amelias age.
Moses poked and prodded her, too, until she and the boy stood in a parody of Moses assured stance. “Breathe, he barked. “Feel the air, the breath of life, making a circle around your body, pulling all life to you and in you. Breathe, goddamn it! Bend your knees, deeper, deeper, I said! What are you trying to do, boy, pluck a duck? Give me a respectable tai chi cup on that hand. Yeah, okay, thats close enough for now. You, girl, nobody yelled Attention! Lower your chin. I said lower it, damn it, not fall face forward onto your chest. Bend your knees. Bend them!
He kept them in one position for half an hour, always carping, always criticizing, grudgingly accepting their stances only as an imitation of the real thing. “Okay. Stand up. Where you going, boy?
Tim halted. “I thought we were done.
“Who told you to think? Moses demanded. “Resume your position.
Tim resumed his position. Bill was left to wonder how Moses did it. He was five feet seven inches tall, his features were boringly regular with the merest hint of his Yupik ancestry, he had no dignity to speak of, there was no authority vested in him by the power of the state, in fact no earthly reason for anyone to say “How high? when he said “Jump! Tim, who had had a very rough and very nearly fatal childhood in the Yupik village of Ualik and who
He went through the form three times. Sounds natural to the creek, birds calling and fish jumping and branches creaking in the breeze, seemed muted and distant. One was aware, watching Moses practice his art, of the inherent possibility of mankind. One grieved that, in five thousand years of practice, that potential had yet to be achieved. But for a few precious moments Moses shrugged off the millstones of modern man and reached back in time for the grace and strength and endurance inherent in us all. It was always there, waiting to be tapped. It was only that so few knew to reach for it.
Bill looked around to see that Tim was watching Moses, too.
Moses said, “Come here, boy.
At first it didnt seem that Tim would obey.
Moses waited, without turning, without moving, without repeating himself, facing north, waiting.
Tim approached reluctantly. “What? He affected a yawn.
“This is called a modified horse stance, Moses said, sinking back into the bent-knee, arm-bent-at-the-elbow position.
“So?
“So, Moses said, displaying a rare patience, “this is the best exercise to tone your muscles for the practice of tai chi chuan.
Tim opened his mouth to say “Who cares? caught Bills eye, and changed it to the less dangerous “So?
“So do it. Now. Moses stood straight and walked behind Tim, poking his hands into the backs of the boys knees and manipulating Tims arms into the raised position, much as someone would operate a marionette. “Not like that, like this. Not straight, curved, and cup your hands. Deeper. He nudged the backs of Tims knees again. “Youre young and healthy, you can go deeper than that.
“Why would I want to? Tim muttered, just loud enough for Moses to hear.
Surprising everyone in the clearing, Moses laughed. “Oh, you want to, all right, young Gosuk. You were watching me, and you thought what I was doing was way cool. He raised his voice. “Amelia!
He had to shout her name three times before she came to the door, rumpled clothes and bloodshot eyes and hair askew. She looked hungover because she was.
“Down here, Moses said, pointing next to Tim.
Befuddled, she shuffled down the steps, and stood next to Tim, swaying a little. Tim watched from the corner of one eye. She was pretty, underneath all the bruises, and not that much older than he was. It seemed strange to think of her as married. People seventeen didnt get married, they went to high school. Melanie Choknok, the junior he had a secret crush on, was Amelias age.
Moses poked and prodded her, too, until she and the boy stood in a parody of Moses assured stance. “Breathe, he barked. “Feel the air, the breath of life, making a circle around your body, pulling all life to you and in you. Breathe, goddamn it! Bend your knees, deeper, deeper, I said! What are you trying to do, boy, pluck a duck? Give me a respectable tai chi cup on that hand. Yeah, okay, thats close enough for now. You, girl, nobody yelled Attention! Lower your chin. I said lower it, damn it, not fall face forward onto your chest. Bend your knees. Bend them!
He kept them in one position for half an hour, always carping, always criticizing, grudgingly accepting their stances only as an imitation of the real thing. “Okay. Stand up. Where you going, boy?
Tim halted. “I thought we were done.
“Who told you to think? Moses demanded. “Resume your position.
Tim resumed his position. Bill was left to wonder how Moses did it. He was five feet seven inches tall, his features were boringly regular with the merest hint of his Yupik ancestry, he had no dignity to speak of, there was no authority vested in him by the power of the state, in fact no earthly reason for anyone to say “How high? when he said “Jump! Tim, who had had a very rough and very nearly fatal childhood in the Yupik village of Ualik and who
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