Head to Head Read online

  Mark turned crimson. He wanted to quit right then, but instead he got back into the snake stance. This time he attacked Jonas with three punches. But Jonas was too quick for him. He blocked every punch and danced out of range. “Can’t get me!” he taunted.

  Mark felt his frustration grow. To get himself under control, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath — just as Jonas lunged forward.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Oof!”

  Mark staggered back a step, clutching his middle.

  “Oh, man, Mark, I am so sorry!” Jonas’s eyes were wide. “I thought you were ready!”

  “Guess I wasn’t,” Mark gasped. He turned and started putting on his skateboard gear.

  “Is everything okay?” Jonas asked anxiously. “You’re not really hurt, right?”

  “I’m fine,” Mark said. “I just remembered that I have to get going.” He could feel his friends staring at him as he stepped onto his board and shoved off, but he didn’t look back. He was afraid that if he did, they might notice the tears brimming in his eyes.

  When Mark got home, he crept up to his room, closed the door, and flopped down on his bed. He was still in that position when his mother knocked on his door half an hour later.

  “So you are here!” she said. “I didn’t hear you come home. Sifu Hale called earlier to ask you to stop by the school for some demo practice. Can you be ready to go in fifteen minutes?”

  “Sure, Mom,” he replied. But he didn’t move.

  “Is everything okay, honey?” his mother asked. She sounded worried.

  Mark sighed and rolled off the bed. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

  Twenty minutes later, his mother dropped him off at the school. “I’ll pick you up in half an hour,” she said. She looked at him closely. “Unless you want me to come sooner?”

  “A half hour’s fine,” Mark said reassuringly.

  Inside, the other students taking part in the demonstration were doing their warm-ups. As Mark waved to some and bumped fists with others, his bad mood started to melt away. By the time he was through with his stretches he felt calm.

  After warm-ups, Sifu Hale reviewed the sequence of events that would happen on the day of the demonstration. Students would take turns showing the audience what they were learning. Mark and his partner, Jenna, would first do a series of basic moves. Then they would demonstrate simple throws where one person pretended to attack the other but got tossed to the mat instead. Older, more experienced students would spar, and the most advanced would demonstrate how to use swords and spears. Mark looked forward to a time when he could use such weapons, but he knew he had much to learn before he was ready for that.

  Jenna and Mark stood side by side and began to run through their set. Sifu Hale had asked that they do their moves slowly so that the audience could see each one clearly. Mark was so focused that he paid no attention to Jenna — until his teacher asked her a question.

  “Jenna,” Sifu Hale said, “are you limping?”

  Mark stopped short and stared at his partner.

  “Yes,” Jenna mumbled. “I twisted my ankle this morning. But I’m fine!”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Sifu Hale said. “Sit, please.” He examined her ankle. It was swollen and black and blue, and it looked very painful.

  “Jenna, this is badly sprained.” Sifu Hale helped Jenna to a bench. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you’re out of the demonstration.”

  “But I won’t have a partner for the throws!” Mark blurted out. The minute he said it he wished he could put the words back in his mouth. Jenna had looked simply disappointed before, but now she looked guilty and disappointed.

  Sifu Hale stood up. “I’ll see if I can find someone to take Jenna’s place. Meantime, Mark, can you get an ice pack?”

  Mark was wrapping the pack in a towel when the door to the school opened and Jonas walked in.

  “Good, you’re here!” he said when he spotted Mark. “Listen, I — ”

  “Jonas!” Sifu Hale came out of his office. “Just the boy I wanted to see. How would you like to take henna’s place in the demonstration?”

  The ice pack slipped from Mark’s hands and fell to the floor with a crash.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “But, Sifu, the demo’s in a week,” Jonas said. “Do you really think I can learn everything I have to do by then?”

  “You can if you put your mind to it,” Sifu Hale said. He glanced up at the clock. “I’m afraid practice is over for today, however. There’s an adult class coming in. Mark, do you think you might be able to show Jonas the set at home?”

  Mark knelt down to pick up the pack. “Sure,” he mumbled. “Let me get this to Jenna first.” He hurried out of the hallway and back into the studio.

  “Whoa, what happened? You look more bummed

  out than I do.” Jenna reached for the ice pack. “Is everything okay?”

  “(Yes!” Mark suddenly exploded. “Man, you’re, like, the tenth person who’s asked me that today!”

  Jenna pulled her hand back with a hurt look. Mark immediately felt bad about his outburst. “Sorry,” he said. “And I’m sorry about your ankle, too.”

  Jenna opened her mouth to say something, but she didn’t get the chance.

  “Hey, Mark, I’m ready when you are!” Jonas bounded into the studio and struck a fighting pose.

  Jenna’s eyes went from him to Mark and back again. “My substitute?” she asked.

  Mark nodded.

  Jenna sighed. “That was quick.”

  “Quick?” Jonas echoed. “You want to see quick? I’ll show you quick!” His arms punched the air eight times. “Now that was quick!”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “I think I hear my mom calling,” she said, sliding off the bench and hobbling into the hall. “See you, Mark. Bye, Jonas.” Mark waved good-bye, but Jonas was busy watching himself do blocks in the mirror.

  “I can’t believe Sifu Hale asked me to be in the demo,” Jonas said. “Is that cool, or what?”

  “Yeah, real cool. Listen, we should get going if we’re going to have time to practice before dinner.”

  “Sure thing,” Jonas said. “Let’s go outside and tell your mom to pick you up at my house in an hour. My dad can drive us home and we can practice in my basement, okay?”

  Mark’s mother agreed to pick him up at Jonas’s house. Ten minutes later, the boys were in the Malloys’ basement.

  Mark stood in front of Jonas. “I guess we should warm up first,” he said.

  “Nah. I’m ready already.” Jonas hopped from foot to foot impatiently. “C’mon, just show me the moves!”

  Mark sighed. “All right.” He got into the horse riding stance. From there he moved forward slowly, one foot at a time, blocking first with one arm, then the other. Next he turned to one side and threw two punches.

  “Now you try,” he said, returning to his starting point.

  “Piece of cake,” Jonas said. He held the stance for a moment, then shot forward like he was speed skating and jerked his arms up into the blocks. He spun and jabbed out the punches. “How was that?”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Mark wasn’t sure what to say. Jonas had done the moves just fine, but much faster than Mark had shown them. “Um, that was good, except Sifu Hale wants us to do the stuff slowly.”

  Jonas crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you kidding? None of the other students in the demo are moving slow, are they?” Mark shook his head. “I’ll bet Sifu Hale just doesn’t think we can do our stuff fast. It’s up to us to show him we can! I guarantee you he’ll be psyched when he sees us. And the audience will totally love it, too! So I say, let’s do it fast and surprise him.”

  Since Jonas wasn’t listening to anything he said, Mark didn’t bother to explain why they were supposed to go slow. He simply got into starting position.

  Jonas did, too. Mark called out the moves one by one. Blocks, punches, kicks, stances — Jonas whipped off each one with precision and speed. Next to h
im, Mark felt clumsy and awkward. And all the while, the same questions nagged at him: What if Jonas was right? What if the real reason Sifu Hale had told Mark to do the moves slowly was because he didn’t think he could do them at full speed? What if his teacher had asked Jonas to be Jenna’s sub because he knew Jonas would do everything right?

  With these thoughts whirling in his brain, Mark lost his concentration. He flubbed the set halfway through and had to start from the beginning again. It didn’t help that Jonas watched him as he worked painstakingly through each move.

  When he finally got it right, Mark was exhausted. He was more than ready to leave Jonas’s house — and Jonas.

  “One more time, okay?” Jonas said.

  Mark groaned. “Not right now, Jonas. I’m beat,” he said. “Besides, my mom will be here any minute.”

  “So let’s use that time to practice some more. C’mon, what do you say?” Jonas stepped toward Mark and elbowed him playfully in the ribs. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon.”

  “Jonas, cut it out.”

  Jonas kicked Mark lightly, then bobbed away. “C’mon, what are you afraid of?” he said. He nudged Mark with his foot again.

  Suddenly, Mark grabbed Jonas’s leg with both his hands. Still holding the leg, he spun away from Jonas on one foot. His other foot swung around and connected with Jonas’s standing leg.

  “row!” Jonas cried as he fell to the floor in a heap. He stared up at his friend in shock. “What — what was that?”

  Mark picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. “That was a preview of the next lesson.” Without another word, he walked up the stairs and

  out the door. When his mother rolled into the driveway a moment later, Mark didn’t even look back to see if Jonas had followed him.

  “How did Jonas do?” his mother asked as they drove home. “Were you able to teach him what he needed to know?”

  Mark thought about Jonas lying on the floor. A small, satisfied smile crept across his face. “You know, Mom, I think maybe I did.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  After breakfast the next morning, Mark decided to head for the skatepark. Even though it had felt good at the time, now he was feeling a little guilty for how he had surprised Jonas the day before. He figured Jonas would be at the park and he could explain why he’d done what he did.

  But when he arrived, Savannah was the only one there.

  “Where is everybody?” he asked.

  “Let’s see.” Savannah ticked off each friend on her fingers. “Bizz is finishing her origami project. X is at his brother’s baseball game. Charlie had to help his dad around the house. 1 thought Jonas would be here, but 1 haven’t seen him yet.”

  Mark didn’t say anything, but he had a pretty good idea why Jonas hadn’t shown up.

  “So it’s just you and me,” Savannah said, “which means I can take it nice and easy instead of doing all those tricks Bizz is always trying to get me to do.”

  Mark adjusted his helmet. “Don’t you like learning those things?”

  Savannah shrugged. “Oh, sure, sometimes I do. But other times, it makes me feel bad — and I’m not just talking about the bruises I get from falling.” She fiddled with her elbow pads before going on. “If you want to know the truth, sometimes I’m jealous of Bizz. She’s so good at sports and stuff. You know what I mean?”

  Mark knew exactly what she meant. How could he not? He’d been feeling the same thing about Jonas for weeks now.

  Savannah stood up and stepped onto her board. “Well, what do you say? Ready to roll?”

  Mark kicked off. “Nice and easy!”

  He was still thinking about what Savannah had said about being jealous when he entered the kwoon that afternoon for another practice session. Jonas was already there. As Mark watched him fool around with some of the other students, someone laid a hand on his shoulder.

  “How did Jonas do yesterday?” Sifu Hale asked.

  “He did great,” Mark admitted.

  “Good,” Sifu Hale said, nodding. “He certainly seems to have learned the moves quickly. Now if he can just learn the other part of kung fu, he’ll be well on his way.”

  Mark turned to look at his teacher. “What do you mean, ’other part’?”

  Sifu Hale didn’t answer. Instead, he motioned Mark into his office. When they were both sitting down, he leaned across the desk. “Your friend Jonas is very coordinated, and he’s a fast learner. But so far kung fu, for him, is all about kicking and punching. He hasn’t begun to learn the other stuff, focus and

  discipline. He’s barely able to control himself long enough to sit still during the five-minute meditation each class. Until he does, he won’t go far in martial arts.”

  Mark flashed back to the person whose squirming had bothered him. Now he realized that it could have been Jonas.

  Sifu Hale smiled at him. “Do you know why I chose you for the demonstration?”

  Mark shook his head.

  “It’s not because your moves are perfect. They’re not. But with practice, they’ll get better.” The teacher steepled his fingers. “When you do kung fu, Mark, your focus shows in your face. I can tell just by looking at you that you are concentrating fully. It takes a lot to distract you. I think the audience will be able to see that. That’s why I chose you — to show people how important focus is to kung fu. And perhaps,” he added, standing up and coming around the desk, “there are others who could learn by watching you, too.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Mark left the office feeling better than he had in days. Only one thing was still bothering him, and he knew just how to get rid of it.

  He marched into the studio and up to Jonas. “I need to talk to you.” He pulled Jonas to a bench. “I’m sorry about tripping you yesterday,” he said. “You weren’t ready for it. It was unfair.”

  Jonas gave a sheepish grin. “Well, I may not have been ready for it, but you know what? I deserved it! I was acting like a jerk at my house. At the skatepark, too, actually. That’s why I showed up here yesterday — to apologize for making you spar me.”

  Mark grinned back. “While we’re busy apologizing, I better say I’m sorry for giving you the cold shoulder at the skatepark. I — I guess I’ve been a little jealous of how quickly you’ve picked up kung fu. You do the moves way better than I do. I wish there was a way I could do them as well.”

  They sat in silence for a moment. Then Mark stood up. “So, you wanna get practicing?”

  Jonas caught his sleeve. “Wait. There’s something else.”

  Mark sat back down. “What?”

  “You say you’re jealous of my moves, right? Well, I’m a little jealous of you, too. I wish I had as much self-control as you do. But man, it’s the hardest thing in the world for me to sit still after class.” He looked at Mark. “Do you think maybe we could help each other out somehow?”

  Mark remembered Sifu Hale’s words: Perhaps there are others who could learn by watching you. Mark wondered if Sifu Hale had meant Jonas. Then he realized it didn’t matter. Jonas was asking for his help, and Mark hoped he’d be able to give it.

  And who knows? he thought. Maybe I can learn from watching Jonas, too.

  The following week, Mark and Jonas worked every afternoon to prepare for the demonstration. But before their first session, Mark made sure he explained why Sifu Hale wanted them to do the moves slowly.

  “Oh, that makes sense,” Jonas said. And that was that.

  Sifu Hale had decided Mark and Jonas would do just one throw instead of the three Mark and Jenna had been scheduled to demonstrate.

  “Will you be able to learn it in time, Jonas?” the teacher asked.

  Jonas glanced at Mark and grinned. “Oh, I think so. I’ve already had a preview. I’m looking forward to trying it out, myself!”

  And learn it he did — Mark had the bruises to show for it. But that was okay, because he was pretty sure Jonas had a few new black and blues as well.

  The day of the demonstration, they sat t
ogether

  in the party room with the other students, listening to the murmurs from the gathering audience.

  “Sounds like a lot of people out there,” Jonas commented suddenly. “I hope I don’t screw up.”

  Mark looked at him in surprise. “You’re not nervous, are you?” he said.

  Jonas made a small space between his thumb and forefinger. “Maybe just a little.”

  “Well, you know what to do, then,” Mark told him.

  Jonas nodded, closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths. After a moment, he opened his eyes again and smiled. “That’s such a neat trick. Thanks again for showing it to me.”

  “No sweat,” Mark said. He heard Sifu Hale call their names. “Now, let’s go show those folks what kung fu is all about!”

  The Animal Stances of Kung Fu

  The martial art of kung fu began hundreds of years ago in a monastery in China. The monks there learned hand-fighting techniques so that they could protect their monastery from invaders. Many of these techniques are based on the movements of five animals: the snake, the tiger, the crane, the leopard, and the mythical Chinese dragon.

  The snake is a legless, armless creature. It moves silently, almost invisibly. When it defends itself, it coils its body, and its head rises straight out of the coil. Its strikes are sudden, so it is hard to see them coming. Snake moves in kung fu mimic those made by real snakes. Arms and legs bend like the letter s. Lightning-fast strikes are made with the fingertips, which are held like fangs and target soft areas of the body.

  The tiger is a powerful, aggressive animal. It attacks head on with great ferocity, using its huge paws and strong jaws to overwhelm its prey. Tigers rarely need to defend themselves, and tiger kung-fu moves are mostly attack based, too, with fierce kicks and punches but few blocks.