Gadzooks, has it really been this long? And all I can manage is a chapter that is light on action and heavy on Leo-determination.
TMNT are the sole property of Mirage. I know nothing about karate, jujitsu, or any martial arts. But I do like Jackie Chan. And I know how to Google.
Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster
(18. Hence the saying: )
If you know the enemy
and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a
hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy,
for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will
succumb in every battle.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be either self-evident, or subject to necessary decision. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other (theory dependent) truths.
Wikipedia
Leo stared at his carefully worded thoughts on the notebook paper. It should be as simple as a logic problem.
Fact: Splinter never teaches new katas until old ones have been mastered.
Fact: Mike has not mastered the old ones.
Ergo, Splinter is NOT teaching Mike new katas.
However-- Mike dropped a detailed paper on the history and execution of the "hardest kata to master"!!!
Fact: Splinter IS giving Mike "special lessons".
Conclusion: Splinter is teaching Mike new katas!!
BUT!!!-- Splinter NEVER teaches new katas until old ones have been mastered-- and Mike has NOT mastered the old ones--
Leo carefully crumpled up this latest attempt, then set it in line next to the other twenty-seven crumpled balls of notebook paper he'd spent so much time working on. No matter how he looked at it, Logic indicated that Splinter was indeed giving Michelangelo-- MICHELANGELO-- special lessons on the hardest kata in the world to master!
"No! That is impossible!" he rejected out loud. "I can figure this out! There is a logical explanation! There has to be! I know I can solve this! I know I can! After all, I solved that really hard logic problem the other week!"
You are trapped in a room with two doors. One leads to certain death and the other leads to freedom. You don't know which is which.
There are two samurai guarding the doors. They will let you choose one door but upon doing so you must go through it.
You can, however, ask one samurai one question. The problem is one samurai always tells the truth , the other always lies and you don't know which is which.
What is the question you ask?
Leo had answered that question correctly.... well, actually, Don had answered it correctly ("Ask one samurai what the other samurai would say, if he was asked which door was safe. Then go through the other door.").
As Leo thought back, he reluctantly recalled that HE had cast doubt upon the fact that any Honorable Samurai would stoop so low as to lie as it was against the Seven Virtues of Bushido, and even if there was such a dishonorable Samurai, the HONORABLE one would never allow the other to mislead the trapped person because the Seven Virtues of Bushido was Important to the Honorable Samurai because as Master Splinter knew, ONE of the Seven Virtues of Bushido was Honesty, and as Bushido was the Code of the Samurai, no Honorable Samurai would ever dishonor the Seven--
"Leonardo, as you are so knowledgeable on the subject, you may produce a three-thousand word essay on the Seven Virtues of Bushido" Splinter had interrupted, "With special attention paid to the EIGHTH Virtue-- that of Filial Piety!"
Leo frowned in slight anger at his own faulty memory. Then he shrugged. At least he had not had to do a three-thousand word essay AND fifty flips as Raphael had had to do-- HIS answer had been "Simple-- kill one, then force the other to enter the door first. End of story".
Secretly, Leo still thought Raph's answer was more in line with a true ninja, but then who was he to argue with the Way Things Were?
Mike's had been "Why was I trapped in the room in the first place? Was I grounded? Is this about that mess in the bathroom the other day? If there was only two doors, how did I get in there? Wouldn't I go out the door I came in? Were there any windows? What about time portals? Were there any time portals in there? How about transporters like in Star Trek? Did Scotty beam me in there? What if I don't go into any rooms unless Don is with me? Are you sure I'm not grounded, 'cause if I'm grounded, wouldn't I get into more trouble if I try to leave the room before you ungrounded me? Can I have some ice cream, I'm hungry!"
Leo reached out and took one of the twenty-eight crumpled balls of paper, carefully smoothing it out and rereading what he'd noted on it earlier, when he had actually gone to Donatello and presented him with a purely hypothetical scenario whereby the names "Splinter" and "Mike" had only been used as handy examples to his totally and completely hypothetical scenario that had nothing to do with Real Life whatsoever--
"Why would Splinter be teaching Mike anything new?" Don had replied bitterly, cleaning up (yet again) after Mike's attempt to "help" with Don's latest invention. "Unless it's lessons in how to screw with my projects in even more unimaginably destructive ways than usual."
Leo had looked in Shock and Brotherly Disapproval at Donatello.
"You know, you sounded just like Raphael when you spoke like that," he had sternly chided him.
Don had brightened visibly.
"Did I? Neat!"
Leonardo, as a young (Future) Leader, had then felt it his Duty to steer this erring brother away from the inherently destructive path of emulation of Raphael, but Donatello countered with Words and Phrases that made no sense-- indeed, if Leo didn't know better, he would suspect that Don was trying to use ancient evil magic spells to repel his Wise and Caring Brother and (Future) Leader.
He had certainly found himself beating a hasty retreat back to his (for the moment) room, where he had attempted to recreate on paper Donatello's exact words, only to end up with thirteen of the twenty-eight crumpled balls of paper lined up neatly on the floor near his desk.
He needed to dispose of them, but he was reluctant to toss them in the trash. Splinter would notice the amount of paper he'd used, and probably want to find out if he'd been wasting the precious commodity by drawing superhero comics (like Mike) or graphic pictures of motorcycle-riding ninja cutting the heads off of the zombie army in gory detail (like Raph).
It would be prudent to burn them all, but as Splinter frowned upon Open Flame anywhere Young Turtles were ("How many times must I tell you, Donatello, do not burn down the Lair!"), he would need to find another way to keep his work Secret.
He'd seen a show once where the Good Guy destroyed an important piece of paper by eating it, but that plan was rejected as quickly as the burning one. Even on a good day he knew that he'd probably not manage more than three, four pages tops before he'd have to give it up as a Lost Cause.
In the end he simply uncrumpled them all, sorted them according to Importance, and tucked them carefully into the handy flap of a well-used blue folder. Perhaps they'd come in useful in later years. One never knew.
Meanwhile, he had Important Work to do in the dojo.
Splinter was out scavenging, and he'd taken Raphael and Michelangelo with him (and that stupid notebook as well-- WHY did Sensei allow this?). Don was trying to recover from the earlier incident of Mike's "I wanna be your assistant what does this do?" followed by a crash and some surprisingly colorful exclamations from Donatello (hence Sensei's including the young turtle in today's scavenging-- despite Raphael's protests).
Entering the dojo, he bowed, showing proper respect, then carefully closed the door so as to not attract unwanted attention from his brainy brother. He went through the motions of warming up, then with many a surreptitious glance, he opened the much-folded piece of paper that Mike had dropped the other night in the bathroom and studied it closely. This would be his first chance to really read it without worrying that someone (Mikey) would catch him at it. He had practically memorized the first paragraph, but now he would give special and undivided attention to the entire thing.
Kusanku: This kata was adopted and developed by Okinawan Karate men after it was brought to Okinawa in 1761 by a Chinese Martial Artist named Kusanku. This kata is the most magnificent and advanced kata of all Matsubayashi Ryu Karate. It is also the longest and most difficult kata, requiring painstaking practice for more than a decade for mastery.
Leo still could not understand why Splinter was teaching this kata to Mike! They'd been learning katas since practically forever and Mike still hadn't mastered stuff like Kihon Kata Ichi, or Kihon Kata Ni, or Kihon Kata San, and let's face it, there was no way he was even close to Kihon Katas Yon and Go.... And those were just the katas from Shotokan Karate! Jishikin he was better at, Leo had to admit, but still, if one was to master something as difficult as the Kusanku, one must be master of many disciplines.
Indeed, Ko Budo was truly an excellent means of improving one's ju jitsu skills as well....
"Leo!" Don bellowed from the kitchen. "You hungry?"
Leo, startled out of his imaginary lesson to his brothers, had the presence of mind to go to the dojo door and call out "No!" before returning to the matter at hand. No need in tipping Don to any plans he might have. After all, a (Future) Leader did not share all of his doings with his followers. They were just expected to follow.
Leo returned to his reading. Mike's handwriting, usually sloppy and carefree, was painstakingly clear in what he'd copied from some source or another (and WHY didn't Splinter let HIM see such sources?)
Kusanku is a cornerstone of many styles of karate. It is characterized by the use of flowing techniques that resemble those found in White Crane Kung Fu-- "Oooo! That would be sweet to know White Crane Kung Fu"--- it also has a wide variety of open-handed techniques. In Matsubayashi-ryu karate, the kata is known for its flying kick ("Flying kick!!!") and its "cheating" stance, which robs the opponent of opportunities to attack by extending one leg along the ground and squatting as low as possible on the other (ura-gamae).
"Man, I can just see me doing that when Raph attacks during practice!" he exclaimed, and allowed himself the rather pleasing mental picture of performing such a move to the surprise of his arrogant brother and approving Sensei! Then he shook himself with a happy sigh and returned to his reading.
The bunkai for this technique allows the practitioner to escape a bear-hug from behind by twisting and dropping out of their grasp ("Even better for when I have to spar with Raph! Sensei has been holding out!"). The hand techniques that accompany the stance block the head, while allowing for a strike to the groin ("OUCH! Good thing we have plastrons"), knee, or foot. Because of the complexity of its techniques, Kusanku is the highest ranking and most complex kata in Matsubayashi-ryu, and is said to take more than ten years to master.
Leo sat back, digesting what he'd read yet again. More than ten years. Why, at this rate, he'd be twenty! Man! That's hard to imagine!
"And Mike has a head-start on me, so if I don't get busy, he'll have this mastered by the time he's like nineteen!"
In Shotokan karate, Kanku-dai consists of 65 movements executed in about 90 seconds-- "Ha! The only think Mike can do in ninety seconds is eat an entire pizza!"-- and symbolizes attack and defense against eight adversaries. "EIGHT! OH, yes, this is JUST what I need to learn! A Leader should be able to take on more opponents than his team. That's why he's the Leader!" -- It is a major form of the kata; its equivalent minor form is called Kanku-sho. Kanku-dai was one of Gichin Funakoshi's favorite kata and is a representative kata of the Shotokan system. The embusen (path of movement) of Kanku-sho is similar to that of Kanku-dai, but it begins differently. It is a compulsory Shotokan kata and of high technical merit. As a result of Anko Itosu's efforts, the Heian kata contain sequences taken from Kanku-dai.
"Anko Itosu! The father of modern karate!" Leo spoke the name with much reverence. "Though considering Gichin Funakoshi is the one who really spread karate through Japan, perhaps he should be considered the grandfather of modern karate-- I mean, everyone knows that Gichin Funakoshi was a follower of Anko Itosu-- I'll bet Mike thinks both of those names come from some Japanese cartoon or something."
Leo looked at the rest of the page. Mike had only copied the first seven steps on the back of his paper. The rest must exist in the depths of that massive tome known as "Michelangelo's Top Secret Project for Michelangelo's Eyes ONLY! Keep Out! I mean it, 'cause it's TOP SECRET!" notebook.
Still, seven steps were better than nothing.
"Sun Tzu says 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.' 'A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step', as Sensei says. 'Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy' as he also says."
Leo took a deep breath, and got into stance. He knew that by doing this, he would go against his father's and Sensei's expectations and teachings-- but he was determined. He would learn this kata on his own.
He would show Mike-- show them all-- that Leonardo was not afraid to break the rules-- if it was for a Good Reason. Leonardo was not afraid to risk punishment if it meant that he would be better prepared to lead his brothers, to protect this family, to (one day) be not just Leader of this team, but of this Clan!
He was not afraid to Teach Himself!
The outer door opened, and the sound of Splinter's voice calling him and Donatello to help put the supplies away caused him to nearly jump out of his shell like some naughty little turtle caught stealing cookies.
"Coming Sensei!" he automatically called, as he desperately snatched up his precious document.
"Hey, Leo! Whatcha doing in there? Come help, this stuff is heavy!" Mike's voice was right outside the dojo.
He couldn't let Mike see this! Briefly he thought of eating it-- then the door was swinging open, and Mike, staggering under a box of Something Heavy, entered, his vision briefly blocked by the huge cardboard carton he was struggling to keep from dropping.
Man, if only I wore pants! Pockets would be so handy right now!
Leo, folding the paper quickly, popped it into his mouth and moved to help Mike.
"We found some cool stuff for the dojo," Mike said happily as Leo helped him carry the box further into the room and set it down with a soft "bamf". "Look! Dumbbells! They must weigh a ton, Raph kept whining that he couldn't carry the box yet he called dibs on using them first. And we scored some bowling ball pins, Sensei says they're called Indian clubs but they sure don't look like anything an Indian used, at least I've never seen a cowboy movie where Indians were using these. Anyway, he says they're very popular with human martial arts instructors, but if we're lucky maybe Splinter will let us use them for our own bowling alley...."
Mike carried on in this vein, not worried by the noncommittal grunts and muffled responses of Leo. Leo, his mouth full of a bulky, nasty-tasting, soggy folded wad of paper, was finding it difficult to swallow without revealing that he was concealing something. It seemed like forever before Mike was finished unloading the box and they could finally leave the dojo.
"Got something special planned for dinner, bro," Mike cheerfully said as they were leaving. "You're gonna love it! You'll NEVER guess what it is! Not in a million billion years!"
And he waited expectantly for Leo to guess.
Leo, afraid to comment, sort of smiled and shrugged.
"C'mon, Leo! Guess! I'll give you a clue: it's raw and tastes great with wasabi!"
And he waited.
Leo swallowed. Carefully. Then, wedging the paper as best as he could into one cheek (while turning his head to keep Mike from noticing) and managed to say without too much difficulty "Sashimi".
"Yeah! Can you believe it? Sashimi and rice and miso soup and wasabi and all good stuff!" Then he noticed the bulge in Leo's cheek, despite his brother's attempts to hide it. "Whatcha got in your mouth, gum? You KNOW how Sensei is about gum in the dojo! Leonardo, I'm shocked!
Leo managed to look guilty and with a feeble and slurpy "I forgot," ran out of the dojo and back to his (for the moment) room before Mike could ask him for some gum.
Pulling the now soaking paper from his mouth, Leo carefully opened it, then hid it under his mattress. Hopefully it would dry by morning.
Splinter would be taking Donatello with him tomorrow. Raph would probably ask to go, and Leo was more than prepared to volunteer all three of his brothers so he could be alone in the lair, but if he only had Mike to contend with, then he could practice in the dojo with no real trouble. Mike was way easier to distract than Raph, who would not only want to know why "Fearless Leader" was in there trying to make them all look bad by practicing while Sensei was out, he'd insist on joining him just to challenge him to stupid contests and wrestling bouts.
Tomorrow, I begin to teach myself he thought as he went to help put away the rest of the supplies.
Tomorrow I will begin to master that kata!