I stared at Madison.
Where had she come from? I didn’t know how I could have missed her before.
“Eliza, you can partner with Madison,” Master Kim said, waving a hand her direction. “You two are similar size.”
“Yes sir,” Madison and I said at the same time.
Master Kim returned to the front of the room.
I looked at Madison’s waist. An orange belt. I quickly checked the belt poster hanging on the wall. Great. Orange was three whole ranks above white.
“Hi,” Madison said, still smiling.
“Um. Hey,” I replied.
“I’ve been on vacation,” she explained as if she’d read my mind. “We just got back yesterday.”
I was confused. She actually sounded kind of nice.
“Oh,” I said.
I looked down. Only one of Madison’s feet had painted toenails. I was going to ask why because I couldn’t think of anything else to say. Well, that’s not entirely true. But I didn’t think saying, “Great. I can’t believe I’m stuck with you,” out loud would be very polite. Plus I don’t actually say everything that pops into my head.
Fortunately Master Kim began giving instructions on how to escape from a wrist grab. Unfortunately, he didn’t talk for long.
When it came time to practice with our partners, Madison and I kind of stood there. I didn’t really talk to her at school much—even before the lunch-table thing or the note.
Madison glanced in Master Kim’s direction. “We should practice,” she said.
She thrust out her arm. “Here, you grab me, and I’ll show you what to do.”
I grabbed her right wrist with my right hand.
“First off, open your fist and spread your fingers as wide as you can,” she told me as she demonstrated. “That helps loosen the person’s grip. Figure out where their finger and thumb touch—that’s their weak point—and yank your hand through that spot quickly.”
Madison kihapped “High-shhh!”, pulled her arm from my grasp, and stepped back so she could be ready to run or fight me if I was really a kidnapper.
She made it look easy. Not that I was about to tell her that.
I grabbed Madison’s wrist a few more times. She escaped no problem. “Now you try,” she commanded.
I went over the steps in my head. Open fist and pull quickly. It took a little muscle, but my arm came free!
“Don’t forget to kihap,” Madison said.
“Oh yeah. Right. I keep forgetting that.”
It was a lie. I didn’t keep forgetting to yell each time I did something—I just didn’t want to. Master Kim said it was important because it helped focus our power and show confidence. But it made me feel like everyone was watching me. And no matter what some of my teachers or the kids at school thought, I didn’t like attention all the time.
My second attempt at a wrist escape was a little better. I gave a halfhearted kihap, too. Everyone’s yell was a little different; mine came out sounding like huuup.
I held out my arm a third time. Madison gripped it even tighter than before, but I still managed to get myself free.
I was about to try it again, when Master Kim walked over and stood behind Madison.
“Please demonstrate your technique,” he said.
I grabbed Madison’s wrist, and she escaped easily, just like before.
“Good,” he told her.
Madison beamed and then grabbed my wrist.
I planned what I was going to do: Open hand, pull, kihap, get ready to run. It all went smoothly in my head; but when I tried to pull my arm away, Madison’s fingers wrapped tighter around my wrist.
Hay bales! She wanted me to fail!
Now this was the Madison I knew.
No matter how hard I pulled or how loudly I kihapped, I couldn’t escape.
After five or six tries, Master Kim stopped me. I was hoping he’d scold Madison for holding on so tightly, but he didn’t.
“If you can’t escape right away, attack,” he said. “A good martial artist adapts.”
I’m guessing a good martial artist refrains from punching her partner in the nose, too, I thought.
After Master Kim left, I turned to Madison. “Why did you do that?”
“Do what?” she said, all innocentlike.
“Hold on so tight?”
Madison put a hand on one of her hips. “I wouldn’t be doing you any favors by making it easy,” she said.
Of course. Why would she suddenly do me any favors?