Six Months 6

Tora swung the wooden sword down for the thousandth time that day. She lowered her sword slowly, held it at her hip, and bowed before she sat on her heels on the wooden floors. She placed the sword carefully beside her and put her hands on her thighs before raising her head to look at the man before her.

"Lotus position," he said. "Last week we finished cultivating the Sacral Chakra. The week before we finished the Root Chakra. Today is the last day we meditate on the Solar Plexus Chakra."

He stood behind her, only his voice registering as Tora prepared herself. She placed her fingers together without her palms touching with her thumbs interlocked over each other as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Just like previously, Master Levi asked her, "What is the Solar Plexus Chakra?"

"The Solar Plexus Chakra is the third chakra. Its natural element is fire and it is most associated with the control of one's own destiny and power, having self-confidence and self-esteem, and identity."

"While your root chakra is balanced and your sacral chakra underactive, your solar plexus chakra is overactive. You have a lot of fire in your belly. You're very much a control freak, but you keep it suppressed." Samuel took a seat behind Tora before he placed a hand on her back. "You prefer to keep your emotions bottled up and like a pot that's reached its boiling point, all the gas is trapped inside the pot until it explodes. The explosion from the build-up could be harmful to you and to others around you. You must be true to yourself, release the rage in productive ways instead of suppressing it." Samuel breathed as he channeled his Qi into Tora's body through his hands on her back.

As he had done almost every day for the past few weeks, he used his own Qi to swirl and activate her Qi. He did it slowly as a white mist surrounded them, causing the wind to move around them like a soft breeze. He controlled his Qi, releasing it as a soft spring instead of a torrent so he would not upset the natural flow of her Qi with his own.

Tora felt warm inside, like hot tea on a cold winter night. Her breathing suddenly became easier as if a boulder had been lifted from her shoulders. The soreness in her limbs from exerting herself in her training slowly faded as she breathed out, letting her body loosen. She inhaled a steady breath then exhaled once more.

"I taught you fighting styles from many different martial arts based on your personality and on your goals. When you told me you wanted to join the military, I taught you mixed martial arts that included Wing Chun, Ba Gua, Krav Maga, and other styles, all of which could be used to fight multiple opponents. As a soldier, you could find yourself in such situations.

"Now, I want you to focus more on yourself. Your Chi has been unstable all your life. You suppress your emotions because you don't want your fiery rage to get out of control. That's why now I'm teaching you a lot of forms from Northern Shaolin Kung Fu. It's a very aggressive style that uses breathing to focus and deliver devastating and powerful strikes. You're the personification of this fighting style. Add that to your meditation, you have a much more rounded martial arts arsenal than any of my students."

Tora's master, Samuel Levi, was born and raised in Israel to a military family and served in the army. In his early twenties, he left home to travel the world, to learn of the different martial arts. From Israel, he moved eastward, across the Middle East to South and East Asia. He spent over a decade in the regions, learning many different martial arts under various masters.

He learned Kung Fu from monks in the mountains of China. During his training, he discovered the existence of Chi: the life force of every living organism in the universe. Although every being possessed Chi, only a select few could use it to practice magic as Chi pathways were only opened through martial arts to strengthen the body and meditation to enhance the mind. After training as a chi user for over thirty years, Samuel became able to unlock another person's Chi using his own, a feat only certain masters could accomplish.

When Tora came under Master Levi's tutelage at the age of twelve, he had already spent over thirty years learning fighting styles not just from Asia, but from every continent. Although martial arts from Europe and the Americas did not always include the use of Chi, Samuel incorporated his Chi into his training. Due to his knowledge of many martial arts, every student at his school had a slightly different fighting style that matched their physical prowess, their personalities, and their goals.

When she first joined the school, she filed an application with several questions about her dream job, her strengths and weaknesses, and what she hoped to achieve by studying martial arts.

Tora left for the Air Force Academy five years later, where she barely used the skills she was taught. She occasionally piloted, but most times, she worked on aircraft engines. Although she barely saw combat, she continued her training. She continuously reviewed the skills she learned over those five years until they became muscle memory.

Her martial prowess came of use to her when she had to go rescue her father from those terrorists. Her hand to hand combat skills were essential as she stealthily made her way into the compound.

From Master Levi to the Air Force's combat training, Tora found herself back with her master. Although she got a lot of experience over the past ten years, Master Levi showed her there was so much more to learn and improve upon. Once again, Tora returned to her master, training for thirty hours a week, spanning five days of the week.

Samuel lessened the flow of Chi until he stopped before removing his palms from Tora's back. "Alright. That will be all for today."

Tora opened her eyes before she stood up off the sleek wooden floor. She turned and bowed before Samuel. "Thank you, Master." She placed the wooden sword back on the wall before she picked up her bag. "Have a good night."