Before Bruce was well renowned for his Kung Fu skills we used to hang out. This is the tale of one of our adventures.
I remember it being dark out. We had been out all day having fun. Instead of our usual route back to our neighborhood, we took a longer more circuitous path. It was along this path, hidden at the end of an unexplored alley, that we discovered a very peculiar looking Dojo.
We walked in the door that had been left ajar and found a staircase leading up. We climbed the staircase to the top. Once we arrived at the top we were greeted by an older gentleman with a long white beard who took immediate interest in us.
“Take your shoes off and come in.” The gentleman ordered as though he had been expecting us for some time.
Both Bruce and I were pretty adventurous at the time so we just looked at each other, smiled and complied with the older gentleman’s request. He began working us out and showing us some basic Kung Fu techniques. It was pretty clear that I was not cut out for this as I stumbled through every command. Bruce on the other hand excelled.
The older gentleman, whom we now called Maser Kim for his mastery of Kung Fu, began paying more and more attention to Bruce. It didn’t matter to me because I was getting tired anyway. I sat down as they continued. Bruce was really good. Following one command after another as if he had done this his whole life. This went on for a while and it was getting really late.
I could see a lady in a back office gathering things up as if she were ready to leave. She emerged from the office with a set of keys dangling in hand. Master Kim, who had been working feverishly with Bruce for some time, took notice of the woman and said “Uh oh another long night.” “Time sure does fly when you’re having fun.” “Time to go!” He shouted. He faced Bruce and bowed. Bruce reciprocated the action and they walked off the mat they had been working out on.
With everyone ready to go I proceeded to the staircase we came up. As I started to head down the stairs a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. It was Master Kim. With a stern look on his face he exclaimed “ladies first!” I felt so embarrassed. I even started turning red. From the corner of my eye I could see Bruce laughing and shaking his finger at me. I walked around and got behind everyone letting the woman go before me.
Although I may not have learned much as far as Kung Fu was concerned, I did learn something that I carried with me for the rest of my life, good manners.
