he started.
âIâve never seen anything like this,â I say to Jackson.
Jackson blazes his green eyes towards me and smiles proudly.
âMy favourite-ever demos Sabominâs done are one: the Island Cheese Company âCheese is our lifeâ convention, on a floating barge on a river; two: Petra Peters Real Estate; three: a sixth birthday party at FunCity; four: a performance for a top athlete, who loves Taekwondo and bumped into Sabo at the Olympics. Sabo had to drop everything and demo on the spot. Five: Mega Eyewear for âEye Love Sunglassesâ day. Plus, Sabo won an award,â Jackson pauses casually, âwhen we did a demo at the Royal Easter Show in 2006: third-best display in the Sports and Leisure Pavilion.â
âImpressive,â I say and nod at Ed. âCan you do that?â
âPractising on your own exercises the mind and teaches you focus,â Jackson says to me.
When he leans in close, the smell of him creates a kind of energy. I pretend to check out my nails like Iâve seen Elecktra do whenever someone is trying to explainsomething to her. I also try to ignore the fact that Iâm wearing his hoodie and canât escape his smell even if I wanted to.
Sabominâs voice pulls me back to the demo. Ed finishes and bows deeply ⦠to no applause, even though Salvatoreâs managed to drag a group of teenaged boys over to form a small audience.
âWhenâs he going to smash someone?â one boy yells.
Sabomin takes Edâs place on the oval. Salvatore and Kellie run out with an armful each of tiles and stack them on two blocks. Sabomin rolls a shin guard over his uniform and throws his whistle to the side with a dramatic open hand.
âTo bust tiles with your elbow is one of the most difficult things to do in Taekwondo,â he says. âI consider myself a master in this.â
Sabomin lowers his elbow to the tiles to achieve the correct position. He does it again, gritting his teeth, his breathing in sync with his movement. He signals Salvatore to cut the music.
â Hannah. Dul. Set ,â he counts in Korean, then slams his elbow into the centre of the tiles with an âAy-yaaayaya-yah!â
The tiles crack with the weak sound of a window popping open. There are feeble claps from the audience.
Sabomin turns to his team, who are leaning against the trailer, watching the master at work. âDamn,â he says and shakes his arm out.
He turns back to the spectators. âThey were tiles, people. Tiles!â
A sip of coffee, checking of a phone; nobody really cares.
Salvatore appears with a square piece of pine wood and holds it out towards Sabominâs head. His fingers grip the bottom of the board. Sabomin bows to the piece of wood.
â Hannah. Dul. Set! â he yells, then rushes at the board with the heel of his palm.
Instead of snapping into pieces, the board flies out of Salvatoreâs hand and lands intact on its side, rolling in a circle like a coin before tipping to the ground.
âStunt double!â Sabomin calls. He points to me.
I look at Jackson.
âDonât be shy,â he says.
I pick up the board and hand it to Salvatore. Is this what Mum means by getting your ninja on? Usually I wouldnât have the confidence even to stand up in front of a crowd and now Iâve walked out and committed myself to breaking wood with my limbs. I must be mad!
Salvatore holds the plank of wood above his head between his outstretched arms. Iâve never done thisbefore, but that feeling of instinct returns and, without counting to three, without thinking, I jump into a climbing double front kick and snap the board into three pieces. Two of them fly so high into the sky they seem to disappear. The third bit of wood almost hits a pram. The mother kicks off the brake, spins the pram violently and steers her child back towards the jumping castle, which is now so deflated the kids are touching
âIâve never seen anything like this,â I say to Jackson.
Jackson blazes his green eyes towards me and smiles proudly.
âMy favourite-ever demos Sabominâs done are one: the Island Cheese Company âCheese is our lifeâ convention, on a floating barge on a river; two: Petra Peters Real Estate; three: a sixth birthday party at FunCity; four: a performance for a top athlete, who loves Taekwondo and bumped into Sabo at the Olympics. Sabo had to drop everything and demo on the spot. Five: Mega Eyewear for âEye Love Sunglassesâ day. Plus, Sabo won an award,â Jackson pauses casually, âwhen we did a demo at the Royal Easter Show in 2006: third-best display in the Sports and Leisure Pavilion.â
âImpressive,â I say and nod at Ed. âCan you do that?â
âPractising on your own exercises the mind and teaches you focus,â Jackson says to me.
When he leans in close, the smell of him creates a kind of energy. I pretend to check out my nails like Iâve seen Elecktra do whenever someone is trying to explainsomething to her. I also try to ignore the fact that Iâm wearing his hoodie and canât escape his smell even if I wanted to.
Sabominâs voice pulls me back to the demo. Ed finishes and bows deeply ⦠to no applause, even though Salvatoreâs managed to drag a group of teenaged boys over to form a small audience.
âWhenâs he going to smash someone?â one boy yells.
Sabomin takes Edâs place on the oval. Salvatore and Kellie run out with an armful each of tiles and stack them on two blocks. Sabomin rolls a shin guard over his uniform and throws his whistle to the side with a dramatic open hand.
âTo bust tiles with your elbow is one of the most difficult things to do in Taekwondo,â he says. âI consider myself a master in this.â
Sabomin lowers his elbow to the tiles to achieve the correct position. He does it again, gritting his teeth, his breathing in sync with his movement. He signals Salvatore to cut the music.
â Hannah. Dul. Set ,â he counts in Korean, then slams his elbow into the centre of the tiles with an âAy-yaaayaya-yah!â
The tiles crack with the weak sound of a window popping open. There are feeble claps from the audience.
Sabomin turns to his team, who are leaning against the trailer, watching the master at work. âDamn,â he says and shakes his arm out.
He turns back to the spectators. âThey were tiles, people. Tiles!â
A sip of coffee, checking of a phone; nobody really cares.
Salvatore appears with a square piece of pine wood and holds it out towards Sabominâs head. His fingers grip the bottom of the board. Sabomin bows to the piece of wood.
â Hannah. Dul. Set! â he yells, then rushes at the board with the heel of his palm.
Instead of snapping into pieces, the board flies out of Salvatoreâs hand and lands intact on its side, rolling in a circle like a coin before tipping to the ground.
âStunt double!â Sabomin calls. He points to me.
I look at Jackson.
âDonât be shy,â he says.
I pick up the board and hand it to Salvatore. Is this what Mum means by getting your ninja on? Usually I wouldnât have the confidence even to stand up in front of a crowd and now Iâve walked out and committed myself to breaking wood with my limbs. I must be mad!
Salvatore holds the plank of wood above his head between his outstretched arms. Iâve never done thisbefore, but that feeling of instinct returns and, without counting to three, without thinking, I jump into a climbing double front kick and snap the board into three pieces. Two of them fly so high into the sky they seem to disappear. The third bit of wood almost hits a pram. The mother kicks off the brake, spins the pram violently and steers her child back towards the jumping castle, which is now so deflated the kids are touching
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