In Continuum.

Bolster Wielding Warriors

An introduction to "CCT",for those not familar with the inner-workings of the army.Every NS-man,or rather most us,has to go through this training called the "CCT".It stands for "Close Combat Training",and it has three levels to them.Basic,Intermediate and finally,Advanced.

Throughout my NS life(Wow look,an oxymoron),ive been through all the CCTs,and the latter two stages involve the final showdown between you and your partner,in a sparring session involving the two of you dressed in soft paddings on the arms and legs,head dress,body armour and a huge bolster with hand grips on the sides.

Anyway,so Tuesday morning we had our little sparring session.You get to pick your partner,and as Ah Chang was probably the only person around my height and weight left without a partner,i chose him to pick a fight with.So the two of us got dressed up in that bulky armour thing,had our bolsters ready and stood at the edge of the mats while we watched others beat the living daylight out of each other.

It was fun to watch,really.To see every day people,ordinary people,tearing each others' hearts out as they whacked and kicked for two full minutes.Two minutes might not seem like a long time,but when you are out there sweating in your helmet,with your opponet delivering blows after blows to your head,you'd know how long those two lifeti...i mean,minutes actually seem.

On one side was the great fight between Jun Ting and Wei Jian(Or,Ee-O).We werent allowed to use fists at all,just that bolster thing and our legs to kick.Halfway through that fight Ee-O got pissed off as he threw his bolster aside and punched Jun Ting in the chest.That wasnt meant to be serious,though,but seriously funny.Next incredible fight was between Jordan(The ever-wonderfil Jordan)and Ming Kuei.For some reason Jordan delivered a killer blow to Ming Kuei's body,that sent him flying to the edge of the mat.Ming Kuei went down,and Jordan raised his bolster in victory as his platoon cheered on.Ming Kuei stood back up to fight on,and held to his bolster tight as the second round began.They kicked and the whacked,and this time Jordan sent a killer kick to Ming Kuei,in the groins.That kick sent him,once again,sprawled on the floor hugging his groin despite the groin guard in place.That was hilarious.

Anyway,so it was my turn to spar with Ah Chang.We walked onto the mats barefooted,and took our place with the bolster.Three.Two.One.Fight.

I took a step forward,and stunned Ah Chang as i faked a blow to him with my bolster.I stepped back,and as he did so i swinged the bolster towards his head.He successfully blocked it,and with the defence done he switched to offensive mode and took a blow to my body with his right leg.It hit my hip bone,and i stammered back in pain.

I adjusted my helmet and jumped around on the spot.Ah Chang had some kind of pain in his leg,probably from the kick he sent to my bone.He dashed forward,and this time he took the initiative to get my head.I dodged,and as i squatted downwards i tried to do a hook to his leg.He jumped away in time,and i regained my poise as i adjusted the bolster once again.That continued for a while,and just when that gap opened i hoisted my bolster up and threw down,with all my strength,on his head.Whack!It landed on his head,and Ah Chang staggered back a few steps.Before he regain his balance,i took another whack at his body on the left.He blocked that,but i spunned around and whacked him on the right and then kicked him in the ass.He returned with a few kick in my ass as well,and just before the sparring ended he sent a heavy blow to my head with his bolster.

It ended,and i pulled off my head gear.We were shagged,but we had loads of fun as we tried to kill each other for that brief two minutes.It took the life our of us,but it was fun i guess.He had a sore leg,while i had a sore waist,but it was all for the fun of it i guess.

Go Warriors in Bolst...damn,my waist.