Summary

Okenwa and Raphael started practicing kung fu in the yard. Raphael taught Okenwa how to perfect his form and breathing. When he had practiced in his room, Okenwa's efforts "had felt stillborn" (4). In the yard, his practice came alive (4). Suddenly everything felt possible.

Sometimes his parents went to the club on weekends, and left Okenwa home. He and Raphael would watch kung fu movies for reference, studying Bruce Lee's moves. Raphael knew which parts to watch carefully. Once, Okenwa said he wished he had a nunchaku. Raphael warned him they were "difficult to use" (5). Okenwa felt guilty.

Shortly thereafter, Raphael presented him with a nunchaku he had fashioned out of "an old cleaning mop" and "a spiral of metal springs" (5). Raphael showed Okenwa how to use it. His moves were "nothing like Bruce Lee's" (5). They laughed and practiced with it.

In school, Okenwa...