Stone Ranger

by Bob Blanton

  “Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!”

  Jennifer was gone for fifteen minutes, when she came back she was glowing.

  “Well how did it go?”

  “He asked me to a movie Friday.”

  “I hope it’s an early show, he’s got to rest up for the tournament.”

  “It is, so you don’t have to worry about your precious medal.”

  “Gold medal,” Jessica shouted, “and I get to keep it.”

  “That’s right.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Matty, do you feel ready for the tournament?” Mrs. Brandt asked Matthew on Saturday morning.

  “I’ve gone through all my material every day this week, so this is as ready as it gets."

  “Jennifer’s coming by to watch Jessie, so I can drop you off this morning. Then we’ll come to see you when the events start.”

  “Okay; remember they’re starting at 9:30 this year,” Matthew said. “They’re hoping to keep it on schedule.”

  “Hopefully Jessie will last until the end, but if she doesn’t I’ll take her home early. Call me when you need to be picked up.”

  “Sure, but I think Jason will give me a ride home. He’s bringing Brea and Jen.”

  “Just call me if you need me.”

  “Okay.”

  “How’s Jen doing with Jeffrey?”

  “Well they went to a movie last night, so I’d say she’s doing okay.”

  “That’s nice; she’s such a sweet girl, I’m glad to see her find someone nice to date.”

  “Yeah,” Matthew was only half paying attention to what his mother was saying. “I’ll go put my stuff in the car.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Matthew’s mother dropped him off outside the USD gymnasium. Matthew took his stuff inside and immediately went to the weigh-in station. A lot of men standing in line to weigh in had removed anything they could in order to reduce their weight, hoping to be able to fight at the top of a weight class instead of at the bottom of the next higher weight. Matthew didn’t even bother to take his tennis shoes off, he was well below the 165-pound upper limit of his weight class, and had decided not to even try to drop the 9 pounds to make it into the 145-pound class.

  “Hi, Matt,” The instructor had Matthew sign the weigh-in sheet. “You’re fighting in the 146 to 165 class, right?”

  “Yes.”

  The instructor set the scale to 165 and motioned for Matthew to step onto it.

  “No problem. So you didn’t try to drop down to the under 145?”

  “No. It’s not worth it.”

  “Sifu trying to keep you and Jeffrey apart?”

  “He didn’t say anything, but I’m sure he’s hoping we’re not in the same weight class.”

  “Yeah, he really wants to win the school trophy, doesn’t he?”

  “Don’t they all? What are you judging this year?”

  “I’m stuck with the six-year olds this year. They score great when they remember the whole form. I’m not good enough yet to judge you Black Sashes, but I’ll root for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Next,” the instructor yelled, as Matthew got off the scale. Matthew walked to the other side of the gym and found a quiet corner to relax and collect his thoughts before the competition began.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Hi, Matt, we’ve been looking all over for you,” Jason said as he kicked the bottom of Matthew’s shoe. “What are you hiding from?”

  “Just trying to stay relaxed before it starts. Hi, Brea, where’s Jen?”

  “She’s looking for Jeffrey.”

  “If she doesn’t find him, his first event is in ring eight.”

  “Good, I’ll let her know when I see her. Where’s your first event?”

  “I’m in ring eight, also. After that, most of my events will be in ring twelve.”

  “That’ll make it easy to keep track of you,” Jason said, looking around the gym, “this place is a mad house.”

  “Like the poster says, it’s the largest martial arts tournament in San Diego County.”

  “Did you get enough sleep last night?” Jason asked. “The ball game sure went late.”

  “Sure, I slept in the car most of the way home,” Matthew said. “It shouldn’t take too many points off my score.”

  “Don’t be a baby,” Brianna said. “You were in bed by 11:00 and you couldn’t miss the state semi’s. Tyler had such a great game, and now we’re in the championship game next week.”

  “Yeah, it was fun,” Matthew admitted. He and Tyler had pretty much gotten over their adversity, and although they weren’t friends, they got along. The PCA football team had barely made it to the state playoffs, winning 8 out of 12 that year. But now they were poised to take it all.

  “They’d better win next Thursday or the Winter Ball is going to be a downer,” Jason said. “If they’d lost last night, then at least they would have had a week to get over it.”

  “Don’t worry, they’ll win,” Brianna said. “See you in a bit; we’re going to find Jen and your mom. Good luck,” Brianna said. “I’ll be back with my video camera.”

  “Great, more pressure,” Matthew teased.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Matthew’s and Jeffrey’s first event was Tai Chi for 18 and under. The contestants gathered around the ring, nobody really wanted to go first.

  “What’s everyone waiting for?” Jason asked.

  “Conventional wisdom has it that the judges always leave room for a higher score, so if you go first you’ll get a lower score than if you wait,” Matthew explained.

  “Is that true?” Brianna asked.

  “Probably, it’s just like gymnastics or any other judging event; they’ve got to leave some room.”

  “Well then, who’s going to go first?”

  “Half the contestants only care about qualifying for push-hands, the combat part of Tai Chi, so they don’t care about their score. They’ll go early; the real question is which of the medal contenders will go first.”

  “Why don’t they just set the order?”

  “Too hard to control, some people are competing in different events at the same time. So they have to run from ring to ring.”

  “Well, when will you go?”

  “As soon as someone gets a good score; then everyone will be lining up. Tai Chi’s slow, so if you wait too long, the judges get a little glassy eyed.”

  The judges were set and indicated to one of the contestants standing close to the edge of the ring that he would be the first contestant.

  “They’re only two-minute forms, but the judges need to get calibrated so you won’t see scores until after the first three.”

  After the first three contestants had finished their forms, the three judges held a conference. Then they had each contestant stand in front of the head judge, and the scorekeeper called for scores. The two side judges showed their numbers.

  “How does the scoring go?” Jennifer asked.

  “The side judges each look at the particular aspect of the form that the head judge tells them. Their scores are added to the head judge’s score, but his score is multiplied by five first.”

  “That doesn’t sound fair, why have the side judges?”

  “The head judge really rules; he’s the most experienced, but the side judges will break any ties. And remember, they’re only looking at one aspect of the form. The head judge is judging the whole thing.”

  “I can see what you mean about their eyes glazing over. It’s very hypnotic,” Jason said.

  “I’m getting in line,” Jeffrey said.

  “Good luck.” Jennifer looked really nervous.

  “How come almost everyone is wearing a t-shirt and nylon pants, and you have on that silk outfit?” Brianna asked.

  “Yeah, why is that?” Jennifer added, looking at Jeffrey in his t-shirt.

  “These silks make the form look nicer; I got them for when I go to other tournaments, but they give me a little edge s
o I’m wearing them for this one.”

  “That doesn’t sound fair,” Jennifer said.

  “Everyone who’s likely to medal is wearing silks, so that part of the competition is even.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Everyone knows everyone in this sport.”

  “Ohh, here goes Jeffrey,” Jennifer grabbed Brianna’s arm. “I can’t watch.”

  “Let go, I thought you wanted me to video tape it.”

  Jennifer let go of Brianna and tried to shake off the nervousness.

  Jeffrey’s form was fairly basic, but smooth. After the judges gave his score, Jeffrey took a seat next to the judges’ table. There were three chairs, and the current occupants each shifted down by one to make room for Jeffrey.

  “What’s happening there?” Jennifer asked.

  “Jeffrey’s in first place,” Matthew said. “That was a good score, now everyone will be trying to get their form in.”

  “First place,” Jennifer said proudly, “that’s great.”

  “We’ll see if he can hold onto a medal. I’ve got to get in line here.”

  Matthew walked to the side of the ring and got into fifth place in line.

  “How come he gets to cut in like that?” Jennifer asked.

  “I think it’s because he’s a black belt,” Brianna said.

  “Oh.”

  After a few minutes of waiting, Matthew was up.

  “Wow, he looks like he’s floating on a cloud,” Brianna said as he did his form.

  “It’s the silks,” Jennifer said.

  “I don’t think so,” Jason said, “and look how low to the ground he is, and man is that a high kick.”

  “How can he hold his foot that high in the air?” Jennifer asked, as Matthew held a kick for a couple of seconds, with his foot at the same height as his head.

  “Dancers do it all the time,” Brianna said, “flexibility and strength.”

  After Matthew finished his form, there was a light murmur from the crowd around ring eight. Both back judges gave him a ten, and after the scorer calculated his score, the head judge indicated the seat Jeffrey was occupying.

  “He took Jeffrey’s spot,” Jennifer cried.

  “Was there any doubt?” Jason said.

  “I guess not, I just hope Jeffrey gets a medal.”

  After another two contestants did their form, Jeffrey was sitting in the third-place seat but Matthew still held the first place seat. Matthew waved at a young kid who’d gone earlier in the competition. When the kid came over, Matthew got up and gave him his seat; then he walked over to his friends.

  “I’ve got to go to another ring. It’s not very exciting stuff, so you guys can just hang out and see how Jeffrey does.”

  Matthew pulled off his loose silk top revealing a tight sleeveless back silk tunic with red cross-ties.

  “Neat; why the new threads?” Brianna asked.

  “Tai Chi looks better with loose stuff on; I think Kung Fu looks better with this.”

  “Well, you sure look better,” Brianna gave his bicep a squeeze.

  Matthew blushed, “I’ll come back when I finish.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  When Matthew got back, Jeffrey was sitting on the floor beside the third place chair and Matthew’s proxy was still sitting in the first-place chair.

  “Why’s Jeffrey on the floor?” Jennifer asked.

  “Either he’s tied for third place or the judge wants to give an honorable mention to fourth place. Jeffrey’s score was pretty high.”

  “He must be in fourth place,” Jason said, “if he was tied for third, why would he give up his seat?”

  “Because the guy in the third-place chair outranks him. RHIP, rank has its privileges.”

  “Oh.”

  “This is pretty much over. I don’t think anyone else here has much of a chance.”

  “Good,” Jennifer said.

  “I’m going to go run through my material. After this is done, you should take a break or get a snack. The really good stuff is the two-person forms; they’ll be starting at 11:00 in rings 12 and 13. That’s when you get to see real Kung Fu fighting.”

  “We’ll see you there,” Jason said.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Matthew and Jeffrey were the fourth team in line for the two-person staff. It was Brianna’s and Jason’s first time to see the form.

  Watching the first team to compete, Jason said, “Those guys look like they’re really going to hit each other. And the way they’re swinging those staffs, it’s going to hurt if they do.”

  “Yeah, it’s very realistic,” Jennifer said. “It scared me the first time I saw them practice.”

  “They’re up.”

  Matthew and Jeffrey took the ring and bowed to the head judge. Then they faced each other and did a head nod.

  “Ready,” the head judge called out.

  “They’re making those other guys look like they were in third gear,” Jason said as he watched Matthew and Jeffrey fly through the form with a fury.

  “They’re good, aren’t they?”

  After the form, Matthew and Jeffrey were given the first place chairs. Four more pairs went, and Matthew and Jeffrey were still holding onto first place; then Matthew got up and entered the ring with another man.

  “What’s going on?” Brianna asked.

  “Matthew’s competing on two teams,” Jennifer said. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.” Jennifer was looking at the Black Sash with red fringe that the other man was wearing. He was the same height as Matthew, and was wearing almost identical silks, except his had black crossties. He also looked like he was about thirty years old.

  The two bowed to the judge, then squared off and did a mini bow to each other. After a short pause, they attacked. Brianna and Jennifer gasped at the fury of their attack; it was so intense that the entire crowd came to a buzz. As they shifted from attack to defense there was no apparent pause.

  “It looks like they’re really trying to kill each other,” Jason said.

  Brianna just shivered and leaned against her brother.

  Then as suddenly as they had started, they closed the form. Both Matthew and his partner were dripping with sweat, but they were also smiling from ear to ear. Soon they were both sitting in the first-place chairs. It took another thirty minutes before all the contestants had competed. When it was over, Matthew and his partner were sitting in the first-place chairs, and Jeffrey was sitting in the third-place chair with his partner seat empty. The judges got up and congratulated each of the contestants before leaving the ring.

  Matthew and Jeffrey ran over to their friends.

  “Wow, that was intense!” Jason said.

  “I thought that guy was going to hurt you,” Brianna said.

  “Mr. Corlis is a great partner,” Matthew said. “We’d better get some lunch; I’ve only got 30 minutes before my next event.”

  “So you got two medals,” Jason said.

  “Yes, a third place with Jeffrey was a good showing.”

  “Thanks,” Jeffrey said.

  “I thought you looked great,” Jennifer added as Jeffrey blushed.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  At four o’clock, Matthew’s mother came out of the stands to say goodbye. “Matt, Jessie is getting tired, and I don’t really want her to watch the sparring anyway, so I’m taking her home, okay?”

  “Sure, I’ll see you tonight. Jason says he’ll stay until the end and give me a ride home.”

  “Then, good luck.”

  “Bye, Jessie.”

  “Bye, Matty.”

  There were only ten contestants in Matthew’s weight class in Push Hands, and he easily prevailed for the gold medal.

  The same ten were now lined up to start the sparring competition. They were all wearing boxing gloves, headgear and groin & chest protectors.

  “You guys look like you’re going to war,” Jason said.

  “They don’t want anyone getting hurt, at least not permanently,” Matthew
said.

  “How many guys do you have to fight?”

  “Depends on how far I get. It’s single elimination for the first two rounds; I took first place last year so I get a first-round bye. If I win my first match, then I’m in the round robin for a medal. That’s double elimination for the medal positions; the three would each have to fight each other once. So if I don’t lose, I’ve got four matches. If I lose during the medal round, I’ll have an extra fight.”

  “That sounds confusing,” Brianna said.

  “It is a little, but think of it this way, the gold medal goes to whoever is undefeated, or to whoever only loses once.”

  “That sounds like a lot of fights.”

  “They only last two minutes each, but that two minutes seem like ten,” Matthew said.

  “What happens if your best two fighters meet in the first rounds?” Jason asked.

  “They’re supposed to seed this competition so that doesn’t happen. The gold and silver winners from last year get a first-round bye, so we don’t fight each other in the third round.”

  The fighting was intense, and every ring in the gym had at least one fight going on in it. The spectators and students were yelling encouragement to each fighter, making it even noisier and more confusing.

  “I’m up,” Matthew said.

  “Good luck,” Brianna said as she readied her camera.

  Matthew just nodded his head. He entered the ring and bowed to the head judge, and then he turned and did a cat stance toward his opponent, placing his weight on his left leg and stepping forward onto the toe of his right. He gave his opponent a slight bow.

  “Fight!” yelled the referee.

  Matthew’s opponent charged at him. Matthew danced to the side, landed a sidekick to the guy’s ribs, and danced away. Every time his opponent charged in, Matthew would kick him with a sidekick and retreat. Each kick would knock him back a few steps before he could regain his balance. Then the opponent started charging harder and swinging wildly; he was obviously tiring. On his third wild charge, Matthew stepped to the side to avoid him, but instead of dancing away, he charged in, landing two quick shots to the guy’s ribs, a hook shot over his head, and then he stepped away and did a spin kick into his chest, knocking him down.

  “Time,” yelled the referee. He then looked to the side judges to see whom they voted as winning the fight. Both pointed to Matthew’s corner.