Karate Kick

by Matt Christopher

  Marty looked thoughtful. “I bet she was scared, too. That might have made her want to take extra lessons.”

  “You could be right,” Cole agreed. “The more karate she learned, the more confidence she’d have another time.”

  The boys were silent for a moment. Then Marty looked at him sideways and asked, “Do you think you’d be able to use your karate if you got into that situation?”

  Cole thought about how he’d reacted when Ty had surprised him on the bike path. “You know what? I think I would. But I sure hope I never have to find out.”

  He stood up then. “Well, you ready to get to work?”

  Marty stood up, too. “I sure am.”

  “Then let’s go — we’ve got a kata contest to win!”

  Cole and Marty worked together for an hour before Mrs. Bronson came to get her son. There was no karate class the next afternoon, so they met at Cole’s house then, too. Marty looked dazed when he arrived.

  “Monique cornered me after school,” he groaned as he helped Cole push the furniture to the sides of the basement. “I had to come up with an excuse why I couldn’t go over her kata contest entry with her! Now she’s mad at both of us.”

  Cole had purposefully avoided Monique since their last karate class. It hadn’t been difficult, since she had been steering clear of him, too. Cole had been hoping to run into Ty, but so far, he hadn’t seen the teenager. He didn’t know his last name, either, so he had no way of contacting him by phone.

  So in the end, he did the only thing he could think of doing. During his free period of school on Friday, he wrote Ty a letter inviting him to the kata contest on Sunday. After school, he put the letter in an envelope with Ty written on it, put the envelope in a plastic baggie, and taped the whole thing to the brick wall where they’d first met.

  Then he hurried home to meet Marty for another practice session. He had hoped that Marty would be able to sleep at his house, so they could begin practicing again early Saturday morning. But Mrs. Bronson shook her head when Marty asked.

  “We have your cousin April’s birthday party to go to,” she reminded him.

  “Can’t I stay here instead?” Marty begged. “April’s only a year old! She won’t even know I’m missing!”

  “I’ll know you’re missing,” his mother said firmly.

  “Sorry, Cole,” Marty said.

  “It’s okay,” Cole assured him. “You go have fun watching your little cousin drool out her birthday candle. I have to work on my green belt test anyway!”

  Marty’s eyes grew big. “That’s right! We’ve been so busy with the other thing I forgot about that!” He turned back to his mother to plead one last time. “He needs me, Mom, he really needs me!”

  But she just shook her head. “He’ll have to do without you.”

  “I’ll survive!” Cole said, laughing.

  “All right,” Marty grumbled. Then he brightened. “I’ll see you right after you get it, anyway, since that’s when the contest is! Sunday sure is going to be a big day!”

  Cole nodded. “Sure is. The biggest.” And the best, I hope, he added silently.

  23

  Saturday whizzed by in a blur for Cole. First, he attended karate class, his last as a blue belt if he advanced up a rank the next day. He had no fear of running into Monique then because she always took Saturdays off. Still, he felt a flood of relief when he didn’t see her.

  After class and a quick lunch, he cornered his mother. “I need a partner to practice my moves on,” he said.

  “What do I have to do?” she asked.

  “You have to attack me,” he said.

  “I can do that,” she said, putting her book aside and jumping to her feet with a grin.

  She wasn’t grinning an hour later, however. “I had no idea those twisting thingies — What do you call them? Grappling locks? — hurt so much!” she exclaimed as she rubbed her wrists and rotated her shoulders.

  “I really appreciate your help, Mom,” Cole said gratefully. “And I’m sorry if I hurt you at all.”

  “No, no, I’m fine!” she insisted. “In fact, I’d be happy to help you out again sometime.”

  “Maybe you should sign up for lessons yourself!” Cole joked.

  He thought she’d laugh it off. But to his surprise, she looked thoughtful.

  “You know, maybe I will.” She winked. “How do you think I’d look in a gi?” Now she did laugh, seeing his horrified expression. “Never mind!”

  Cole worked on other karate material for another hour. Then he rode down the bike path to the brick wall. The letter he’d left wasn’t there. But whether Ty had taken it or the wind, he couldn’t say. If it was Ty, he’d find out the next day.

  Cole slept well that night and awoke in the morning feeling refreshed and ready for the challenges he’d face that day. Marty called to wish him luck with his test.

  “I’ll see you later, buddy!” he said. “I just hope I recognize you with that flashy new green belt of yours!”

  “Let’s just hope I’m wearing a flashy new green belt!” Cole countered, suddenly nervous.

  “You will,” Marty replied. “After all, you’ve been working with the best — me!”

  As Cole laughed, he felt the tension trickle out of him. He thought then how lucky he was to have such a good friend. And if all went well, by the end of the day he’d have earned back another good friend, too.

  But first, he had a belt test to take!

  The test was scheduled to start at nine o’clock sharp. Cole arrived ten minutes early. Spectators weren’t allowed to stay, so his mother gave him a quick hug and left to do errands.

  Cole wasn’t the only student testing that morning. There were a few orange belts hoping to move up to purple, a handful of yellows looking to jump to orange, and even a few white belts ready to advance to yellow. Of them all, only the white belt kids looked relaxed. In fact, they spent the final minutes before the test charging around after one another.

  When Sensei Joe clapped his hands, however, those youngsters and the other students came to attention. Sensei Ann, Sensei Dale, and Sensei Duane were there, too. Sensei Joe bowed them all in and instructed them to put on their belts. Then they bowed again.

  With that, it was time for the test to begin.

  24

  Okay, everybody, line up for basics!” Sensei Joe called.

  The students fanned out across the width of the main dojo floor to perform the technique drill.

  “Right front stance,” Sensei Joe said.

  Ten right feet moved in front of ten left feet. “Moving forward with downward blocks,” said their instructor. “Ready? Step!”

  As one, the students swung their left fists up to their right ears and moved their right fists down in front of their bodies. Then they stepped into a left front stance while whipping their left arms over and down, halting the swing just past their left legs.

  “Let’s hear some noise out there!” Sensei Joe called. “Step!”

  This time, every student punctuated his or her downward block with a strong cry of ki-ai! Step by step, ki-ai by ki-ai, they made their way down the floor. When they could go no farther, they turned to face the other direction.

  “Next is a front kick,” Sensei Joe told them. He glanced at the little white belt students, some of whom were no older than five. “Don’t forget that there are four parts to the kick. Watch.”

  He demonstrated the move. “Up!” He lifted up his knee so his thigh was parallel with the floor. That was the chamber position.

  “Out!” Without moving his upper leg, he swung his foot straight out.

  “In!” He pulled the foot back again.

  “Down!” Finally, he put his foot down, stepping forward into a front stance as he did.

  “Everybody got it?” At their nods, he said, “Then let’s go! Step!”

  The students kicked their way down the floor. When that move was done, they went on to others: shutos, other blocks and kicks, punches, and strikes.r />
  “Nice job,” Sensei Joe said, clapping. “Now we’re going to break into separate ranks. White belts, you go with Sensei Ann. Yellow, you’re with Sensei Dale.

  Sensei Duane will take the oranges, and Cole, you’ll come with me. Good luck, everyone. Do your best.”

  Cole followed Sensei Joe to a spot on the mat. “Let’s start with your kumites,” the instructor said. Without warning, he threw a straight-in punch right at Cole’s head.

  Cole didn’t have time to think about which of the kumites to do. He just reacted. His right foot took him one angled step forward out of the punch’s path. At the same time, his left hand parried the punch away from his face and past his head. His right hand pulled back into firing position — and thrust forward a second later when he twisted toward Sensei Joe and struck with both palms simultaneously, one at his instructor’s groin and the other at his jaw.

  “He-ya!” he shouted.

  Sensei Joe stepped back and nodded. Then he threw a right hook punch.

  Cole was expecting the sudden attack this time, but still, he didn’t have time to think, just react.

  Wham! He blocked the hook with a forceful blow to the inside of Sensei Joe’s upper arm. Slash! He unleashed a shuto at the man’s neck. Then he gripped his sensei’s gi collar, sidestepped past his right leg, and wham! drilled his left knee into the back of his thigh, pulling down on the collar as he did. He ended the move with a powerful right punch to the midsection.

  None of his strikes had met their targets with full strength. Not that Sensei Joe couldn’t handle the hits — he could, and had taken much worse besides, Cole was sure!

  On and on the attacks came. Cole messed up his kumites once or twice, but overall he felt he had passed that part of the test — and the grappling maneuvers that followed — without a problem. He silently thanked Marty and his mother for the time they had taken to practice the many moves with him. Without their help, he wasn’t sure he would have done them as confidently.

  Next came sparring. This was Cole’s weakest area and one that he knew he had to work on in the future. But to his relief, he didn’t make any of the mistakes he had made when fighting against Monique. Still, he was glad when that section of the test was over!

  As he put away his sparring equipment, he noticed that the dojo was almost empty. Only the two orange belts were left, and they were just finishing up the final part of their tests. When they were done, Sensei Joe excused himself to present them with their purple belts and to pose for a few pictures with the happy students. They left soon after, as did Sensei Dale and Sensei Duane.

  Now Sensei Joe, Sensei Ann, and Cole were alone in the dojo. A sudden quiet descended over the room. Cole was so used to the training center being filled with laughter, shouts, and other noise that the stillness made him nervous.

  Then Sensei Ann laughed at something Sensei Joe said and Cole relaxed. It was a good thing, too, because he still had to perform all his katas for his instructors!

  25

  Cole stood alone in the middle of the dojo’s main floor facing a wall of mirrors. Sensei Joe moved to one side of him, Sensei Ann the other.

  “We’ll start with Heian One,” Sensei Joe said quietly, “and work you up through Two, Three, Four, and Five. Then you’ll do your other katas: Taikyoko Five, Yonsu, Wonsu, and Saifa. After that, you’ll get your bo staff and perform Bo One and Bo Two for us. Got it?”

  Cole nodded. Then he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Usually, that helped calm his nerves.

  This time, it didn’t. His heart was pounding. If he made it through all of his katas without faltering, he’d get his green belt, but that was a big if! What if he missed a move, or a transition? What if he didn’t put enough power into the punches and blocks? What if he skipped a part by mistake? Just thinking about all the ways he could mess up made his shoulders tense and his back tighten!

  Then suddenly, he remembered the underwater kata exercise. His moves then had been slow and controlled. His breathing had been deep and relaxed. Just thinking about it helped him relax now. He closed his eyes once more and took another deep breath. When he opened them, he was ready.

  “Ki-ai!” He exploded through Heian One, delivering every block and punch with accuracy and power.

  “He-ya!” Each strike, twist, and shuto of Heian Two felt sharp and precise.

  As he performed one kata after another, he filled each with more energy and intensity than he ever had before!

  When he moved on to his bo forms, he amazed himself with his ability. The slender pole whirled above his head with steady control, stabbed at imaginary targets with ferocity, and whipped over and around his body with ease and grace.

  Finally, he came to the end of his last bo kata. Holding the bo horizontal in both hands, he thrust it above his head and then with one hand twirled it beside his body, where it came to rest up along his side. He bowed, making sure the staff didn’t come forward with him. Then he straightened and stood stock still, staring at himself in the mirror.

  I think I did it, he thought wonderingly. I really think I did it!

  “You may put your bo away,” Sensei Joe said. While Cole hurried across the floor to stow his staff with the other bos, his instructors disappeared into the office.

  Cole returned to the floor to stand in ready position. His heart ticked in time with the clock on the wall. He heard the senseis whispering together but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. Were they agreeing that he had passed — or discussing where he had failed?

  He got his answer a moment later. Both senseis came out of the office and stood before him.

  “Cole, step out and remove your belt,” Sensei Joe ordered solemnly.

  Cole moved his right foot one step sideways and undid the knot of his blue belt. He folded the belt in half, and half again, placed it in his right hand, and resumed his ready stance. His throat was so dry he was sure it would split open if he tried to swallow.

  “Step forward,” Sensei Joe said.

  His voice was so stern that Cole’s confidence left him. Any grace he had had during his test fled, too. He nearly stumbled as he moved toward his senseis.

  Then he looked up and saw that Sensei Joe was smiling.

  His instructor reached into his gi top and pulled out a crisp, clean green belt. “Congratulations, Cole,” he said, his smile broadening into a grin. “Very well done!”

  He took Cole’s old blue belt from him, presented him with the new belt, shook his hand, and bowed.

  Cole gripped his new belt tightly and burst into a happy laugh. “Woohoo!” he shouted. “I did it!”

  To his surprise, his shout was echoed by others. He whirled around to face the waiting room. There stood his mother, Marty, Marty’s mother — and Ty!

  “Yes!” Cole yelled, pumping his fist and pointing at the teenager. “You got my letter!”

  Ty didn’t answer. He just held up a wrinkled envelope and grinned.

  26

  Is that who I think it is?”

  Cole turned back to see Sensei Joe staring at Ty with a puzzled expression.

  “Ty? Ty Matthewson?” his instructor said. “It is you, isn’t it!”

  Ty’s smile turned hesitant, but he nodded.

  “Well, get in here, son,” Sensei Joe cried, “and tell me what the heck you’ve been up to all these years!”

  Ty did as his former instructor asked. He and Sensei Joe stood together in the dojo, talking animatedly. Cole watched them with satisfaction. Something told him that Ty would be returning to karate soon!

  “Way to go, buddy!” Marty grabbed Cole in a big bear hug. “I knew you could do it!”

  “Thanks, Marty — for everything,” Cole said. He held up his green belt. “I couldn’t have gotten this without your help.”

  “So you’ll return the favor when it’s my turn,” Marty said. “After all, I may be testing soon myself!”

  Cole’s mother came in next. She took Cole’s old blue belt from Sensei Joe and th
en turned to her son, beaming. “We sneaked in during the last minutes of your test,” she confessed. “You looked so strong and confident out there, Cole! I’m so proud of you!”

  “Thanks, Mom. Hi, Mrs. Bronson. Thanks for coming!”

  Marty’s mother smiled at him. “I look forward to seeing Marty in your shoes — or rather, bare feet — in a few months. Now what do you say we all go and get some lunch before the kata contest?”

  “Marty and I have something to talk to Sensei Joe about first,” Cole said, giving Marty a significant look. Their mothers sat down to chat.

  “What is it, boys?” Sensei Joe asked when he saw Cole and Marty waiting for him to finish talking with Ty.

  “It’s about the kata contest,” Cole said. “We were hoping to get your permission to do something a little… special.”

  “Come into my office and explain what you have in mind,” Sensei Joe said. Then he shook Ty’s hand, saying, “Stop by after school tomorrow and we’ll see about getting you a new gi. Something tells me you’ve outgrown your old one!”

  Ty laughed. Then, as he turned to leave, he slapped Cole on the back. “Sure am glad I met you,” he said. “See you at the contest.”

  “Now, boys, what is it you wanted to ask me?” Sensei Joe said.

  “Well, sir, it’s like this…”

  Ten minutes later, Cole and Marty had their instructor’s permission to do what they hoped to do. “Cross your fingers that this works,” Cole said as they joined their mothers in the waiting area. “If not, I’m afraid I’ll have lost a friend I just found again.”

  The kata contest was being held at two o’clock that afternoon. Cole, Marty, and their mothers returned to the dojo at 1:45 pm. Other karate students and their families were there, including Monique and her parents. She glanced at Cole when he walked in but then quickly looked away.

  At two o’clock sharp, Sensei Joe came out of his office and asked everyone to please gather in the main dojo. “I’m sorry I don’t have enough chairs for everyone,” he said. “But go ahead and grab some floor!”