17 Karate

What is the most beautiful sound in the world?

Some say it's the nightingale. Others claimed that it's the sound of nature.

Scientist claimed that the sound of a frog in Malaysia is the most beautiful.

I disagree. They were ignorant.

They didn't know.

The most beautiful sound in the world is.....

The sound of the last bell.

*ring!!!*

"Beautiful." I said as I closed my book and quickly packed my bags. The teacher bid us farewell and reminded us to read what we learnt today at home.

"Sure~hehe"

I was sitting in the last row near the window. There was a reason why I was sitting here besides it being the main character seat.

I slide open the glass before jumping out of the window. It was 3 stories high and I was comfortably able to land on the ground and walked out of the school compound before anyone else.

The higher your year, the higher your classroom but since I was still in my first year, I was still able to jump out of my class.

I didn`t like crowds, and right after school was when it was the most crowded.

{Wow!! You are the last to reach the school and the first to leave. Amazing, what a student.👏👏} the author said sarcastically.

'Still better than missing school altogether.' I shrugged.

Now I needed to go to the karate dojo and convince my coach or rather, my sensei, that I could easily win the competition with my stats alone.

Deciding on what to do, I walked towards the karate dojo which was a quite far from the school.

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I quickly reached the dojo, now I was standing infront of it. I sighed, I was about to go in but before I did, a man came out of from it.

He was a man with shiny black hair - clearly coloured to hide his white hair - and with a rugged beard alongside gigantic arms and he was wearing a karate gi. He looked pissed off and his old wrinkles became more apparent. He looked to be in his sixties.

"You better get your ass over here before I count to 10!!!" the coach said and I immediately ran inside the dojo. I was inside even before he counted to 6.

Inside was a wide hall and three gigantic mat which was used as a sparring place, many students were sitting in a kneeling position on the edge of the mat.

It was very empty except for the equipment and punching bag on the corners. All the other students immediately turned to me. Some smiled while some frowned.

They had different reactions toward someone who had mastered their craft in a few years while they practiced for a lifetime. Some were happy while some were envious.

"Change your clothes, we will have a spar today." The coach said, and this time everyone cheered.

I went to the locker room and freshened up before changing into my karate gi with a black belt tied on my waist.

I stretched there in the changing room for some time before walking out. Now everyone was standing straight. They lined perfectly on the edge of one of the mat.

I walked there and my coach had a big smile as he gestured me to go to the middle of the mat.

I went there and looked around in confusion.

"Yuito Fujita, today we will see how many you can fight before you completely tire out." the coach said.

Everyone had a smile on their face.

'What? Are the full grown men excited to beat down a 15 year old? Unbelievable.' I thought to myself but I just joined my fist and my palm, nodding.

Then I put my arms on the side of my body and stood in an attention position. Everyone else did the same. Then we bowed.

The coach bowed only slightly while I bowed a bit lower than my coach. The rest bowed even lower than us. This showed the hierarchy that was present in the dojo.

A white belt shall always bow lower than the black belt. It was a kind of respect and acknowledgement to the stronger and more experienced one.

Then the first one who I was going to fight, came forward while the others took a seat on the ground.

The coach came between us and started the fight.

"Beware of your opponents. Hit and don't get hit. Start!!!"

The coach quickly retreated while me and my opponent both got into a karate stance.

Our legs were apart as we bend our knees to lower our centre of gravity. We hold out our hand as if we were carrying an invisible rifle.

Then we began hopping and bouncing in our place, we were light on our feet.

This was the karate stance.

My opponent came in very aggressively and launch a kick towards my face.

There was a whipping sound in the air due to its speed yet for me, it was....

..

Extremely slow.

..

I smiled, 'This will be fun.'

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Karate was a strike based game which was all about technical skills. It did not matter if you hurt an opponent, what truly matters was that you hit your opponent in one of the score points.

Good form was also more valued than the strength behind your strike.

As long as you land a hit, you get a point. Then the fighters are quickly separated once one of them land a good hit before starting again. Injuries were also very low because of this.

This type of fighting system was very safe but it was also because of this that karate lacked the raw violence compared to other martial arts.

Throughout the years karate had evolved to be more of a safe sport like the tennis, badminton etc. It was comparatively more tame compared to other martial arts.

In other words it lacked the essence of true marital arts and was more like a game. Where you play instead of fighting.

A round in a match of karate usually lasted for three minutes and it goes for three rounds. There was a lot of jumping around and not much action especially if the fighters are not masters.

Meaning they didn't have much endurance compared to others martial practitioners as well.

It could be said to be very lax and tame compared to other forms of combat. It was also claimed to be ineffective in street fights. Which would not be too wrong.

But there was one thing karate did extremely. Karate was all about speed, precision and timing.

This was one of the reason why my agility was so high. The only reason why I learned karate at first was because it was the most popular combat sport in Japan, but after practicing it I have learned its value.

Maybe if you only learned karate it might not be too useful for lets say, an MMA fight. But if you learnt it and use it as one of your many weapons, it could be an invaluable skill.

But let us return to karate alone.

What I was trying to say was, Karate was kind of lame on its own. The fighters were are soft, they had no strength behind their strike, they lack the endurance and was not really useful other than staying fit and flexible.

Karate was for pussies. That is what I thought of it after years of practicing it. It was probably my least favorite martial art.

It was too easy, especially with my inhumane agility. I had said it before that karate was all about speed, timing and precision and I was almost unbeatable in karate. 

Nay, l am tired of being humble. I was unbeatable in karate.

Especially if you add my strength to the mix, I was truly invincible. Karate fighters could not take a hit at all.

That is why, this was the outcome of the situation.

"Thank you for the fight." I said while bowing.

Everyone was looking at me with complicated eyes, they were rugged and sweaty. Some were wincing in pain as they touched their body.

They lost. Badly.

I beat them.

All 37 of them.

And it was too easy. Times like this I felt cursed, it was not only karate but other martial arts I practiced as well. 

I was too strong for this normal world without any supernatural elements.

I think I understand the feelings of a certain bald hero now.

"Everyone, you can leave now!!" The coach's loud voice could be heard and everyone stood up and bowed before leaving.

I wiped the sweat on my face, I admit it was quite tiring but I also reckoned that I could go against 100 more.

I walked towards the end of the hall and slide down against the wall. I pulled my belt lose to release some steam while I took the water bottle from the side and downed greedy gulps.

I stayed like that for a while. It was truly a refreshing feeling, resting after a good workout. I liked to imagine myself as a Titan steaming when I was like this.

But before long I saw my coach slowly approaching me and I also noticed that most of the students had left. Maybe it was due to embarrassment that they left in such a hurry.

He reached me and stood to my right side as his back leaned on the wall. There was silence for a while before he broke it with his voice full of testosterone.

"You did good." He said, his voice was deep and calm like the bottom of the ocean. It also hints that there was somethings unknown beneath that voice.

'Sure I did.' I thought to myself, not really answering while I drank the water again.

"Now I can rest assured that Japan would not be a laughing stock." He said seriously with a relieved smile.

I should smile too but I was more focused on what words he used. 'Japan won`t be a laughing stock.'

We were a laughing stock? But more importantly, he talked as if I was not going to absolutely win the competition.

But I didn`t ask those, instead I asked, "How well do you think I would do?"

He stayed silent for a while, as if deeply contemplating. And then he said, "I think you would definitely be able to secure the top 8."

I snorted unconsciously and rolled my eyes.

I waited for the punchline.

I waited for a while but the punchline never came. I guess the coach had a weird sense of humor.

It took me 10 more seconds and a good look at his eyes to realize he was not joking.

"Seriously?" I asked in disbelief.

This was the World Junior Karate Championship we were talking about. World Junior!!! meaning people who are young. I was not sure but maybe under 21 or 18.

And I had just beaten 37 grown ass men, in which some of them were black belt who trained their whole life. If that didn't speak of my abilities and give confidence to my coach, then I don`t know what will.

My coach looked at me deeply before he asked, "Yuito, have you ever fought someone outside of Japan?"

That made me paused.

Sure I had fought some immigrants but foreigners? I could not think of one.

"No." I said, wondering where he was going with this.

My coach sighed before rubbing his temple, "The truth is.." He said, a bit hesitant.

"...Japan probably has the worst fighters in the whole world." He admitted.

"Karate might have originated from Japan but it has been a long time since we even made through the first round in any competition."

"There are monsters outside of this small island. You are going to face those. And I have no doubts in my mind that you would be surprised by the difference in level." He said.

And I was left speechless. Sure I knew that Japan was very weak compared to other countries in combat sports, in this world. But I have watched other countries fight too, from videos. 

The difference couldn`t be that big right? He must be exaggerating.

"You don`t believe me huh?" My coach chuckled.

"I hope this upcoming championship would make you realize, just what kind of monsters are out here in this world." My coach said before walking away.

As he was walking, he paused, "You are just one of them. You are not the only monster in this world."

Then finally left.

I sat on the floor, my mind buzzing with thoughts as I digested what my coach had said.

'So the fighters from other countries are much stronger than here huh.'

Well, that just means it would be more exciting for me.

I was not worried.

I mean.

How much stronger could they possibly be?

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{Raise the flag!!!}

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