Marshal Arts is not for Me
Summary: When Kimi's maternal grandparents pay for three months of Karate for her and Chuckie after a visit to America, Kimi finds she doesn't enjoy Karate while Chuckie is fascinated by it! But can Kimi face her grandparents and tell them the truth? Or will she keep doing what she hates, just to not hurt their feelings.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Rugrats characters, they're the property of their original creaters.
Editional Notes: Zack has been with the gang since Rugrats and the Gray Plague, Chuckie is 8 in this story while Kimi is 7, which puts the gang in second grade, with Angelica and Susie in fourth grade and Dil in first grade, and, new characters, Kevin and Mya, Kira's parents are introduced, as well as the sensay at the Okanawan Karate school, Sensay Lizzie is introduced. Thought I'd do this story as a way to reflect on when I use to do Karate when I was younger, though I should apologize in advance for my pour spelling on any Japanese terminology that should come up in this story.
"Hey Chuckie, my grandpa has invited Dil and me to go fishing with him this weekend, want to come along?" Tommy asked Chuckie as the two of them were in the line waiting for the bus to go home from school.
"No, I'm sorry Tommy, I can't come this time." Replied Chuckie as they took their seats on the bus to go home.
"Why not? You had fun the last time, didn't you?" Tommy asked.
"No, it's not that, it's, well, my grandparents on my mom's side are coming all the way from Japan for a visit this weekend." Replied Chuckie.
"Oh wow that's great! Well, have a good time then." Said Tommy.
"You too Tommy, I'll see you Monday." Said Chuckie as he stepped off the bus at the bus stop that let out in front of his house.
Later that weekend, Kimi and Chuckie were sitting at the kitchen table, when their mom walked in with her parents.
"We're home from the airport, and there's someone I'd like you to meet!" Said Kira walking into the kitchen with her parents following behind her. Her mom looked like an older version of her, while her dad had no hair on the top of his head, with black hair around the back. I guess you could say he was sort of like a grandpa Lou with black hair, minus the mushstash.
"Hello my sweet Kimi Chan, it's been so long since we've seen you." Said grandpa Kevin, as he gave Kimi a hug.
"Why we haven't seen you since before you moved to Paris. You were so tiny back then." Said grandma Mya, pinching Kimi's cheek.
"Grandma, grandpa, it's great to see you!" Said Kimi excitedly.
"And who is this young fellow?" Kevin asked, looking at Chuckie.
"Mom, dad, you remember the pictures I sent you of my new husband Chaz and our son Chuckie? Well, this is your grandson Chuckie." Said Kira, as she put her arm around Chuckie, comforting him. He knew he didn't do the best with new people, so wanted to be there to comfort him.
"Chaz will be home later, he's working at our coffee shop, the Java Lava." Said Kira.
Everyone spent the afternoon getting to know one another. Later that evening, after Chaz's arrival home and he got to know his mother and father-in-law, Kevin had a big surprise for his two grandchildren.
"I have a big surprise for you Chuckie and Kimi. I give you, Okanawan Karate lessons." Said Kevin.
"What's that?" Kimi asked.
"It's a style of marshal arts, the art of self defence, and we thought you and your brother would enjoy taking some lessons, and seeing what it's like. We spoke with a lovely lady in town named Sensay Lizzie, who is excited to have you in her class at the local dojo. Classes start Monday after school." Said Kevin.
"Thank you grandpa, that is very sweet of you!" Said Kimi.
"Um… Thank you…" Said Chuckie shyly.
"Oh Chuckie, I'm sure once you had a few lessons, you'll start to love it." Said Mya.
"And we've only paid for three months up front, so if you don't like it, it's not a total loss. You two will be in the junior Dragons class, since that's the level offered for second graders." Said Kevin.
Monday at lunch recess, Zack, Chuckie and Tommy are hanging out on a bench near one of the basketball courts on the playground.
"So Chuckie, want to come with me and Zack after school? We're heading down to the pond to film more of our frog catching and see if we can't break our current world record." Said Tommy.
"Yeah, I'm up to catching 17 frogs at a time now! Of course, I have Phil to thank for teaching me his technique." Said Zack.
"Sorry guys, I can't come today. My grandparents got me and my sister Karate lessons." Replied Chuckie.
"What's Karate?" Zack asked.
"It's something called marshal arts, something about self defence. I'm not sure if I want to do this." Said Chuckie.
"Oh come on Chuckie, I'm sure it's lots of fun!" Said Tommy.
"Well, if you say so Tommy, I'll give it a try." Said Chuckie, as the end of recess bell rang for them to head inside.
That afternoon after school, Chuckie and Kimi were greeted by their maternal grandparents upon getting off the bus. They already picked up gies for them, with a white belt, as that's the first color belt one gets in Karate. Chuckie and Kimi went and put on the special top and pants, and headed to the dojo for their first lesson.
"Good afternoon class, or, ko nee chee wah. My name is Sensay Lizzie and I will be your instructor." Said Sinsay Lizzie, a tall lady wearing a gie with a sixth degree black belt in the front of a large room complete with a wooden floor, and a huge mirror on the front wall. Lizzie had short brown hair and wore a white sweat band.
Chuckie and Kimi went and took a spot in line at the very end, since they were white belt beginners, next to a curly haired boy with his yellow tips.
"Our first exercise will be junebiendo." Said Sinsay Lizzie as she pivoted her toes out and counted to ten in Japanese.
"Itch, knee, saun, chee, go, rook, seech, hoch, ku, ju." She counted, the rest of the class following along as Sinsay did the exercises.
That first class consisted of junebiendo, followed by hojundendo, and then, the class did SaunChin, the first kata learned by a young Karate trainee.
"Saunchin means three strikes, or, three conflicts." Explained Sinsay Lizzie as everybody got into position.
"We will be doing this kata hidari ashi muy, or, left foot forward." Continued Sinsay Lizzie, as she put her feet into position, her back towards the class.
Everyone performed SaunChin with no hesitation. Chuckie and Kimi caught on quickly, and to Chuckie's surprise, he was enjoying himself! After the class did SaunChin as a group, Kimi and Chuckie were excused to work with two other students on learning Kumatay one and two, while the rest of the class continued to work on katas that they would not start learning till they were higher up in belt rank.
Classes continued like this for a while, as Chuckie and Kimi continued to attend classes everyday after school and on Saturday mornings, preparing for their yellow tips test. As the classes continued, Chuckie's progress in the class amazed Sinsay Lizzie, while Kimi, struggled to keep up. One day, they were getting ready to work on cumitay number one. Chuckie was the attacking side, while Kimi was suppose to be defending, or, one would think.
Chuckie stepped forward, punching out his right arm, stepping forward, but when he punched, he hit Kimi in the chest.
"What did you do that for?" Kimi snapped.
"Kimi, you're suppose to step back and block that punch. Weren't you paying attention?" Chuckie asked in a stirn tone.
"Um, no." Kimi replied, standing there, arms down at her sides. Just then, Sinsay Lizzie came over.
"Now Kimi, this is not the proper way to be doing Karate. Migi aushi muy, hands in tiger claw position." Said Sinsay Lizzie, as she positioned Kimi's hands and feet.
"I can't do this." Kimi said with a sigh.
"Sure you can, it just takes practice. Now, let's start cumitay number one again. Chuckie, you attack, Kimi, you defend." Said Sinsay Lizzie, as the two of them got into position.
Kimi finally did her part of cumitay, but deep down, she felt like she was being tortured!
Later, near the end of a Saturday morning class, the students sat on the floor of the dojo in a huge circle, going around, answering general knowledge questions.
"Kimi, what three animals is the style of Karate you're studying based on?" Asked Sinsay Lizzie.
"The zebra, rynoserus and the monkey?" Kimi replied.
"I'm sorry, but that's incorrect. Chuckie?" Said Sinsay Lizzie.
"The tiger, crain, and the dragon." Replied Chuckie.
"Correct!" Said Sinsay Lizzie.
"Chuckie, what is the name of the style you are studying, and what do the words mean?" Sinsay Lizzie asked.
"Okanawan, show hey ru, Karate doe. Show means to shine brightly, ru means peace, fairness and equality. And doe is the way, like in the word dojo, it's the place where you study the way." Replied Chuckie.
"Very good!" Said Sinsay Lizzie.
"Kimi, can you count to ten for me in Japanese?" Sinsay Lizzie asked.
"Itch nee… Itch nee… Oh I can't do this!" Snapped Kimi, as she stormed out of the dojo into the waiting room.
After class, Sinsay went and had a talk with Kimi.
"Kimi, I see you're having a bit of trouble. I'd be happy to offer you some private one-on-one lessons if it might help." Said Sinsay Lizzie.
"No! Just leave me alone!" Snapped Kimi as she put on her shoes and headed out to the parking lot where Kira was picking her and Chuckie up. Chuckie, who had stayed in the dojo after class to pick out his sparring gear, as he was doing so well they were going to make an acception and let him start sparring before his first test, was startled by the honk of Kira's horn. He picked out the gear he wanted, which consisted of a blue helmet, gloves and knee pads, headed out of the dojo, slipped on his shoes and headed to the car.
"So, how was class?" Kira asked as her two kids got into the car.
"It was great! I'm gonna start sparring next week!" Said Chuckie excitedly.
"It was fine." Kimi lied.
"So, I hear your yellow tips test will be coming up soon." Continued Kira.
"Yep, two weeks from this Sunday, and I'm definitely ready! I can't wait to invite Phil, Tommy and Zack to come see me test." Said Chuckie.
"And what about you Kimi. Are you going to invite Lil and Susie to your test? Do you think you're ready?" Kira asked.
"I guess so. I could use a little more practice on my cumitay though." Said Kimi.
"You could use a lot more practice." Chuckie thought to himself, as they continued to drive home.
On the Monday before the Karate test, Chuckie, Phil, Zack and Tommy were all playing 4Square on a 4square court on the blacktop part of the playground.
"So Chuckie, how's Karate going?" Tommy asked.
"It's going great! When I'm in that dojo, I feel braver than ever, and it's like my fears just, disappear!" Said Chuckie excitedly.
"That's great Chuckie!" Tommy replied happily.
"Yeah! And, that reminds me. I'll be testing on Sunday for my yellow tips, would you guys like to come see me test?" Chuckie asked.
"We'd love to, but we have a Little League baseball game on Sunday." Zack replied.
"Yeah, and I'm the pitcher. I wanted to play soccer, but mom insisted I give Little League a try. It's ok, but I'll probably switch to soccer next season." Replied Phil.
"That's ok Phil and Zack, no worries Chuckaroo, I'll be there Sunday. No way I'm gonna miss the first Karate test of my best friend." Said Tommy.
"Thanks Tommy." Replied Chuckie.
"And Zack and Phil, you don't have to worry, you'll get to see the test too, cuz I've got an idea!" Said Tommy.
Everybody knew instantly what Tommy was up to. The kid had been making videos with his dad's camcorder since kindergarten. At first, it started out with videos starring his toys in the backyard, like that Reptar versus Goober movie he showed off at show and tell back in kindergarten. As time progressed, his movies went from the backyard to filming any local event he was invited to but not a participant in, to little movies starring his friends. And sure there are lots of 7-year-olds with youtube accounts under their parents names, since one needs to be 13 or older to actually have their own youtube account, but as far as the rest of the gang was concerned, in the year 2019, as that's the present year at the time of our story, Tommy was the only second grader they knew of who was posting his own videos to his youtube channel, ReptarLover2012 was his screen name, but the account was in his dad's name for obvious reasons.
Later that day, everyone was on the bus heading for home. Tommy and Chuckie were sitting next to each other as they always did, talking about who knows what, as this was one of the few times other than lunch and recess they got to hang out anymore, between Chuckie having Karate class practically everyday, and Tommy having cub scouts, Little League, and harmonica lessons as the Yucaipa Community Music School, though those might phase out sooner or later as he was starting to lose interest. And as for that Little League game on the day of Chuckie's test, Tommy told coach he had another commitment and couldn't make the game. Still, the bus ride was one of the few times the two best buddies got to spend time together anymore. Zack and Kimi were seated next to one another on the bus, Kimi, looked unhappy as she stared out the window.
"Hey Kimi is something wrong? You seem a bit distracted today." Zack asked.
"No, I'm fine." Kimi lied.
"Come on Kimi, I've known you since you were 2, and I can tell when something's bothering you. Now come on, tell me. What's wrong?" Zack asked.
"Well ok, if you must know, it has to do with Karate." Replied Kimi.
"What about Karate?" Zack asked, putting his arm around Kimi's shoulder.
"I don't like it ok!" Kimi snapped.
"Then why don't you just, quit?" Zack said.
"I can't quit. My grandparents came all the way up here from Japan to give me and my brother these Karate lessons, if I tell them I'm not enjoying them they'll be very upset and I'll hurt their feelings." Replied Kimi.
"But Kimi, if you really don't like it, you shouldn't have to suffer. Don't do something because your parents or guardian want you to do it. You should only do what makes you happy. Look at Tommy. He hates harmonica lessons at the Yucaipa Community Music School, so after the next recital next month, he's quitting. He told his grandma Lulu who got him the lessons that he doesn't like them, and she understood. Now don't you think your grandparents would understand if you didn't want to take Karate? Karate is not for everyone, though I'm shocked at how much Chuckie likes it." Said Zack.
"Yeah, you're right. I'll at least stick it out for this week, and get through the test on Sunday. After all, grandma and grandpa are heading back to Japan after our test on Sunday, so this will be a good time to tell them that I quit and wish to no longer continue doing marshal arts." Replied Kimi.
"That's the spirit. Good luck on Sunday. I sadly can't make it, got a Little League game that day, but I'm pretty sure I'll see your test, chances are it will be posted to Tommy's youtube channel within 2 to 5 hours afterwards." Said Zack, as he stepped off the bus outside of his apartment.
Kimi waved goodbye and smiled slightly, giving herself a little faith that she could do this.
On Friday at lunch, Tommy and Zack were talking.
"So, I hear you convinced Kimi to admit she doesn't like Karate and to quit." Said Tommy.
"I take it you overheard our conversation the other day." Zack replied.
Tommy nodded.
"Well, yeah! She shouldn't have to do something just to please others. I'm sorry Kimi doesn't like Karate. To tell you the truth Tommy, I've always wanted to take Karate, but it never got to the top of my aunt's list to enroll me into a class." Zack said with a sigh.
Kimi overheard this from where she was sitting with Phil and Lil, and got a brilliant idea.
It was Sunday, the day of the test. Stu, Didi, Tommy and Dil brought Chuckie, Kimi, and grandma Mya and grandpa Kevin to the dojo since pour Chaz and Kira had a double shift at the Java Lava that day and couldn't make it. Everybody was seated in the waiting room, peering through the glass windows that looked into the dojo. And there of course was Tommy, sure enough, the only 7-year-old there holding a video camera, careful to get every shot perfectly, as his young eyes didn't miss a thing. Inside the dojo, benches were set up along the side where the testers sat, waiting to take their test. Unlike in normal classes, where they did much of their work facing the mirrors on the front wall, tests were done towards the back of the room, with the mirrors to the right of the participant when starting their kata, etc.
The group kneeled on the ground before beginning as Sinsay Lizzie went over a few things, the order of the test, etc. They'd start out with katas, then cumitay, then general knowledge questions, and finally, sparring. Kimi and Chuckie would be participating in everything except sparring, because Kimi wasn't even sparring yet, and Chuckie had barely been sparring for a week. After their introductions, everybody went over and sat on benches on the side, and came up one by one to perform their test katas.
"Chuckie Finster will go first." Said Sinsay Lizzie, as Chuckie walked up to face the judges, took a bow, and introduced himself.
"My name is Chuckie Finster, and today, I am testing for nee cue. I will be performing SaunChin." Said Chuckie, as he got into position. He did it migi aushi muy, right foot forward. Before he began, Sinsay Lizzie came around and gave him an official SaunChin test. This is where they go around and punch and kick the participant, to see how strong they are holding their position. Chuckie had a very strong position, feet planted firmly on the floor, fingers out strait in speering position, and a full diaphragm. After the testing of his physique was finished, Sinsay Lizzie gave Chuckie the ok to start the kata, and he completed SaunChin with no hesitation.
After completing SaunChin and taking his final bow to close out the kata, everybody clapped and cheered as Chuckie went and took his seat on the bench.
"Our next one to test will be Kimi Finster." Said Sinsay Lizzie, as Kimi got out of her seat and approached the judges. Of course, nobody had any idea of what Kimi was about to do, but no way was she taking this test. Now was her chance, to come clean. She took her bow, and began her introduction slash forfit.
"My name is Kimi Finster and I will not be testing for nee cue today." She began.
Everybody gasps.
"I got these Karate lessons as a present from my grandma and grandpa, who came to visit all the way from Japan. At first, I thought I would give these lessons a try, but as the days and weeks went on, I found it felt more like being tortured than an enjoyment. I have trouble keeping focused, learning the Japanese, and just, doing everything correctly, but I didn't have the heart to tell my grandparents I wanted to quit for fear it would hurt their feelings. But a good friend of mine reminded me the other day that I shouldn't do things just to please others. I should only do something if it makes me happy. Well, I am not happy doing marshal arts. That's right everyone, marshal arts is not for me, and so, let this be the end of my training. To my brother Chuckie and my other fellow classmates, it was good doing training with you, and best of luck, on the remainder of your test." Said Kimi.
After she finished speaking, she took a bow and left the dojo, going and sitting in an empty seat out in the waiting room next to Tommy and Dil.
The rest of the test went smoothly, and Chuckie was promoted to nee cue, or in English, his yellow tips, and yellow tape was placed on either end of his white belt at the end of the test. Afterwards, Chuckie came out into the room, immediately greeted by Tommy, Dil, Kimi, his maternal grandparents and Stu and Didi all giving Chuckie a big group hug.
Later that night, everybody, including the Devilles, Finsters, Pickles, and Zack's family all went out to eat at Chuckie's favorite Japanese restaurant in honor of him passing his test, as well as a farewell party for Kira's parents, who would be heading back to Japan the following day.
"You know Kimi Chan, your grandmother and I are sorry you didn't like the Karate lessons, but we're very proud of you for finally coming forward, and telling us the truth." Said grandpa Kevin, who was sitting next to Kimi.
"Thank you for understanding grandpa, and I'm sorry I didn't come to you sooner." Replied Kimi.
"But you only completed one month of your free trial." Said grandma Mya.
"And that's why I've decided everyone, that I'm going to let my friend Zack have the last two months of my Karate lessons." Said Kimi.
"Really? You mean it?" Zack asked from the other end of the table excitedly.
"Yes. After all, you encouraged me to stand up for myself and not continue to go through with something I didn't like. I hope you enjoy the Karate lessons, and to you and my brother Chuckie, best of luck to the both of you." Said Kimi.
"Wow Kimi, thanks!" Said Zack.
Everyone gave a toast to Chuckie's rank promotion, and dug into their plates of sushi and edimomay.
"And now for your entertainment, I give you all my latest movie, Karate Best Friend, Part 1." Said Tommy, as he placed his dad's iPad in the center of the table, and clicked on the newly uploaded youtube video, which was of Chuckie's Karate test from earlier that day.
The End
Epilogue: And so, Kimi stopped taking Karate, and the following week, Zack went to the dojo with Chuckie to take Kimi's place over the next two months. Zack found he enjoyed it very much, and the two of them had a lot of fun taking Karate together. But there was one slight change. Chuckie did miss spending more time with Tommy, Phil, Lil, Kimi and Dil, so he cut down from taking Karate six days a week, to only going two days a week, one day after school and on Saturday mornings, and Zack only went twice a week as well. And as for Kimi? Well, let's just say she only resorted to after school activities that made her happy, that she wanted to do. This consisted of ballet, junior cheerleaders, and most importantly, spending quality time with her family and friends.
Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed that story. And yes, if you didn't notice, decided to throw some irony in there for good measure. After all, who would have figured the girl of Japanese descent would hate a style of marshal arts that originated in her country of origin, while America's biggest scaredy cat would become fascinated with the activity. Although it's no surprise that Chuckie did enjoy the marshal arts, after all, he did have a daydream on their trip to Paris as a 2-year-old toddler where he was a marshal arts expert, being very brave. Feel free to review, and, be looking for more Rugrats stories from their childhood, coming soon.