CHAPTER 4
The day of the tournament had arrived. Riana had trained long and hard, and now she feels ready and complete.
Finishing her stretches, Riana takes a long drink from the changing room's water fountain, and jumps in surprise as her instructor walks through the door.
" Don't drink too much or you'll get a stitch!"
Riana wipes her mouth dry and smiles nervously at Chung.
" Are you sure I've got a good chance in getting to the final rounds? The other girls and boys look big and bulky compared to me!"
Chung laughs and walks up to his beloved student.
" Riana, you have been my very best student. You make me very proud seeing you wear your traditional Kung Fu garments."
Riana looks down to the floor with embarrassment.
" Size, muscles, strength has no meaning when it comes to a true fight. All that matters is the will to win in any situation, the will to show your honour in battle."
" But Mr. Chung, I think I've left all my will at home down the toilet, with my breakfast..."
Roaring with laughter, Chung pulls Riana into a comforting hug and walks her down to their section in the audience, joining the rest of the British team. As they sit down, Riana takes a glimpse at the huge competition gym arena. Lights high in the ceiling rafters pour their light onto the white matted fighting floor. Rows upon rows of seated public audiences from all over the world flash and flicker as they take memorial photos of the global event. Universal camera crews wave their cameras in all directions, filming every single moment. Flags from nearly all the countries of the world decorate their section of the team's boxes, clearly separating each of the competing countries.
Gazing in wonder at her surroundings, Riana finds her eyes drifting in the direction of the Japanese section. And sure enough, her main rival Akuma is there, staring back at her. Looking away quickly, Riana begins to nervously fiddle with her plated hair. She didn't usually have such long hair, but she felt the need to grow it especially for the tournament, to complete her traditional clothes. Mr. Chung's wife plated her hair into pigtails, and then looped them behind her ears, finishing the traditional style with ribbons. It looked funny on it's own, but completed with the traditional oriental Chinese clothes, it looked perfect. Her wondering consciousness snaps back to reality as the booming voice of the commentator and host of the tournament cloaks the room, rendering it to an anxious silence.
" Welcome all to the first British unisex Martial arts universal tournament! Today's competitions will be split into two halves, one for performance art, which entails the competitors to perform a succession of multiple moves to music, while the second half will involve 5 minute fights between two competitors!" The host takes a short breather to let the information sink in before carrying on.
" The winners of these competitions, of which will be decided by our judges via a point system, will be able to qualify to the next day. On Friday, the finalists will compete for the trophy, which I promise you will be a very worth while show!"
An uproar of cheers fills the huge stadium-like gym as the host finishes speaking, and from a door in the centre of the seats, an array of dancers bound onto the competition floor, starting the entertainment before the tournament.
" This is truly an enormous event!" Riana breaths amazed.
Chung nods and stands up to give his speech for his British team.
" Before I say anything else, I would like to say how proud I am of all of you! To be able to qualify for a tournament such as this is an achievement in itself!"
The British team cheers their instructor. He continues.
" Now all of you please remember what I have taught you. It isn't just for the trophy, or the fame that you are fighting today. It is the chance to prove to yourself that you have honour, that you have the strength and courage to beat your limits!"
Riana absorbs the inspiring speech from her Instructor. However, no matter how she tried, she couldn't shake the growing bubble of self-doubt that is in her mind.
The dancers finish their display of ribbons and colour and the host speaks again, lapsing into commentator mode.
" And now first up is the British team! Riana May will be first with a sequence of Kung Fu moves. She will be using Ribbons and traditional Chinese music for effect!"
Swallowing nervously, Riana is handed her ribbons, which are attached to sticks for grip, and walks slowly onto the gym floor, feeling every single eye burning down on her expectantly. The music begins.
The day of the tournament had arrived. Riana had trained long and hard, and now she feels ready and complete.
Finishing her stretches, Riana takes a long drink from the changing room's water fountain, and jumps in surprise as her instructor walks through the door.
" Don't drink too much or you'll get a stitch!"
Riana wipes her mouth dry and smiles nervously at Chung.
" Are you sure I've got a good chance in getting to the final rounds? The other girls and boys look big and bulky compared to me!"
Chung laughs and walks up to his beloved student.
" Riana, you have been my very best student. You make me very proud seeing you wear your traditional Kung Fu garments."
Riana looks down to the floor with embarrassment.
" Size, muscles, strength has no meaning when it comes to a true fight. All that matters is the will to win in any situation, the will to show your honour in battle."
" But Mr. Chung, I think I've left all my will at home down the toilet, with my breakfast..."
Roaring with laughter, Chung pulls Riana into a comforting hug and walks her down to their section in the audience, joining the rest of the British team. As they sit down, Riana takes a glimpse at the huge competition gym arena. Lights high in the ceiling rafters pour their light onto the white matted fighting floor. Rows upon rows of seated public audiences from all over the world flash and flicker as they take memorial photos of the global event. Universal camera crews wave their cameras in all directions, filming every single moment. Flags from nearly all the countries of the world decorate their section of the team's boxes, clearly separating each of the competing countries.
Gazing in wonder at her surroundings, Riana finds her eyes drifting in the direction of the Japanese section. And sure enough, her main rival Akuma is there, staring back at her. Looking away quickly, Riana begins to nervously fiddle with her plated hair. She didn't usually have such long hair, but she felt the need to grow it especially for the tournament, to complete her traditional clothes. Mr. Chung's wife plated her hair into pigtails, and then looped them behind her ears, finishing the traditional style with ribbons. It looked funny on it's own, but completed with the traditional oriental Chinese clothes, it looked perfect. Her wondering consciousness snaps back to reality as the booming voice of the commentator and host of the tournament cloaks the room, rendering it to an anxious silence.
" Welcome all to the first British unisex Martial arts universal tournament! Today's competitions will be split into two halves, one for performance art, which entails the competitors to perform a succession of multiple moves to music, while the second half will involve 5 minute fights between two competitors!" The host takes a short breather to let the information sink in before carrying on.
" The winners of these competitions, of which will be decided by our judges via a point system, will be able to qualify to the next day. On Friday, the finalists will compete for the trophy, which I promise you will be a very worth while show!"
An uproar of cheers fills the huge stadium-like gym as the host finishes speaking, and from a door in the centre of the seats, an array of dancers bound onto the competition floor, starting the entertainment before the tournament.
" This is truly an enormous event!" Riana breaths amazed.
Chung nods and stands up to give his speech for his British team.
" Before I say anything else, I would like to say how proud I am of all of you! To be able to qualify for a tournament such as this is an achievement in itself!"
The British team cheers their instructor. He continues.
" Now all of you please remember what I have taught you. It isn't just for the trophy, or the fame that you are fighting today. It is the chance to prove to yourself that you have honour, that you have the strength and courage to beat your limits!"
Riana absorbs the inspiring speech from her Instructor. However, no matter how she tried, she couldn't shake the growing bubble of self-doubt that is in her mind.
The dancers finish their display of ribbons and colour and the host speaks again, lapsing into commentator mode.
" And now first up is the British team! Riana May will be first with a sequence of Kung Fu moves. She will be using Ribbons and traditional Chinese music for effect!"
Swallowing nervously, Riana is handed her ribbons, which are attached to sticks for grip, and walks slowly onto the gym floor, feeling every single eye burning down on her expectantly. The music begins.
