Chapter 3: Fresh Off The Boat
I look forward to seeing Miyagi-do. I hope the dojo reopens soon. I need to defend myself against these Cobra Kai assholes. Demetri forgot to give me directions so I just look it up online. I find my way there and see Demetri sitting down.
"Oh hey. You made it." He says.
"You forgot to tell me how to get here." I say while smiling.
"Oh shoot. Sorry about that. Anyway, welcome to Miyagi-do. It may not seem like it, but this is where we learn karate." He says. I look around the place. It's pretty open. It also has a Japanese esthetic to it.
"Cool. How exactly do you learn karate here?" I ask.
"Here we learn balance and use that to our advantage." He says.
"How does that work?" I ask.
"Want me to show you?" He asks.
"Uh, sure." I respond. We move over to a more open space. Suddenly, Demetri closes his eyes and begins breathing.
"Um, you going to do anything or-" I begin to say but am cut off my Demetri quickly sweeping both of my legs. I fall down to the ground in a lot of pain.
"Oh, shoot. Sorry about that." Demetri says.
"Nah, I asked for it." I say while standing up. I'm surprised by how sudden and effective that was. He was even wearing a cast.
"Can you teach me how to do that?" I ask.
"Well, I can try. I've never taught anyone before." Demetri says. Throughout the next thirty minutes, Demetri shows me how to get some sort of balance and how to sweep someone's leg. It's pretty fun. Eventually, I have to go home. Man, imagine how good I can become if I took actual classes.
Later...
Some time passes and I get a text from Demetri.
"Dude! Miyagi-do just reopened! Come join us!"
"Awesome! I'll be there." I can't wait. I ask my parents to drive me there. When I get there I suddenly get really nervous. What if some of them are assholes like Cobra Kai? I push those thoughts to the back of my mind. I soon enter Miyagi-do and everyone stops to stare at me. I suddenly get really uncomfortable.
"Hey, are you here to join us?" A man asks.
"Uh, yeah." I say. I presume this guy is Mr. LaRusso.
"Awesome. Why don't you get a spot in the back. We were just about to start." Mr. LaRusso says. I step towards the back and listen to what he starts to say.
"I know It's been a while since our last class. After the fight at the school, I wasn't sure Miyagi-do should stay open. But things have gotten worse since we shut down. That's why we're back. The only way to stop Cobra Kai is if we all work together. But always remember, the reason we learn Karate is to defend ourselves. Never to start fights. We need to show forgiveness, compassion. Mr. Miyagi used to say if you're looking for revenge, you can start by digging two graves. He was right. If you have hate in your heart, then, you've already lost. I know it's not easy, but you have to do whatever you can to show mercy, even if your enemy doesn't deserve it. Understand?" Mr. LaRusso asks.
"Yes sensei!" Everyone shouts but me. I don't know what that means.
"Okay. Let's start with some basic exercises". He says. Everyone was doing their breathing and doing things I didn't understand. It was painfully obvious. While everyone else was together, I was looking around trying to figure out what to do.
Later...
After a while, class ended. I felt like a complete failure. Before I could leave Mr. LaRusso stops me. Eventually everyone had left and it was just me and Mr. LaRusso.
"So, I noticed that you were struggling today." He says.
"That's an understatement. I had no idea what was going on." I say honestly.
"Well, what's bothering you the most?" He asks.
"It feels like I'm in a room full of experts, that I don't belong here. It also feels like I've been dropped in a war with no knowledge of what to do." I say.
"Ok, how about this. I'll teach you some stuff right now and we'll see what level you're at." Mr. LaRusso says.
"Okay." I say.
"Get ready." Mr. LaRusso says. Suddenly Mr. LaRusso aims a punch at my stomach. I jump back terrified.
"Is something wrong?" He asks
"No, I'm just a bit nervous." I lie.
"Let's try again, but this time try to block." Mr. LaRusso says. This time when he goes to punch my stomach, I move my arm in front of his, to block. It was extremely awkward to do. However, I don't notice in time that he also has his other arm out to punch me.
"Ow!" I shout.
"That's okay. We just need to work on your reflexes. Okay, let's see your offense. Try anything on me." Mr. LaRusso says. I hesitate, but eventually try and punch him. He easily blocked it.
"How are you at kicking?" Mr. LaRusso asks.
"I don't know. It's not the first thing that comes to mind in a fight." I say.
"Well, let's just see how you do." Mr. LaRusso says. I ready myself and attempt to kick Mr. LaRusso. However, I have no skill so it barely does anything when my foot hits his stomach.
"Try aiming a bit higher." Mr. LaRusso suggests. I nod and attempt to kick Mr. LaRusso in the face. I hope he blocks. But he doesn't need to as when I do it, I lose my balance and fall on my back.
"That's okay. At least you tried." Mr. LaRusso says.
"That's not good enough. Everyone around me is able to handle themselves while I can't even do a single good kick." I say.
"Just remember this. Cobra Kai will try to overwhelm you. Just breathe and stay focused. Analyze the situation and try to find a weak point." Mr. LaRusso says.
"Thanks." I say.
"Do you want some more help after tomorrow's class?" Mr. LaRusso asks.
"Yeah, that would be great." I say. After that, I am free to go. I think about what Mr. LaRusso said to me. Maybe with more training, I can stand up to Kyler, Steve and Hawk. I doubt it though. Everyone seems so important while I'm just a nobody.
Author's Note: Don't worry. James will get better soon.