CHAPTER 143
As Robby followed the rest of Miyagi-Dos, out of the preparation room, through a long corridor, and then out into the view of the multiple thousand person audience, he had to blink for a moment to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He listened to the commentator announce their dojo's name, and was stunned at the violently loud roaring and applause that greeted them as they walked out of the competitors' tunnel and into the audiences' eyes. Every competing dojo got that treatment. Only the most die-hard of fans came to watch the prelim events, and that meant that they were the incredibly loud fans too. They weren't afraid to scream and shout as their favorite dojos entered the mix, particularly those who they had watched compete in the Taikai before. But the competitors forced themselves to ignore all of the fanfare, as much as they could at least. They had a job to do, with absolutely no margin for error.
The event soon got underway, with each fighter having been given a personalized timetable of the day, with their 5 fights being marked clearly, with both time and location. Senseis had been given a slightly different schedule to keep track of all of their students' matches, but for the students, it was just 5 fights, 5 timings, 5 locations. Because location was a big thing too. Although they were all going to stay within the massive arena all day, there were 20 mats that they could be fighting at, each also marked with a number and a special referee.
What the Miyagi-Dos also quickly realized after everything started was that although they would be fighting quite a few times each throughout the course of the day, there would also be a fair bit of waiting around too. 5 fights, each of which lasting on average 10 minutes each, meant that they'd be fighting for just under an hour each day. Well they'd be at the arena for 8 hours, which meant that there would be a hell of a lot more break time than there would be actual fighting time.
This meant that they were free to watch each other's fights whenever they weren't fighting themselves. Interestingly enough, none of the Miyagi-Dos were fighting in the first round of fights that morning except Miguel, so every single one of them was able to go, watch and support their friend.
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"You ready?" Johnny asked Miguel as they walked towards the mat where Miguel was fighting, the rest of the Miyagi-Dos following close behind.
Taking a deep breath to calm and steady himself, Miguel nodded.
"I am." Miguel replied. He had to be. Fast out of the blocks wasn't just an option: it was the only option.
"You sure? Remember… there's no pressure to fight if you're not feeling up to it. I'm not going to try to force you or pressure you." Johnny said, remembering the shitshow that had occurred last time they had been at a tournament. Miguel nodded.
"I'm good, Sensei, I swear. And I swear I won't leave the country this time." Miguel remarked back. Johnny chuckled and nodded.
"Good to hear. Because once was bad enough. I don't think your mom would forgive me if you did it again." Johnny joked. "She called me this morning, by the way. Told me to wish you good luck from her and Laura."
"Thanks." Miguel replied.
A few moments later, Miguel, Johnny and the Miyagi-Dos made it to the mat that Miguel would be fighting at, and when they did, their hearts sank dramatically. The good news was that Miguel wasn't fighting any of the Cobra Kais right off the bat. The bad news, the absolutely shit news, was that Miguel found himself up against none other than the reigning Sekai Taikai champion, the Argentinean 20 year old who was desperately eager to be the first person in decades to go back-to-back as champion.
"That's not good." Miguel murmured quietly as he saw the opponent on the opposite side of the mat. He couldn't help but stare at the bigger, stronger, more experienced fighter opposite, but Johnny quickly pulled him away so that Miguel was instead facing his sensei.
"Ignore him. Ignore everything you think you know about him." Johnny stated. "You have no clue how good he is because you haven't fought him yet. I don't either. But I know how good you are. You won the All-Valley on your first try. You beat paralysis in less than a few months. I've seen you fight hundreds of times and I can probably count on only one hands the number of times I've seen you lose. You have what it takes to win this thing. You just need to have no fear, and go out and show it."
Determination took over the anxiety on Miguel's face, and he nodded, clenching his jaw and gritting his teeth.
"Yes, sensei…"
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Miyagi-Do were in for a rude awakening. In fact, both of the Valley dojos were in for a rude awakening. They knew that they weren't competing against shitty All-Valley opponents anymore, but nothing could've prepared them for the insanity and chaos they were about to be rocked with. Every fight they competed in throughout the prelims felt like a fight for their lives. Not a single time did they get the opportunity to take their foot off the gas, starting with Miguel's opening fight against the reigning Sekai Taikai champion.
It was truly dreadful luck to be drawn against the champion, for a number of reasons. Not only was he one of the most skilled opponents there, but he had so much experience fighting in this setting, winning in this setting. While Miguel had a sense of reluctance to attack for this reason, a feeling that was preventing him from fighting at his full potential, the opponent had no hesitation to fire away from the first second of the fight.
Before any of the Miyagi-Dos could react, the opponent had already scored 3 points on Miguel - on one of Miyagi-Dos' champions - which was more than half of what he needed to win the 5 point fight. After he scored the third point, a brutal punch to the stomach that followed an inch-perfect sweep, Miguel stumbled back to his corner, unable to find the words of what to say.
"Shit. He's so good." Miguel panted for breath as he walked over to Johnny, Robby and all of the others who were watching on. While all of the other Miyagi-Dos were inclined to agree with Miguel, Johnny didn't feel the same way.
"Bullshit. You're letting him walk all over you! You need to snap out of whatever sissy moment you're having and remember how to fight properly! You're better than him, I know you are! You just need to stop being so scared to attack!"
"Sensei, I can't. He's too good." Miguel groaned, clutching his abdomen. Truth be told, while the Miyagi-Dos had expected their opponents at the Taikai to be good, none of them had expected them to be this good. Their whole dojo was watching on with newfound uncertainty about their place in this tournament.
"Johnny's right." Barnes chimed in. "You can see that he's not that technically skilled. He's a one trick pony: attack you with strikes, take half a step back, immediately sweep your leg as you try to advance on him, and then land a hit to score the point. That's all he does. Granted he's extremely good at it, but if you prevent him from doing that, the fight is yours for the taking."
"If you properly attack him and put him on the defensive, he won't be able to use his bread and butter. Then the fight becomes in your hands." Johnny said. "Remember what I taught you. Controlled aggression. That's what you need. If you do that, the 3 points will be pretty easy to win back."
"Yes, Sensei."
With newfound determination, Miguel took to the mat once more. And sure enough, Barnes and Johnny were right. Now that his opponent had been taken off the pedestal and Miguel wasn't afraid to attack him, the fight definitely shifted in Miguel's favor. Miguel prevented him from playing to his strengths, which meant that he managed to gain a semblance of control over the fight.
The final result, however, was not in Miguel's favor. Miguel had definitely fought back and proven that their Taikai opponents weren't indestructible forces, but in the end he had succumbed to a 3-5 loss in his opening fight. The early 3 points that his opponent had scored were just too much of a deficit to overcome.
"I'm sorry, sensei." Miguel muttered after he bowed and stepped off the mat after the fight. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Johnny shook his head.
"Don't apologise. You did great. You took on the champion and for the second half of the fight, you beat him. That's a great start."
"I'm already 0-1 down." Miguel pointed out.
"You scored 3 points against him. Points scored also count towards making it to the round of 16 too. It's not just about winning." Daniel reminded him.
"Besides, you still have a long way to go. 4 more fights today and 5 fights tomorrow… win those and you're in a great spot." Johnny told him. "Don't sweat this fight too much. Take some time to recover and start preparing for the next one…"
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So unfortunately, Miguel lost his fight of the day. He was far from the only one. Robby, Tory and Demetri all also lost their first fight too. The Miyagi-Dos, as well the Cobra Kais, were struggling to deal with this completely new environment of fighting. They were fighting against opponents from all of the world, all with vastly different profiles as fighters. Trying to get up to speed with each individual's fighting style was something that the Miyagi-Dos needed to do that they had never had to do before, as for the first time, they weren't necessarily the more skilled fighters in their matchups.
However, what the Miyagi-Dos lacked in skills and experience, they more than made up for in heart and determination. In the most nail-biting moments, they managed to pull through. They managed to achieve wins in fights where they never would've expected a win. They were yet to face a Cobra Kai, but by the end of the first night of prelims, every single Miyagi-Do had been put through the wringer.
It was worth it though. Despite the losses they had taken, they had also taken plenty of wins. After 5 fights each, none of them were out of contention to proceed to the knockout rounds. Nobody was still undefeated within their dojo, not a student or a sensei, but there was still plenty of hope for all of them. It all depended on how they performed on the next day of prelims…