Chapter Eighteen: Make a Move
…
Cobra Kai OST: I Want It All - Queen
…
The All Valley Under 18 Karate tournament had undergone massive changes.
Its first was that like it did originally, it took place in a highschool gym, which was what the All Valley Sports arena was after all.
However, the banners were removed, replaced with stands selling karate gear from WKF approved vendors.
Tokaido, SMAI, as well as Hayashi and others.
Instead of wearing red t-shirts, each judge wore a suit and tie, putting them on.
There were a total of seven rings, each fully sized with puzzle mats arrayed in a rectangular fashion. Six were smaller, arrayed in a circle around the centermost mat being the biggest of them all.
The All Valley sports arena had a snack stand, a table to coordinate rings and brackets, and when the doors opened, people began to stream in.
California's entire karate community had arrived to compete, and even dojos from Mexico had shown up as well.
Teams from Grass Valley to San Diego had come to compete, and not just dojos like Xtreme Martial Arts that Robby had heard of and seen, like Topanga Karate from the San Fernando Valley, but also ones he'd never heard of in his life.
A young lady wearing a black jacket wiped off the table for the snack stand with a towel.
Judges and staff cleaned the mat with a few special towels carefully.
The rings had a digital scoreboard, a chair in each corner, and there were people making sure each part of the entire arena was clean, ready, and fully prepared for competition.
Dojos had their students warm up their forms and sparring on the mats. They'd hit strike pads and mitts, stretching, practicing their kata.
The mats were blue, red, and white, with lines of tape on the ground marked where the competitors had to line up during sparring.
Robby Keene was more ready for this tournament than he had felt for anything in his entire life.
He watched teenagers wearing dark blue jackets with the symbol of the USA karate national junior team on them.
Unbeknownst to him, they didn't have to currently be ranked first in their division nationally in order to get the jacket or even qualify, but he was still amazed. Shocked speechless by how much the tournament had changed in one year.
At the sheer number of people, numbers of small children chasing each other around, tossing balloons around, signs with the names of competitors on them, and one thing he couldn't take his eye off of:
There were multiple smaller trophies lined up on a table, but one in particular that stood out to him more than any. A trophy labeled: All Valley Karate Tournament Grand Champion.
It was to be given to the winner of the division with the most competitors in it, regardless of age or experience level, and Robby knew that was his own division.
By that point it was clear to Robby, this was no longer just a highschool karate tournament, this was a legitimate martial arts competition with rules and regulations connected to the International Olympic Committee.
…
John Kreese looked over his team.
Only a couple of them were wearing their black and yellow jackets with a Cobra on their back, most were in sweatpants and gym clothes.
Compared to most other teams, they were of average size, only having about eleven people overall total there competing.
Miguel Diaz, Aisha Robinson, Mitch, a boy dubbed Virgin for how he looked, Dieter, Edwin, and a few other Cobra Kais were ready to spar, listening to their sensei's words during the team meeting.
"The first All Valley I went to wasn't this big and grand, we didn't use gloves, and it wasn't a big a deal apparently." mused Kreese, "But you all have something the other people here don't."
Miguel nodded.
"A history."
The Cobra Kais listened quietly as they spoke around the stands in the All Valley sports arena.
"When the All Valley was at its most popular and competitive, Cobra Kai dominated. It's time for the karate of the Valley, and this state after today, to remember who truly ruled and who was the best."
Kreese nodded. "Show no mercy. Dismissed."
Daryl was the announcer for the tournament, speaking into a large microphone. "All judges report to the center ring, coaches are permitted to attend to listen to the rules."
Every judge there listened to the organizer of the tournament, Harry Garcia, wearing a brown suit and tie, explaining the competition rules that day.
Daniel, Kreese, and Johnny hovered nearby, hearing Harry explain how the tournament was going to proceed in detail thoroughly before dismissing everyone with a bow.
…
Robby Keene soon realized just how a karate tournament was run, and it was completely unlike how it was like the year prior.
Divisions went out to each ring youngest to oldest, divided by experience.
The first two hours of the entire tournament, the stands were packed, as young children did kata, or forms, in large groups.
Being the vast majority of competitors for the first part of the day, children aged seven and under, eight to nine, ten to eleven, and twelve to thirteen filled each ring.
By the time younger children started sparring, Robby began to pay more attention.
He noticed that divisions did forms first, followed by a matter of minutes to start sparring.
All divisions eleven and below weren't allowed to make contact with the face at all with any techniques, twelve and above only with their foot, fourteen and above hand and foot techniques could make contact with control.
Robby noticed very quickly that what was and wasn't a point was entirely subjective to the center judge of the match.
Some rings had four judges, each sitting in each corner, with a center judge presiding over the match, and every match with a judge in a chair watching the match sitting as kansa, helping oversee all sparring matches. Other rings had only two judges sitting in the corner of the rings in two chairs, with the center judge being allowed to determine the scoring for the match.
A round kick Robby could tell blatantly hit a kid cleanly in the midsection wasn't scored, while another that was clearly blocked was counted as wazari, or two points.
A reverse punch to the midsection counted as yuko, or one point, and ones to the face, or a jab, were one point as well. Any kicks, such as a hook kick or round kick to the head, were counted as ippon, or three points.
A kid was tripped and fell onto one knee before being scored on, and it was counted as three points as well, being the same thing as someone being fully swept and scored on with a clean technique counting as the same number of points as well.
Robby had known most of this because of the seminar he'd been to that the host of the tournament had held earlier the year prior, but seeing it during actual competition was different.
After hours of waiting, from nine in the morning to one in the afternoon, and half of the giant crowd leaving, Robby's division finally arrived.
Well over thirty competitors, between the ages of sixteen to seventeen, all wearing white GIs, some didn't have footguards, all had gloves, bowed in at the edge of different rings.
Among them, Lucas, Miguel, and Mitch, began to compete.
…
Cobra Kai OST: Best Around - Joe Esposito
…
Miguel Diaz was the very first round in his ring.
He was sparring a boy with dark hair and small gloves, not wearing footguards, with Japanese kanji written on his GI.
Miguel flew around with kicks, fighting very aggressively, Kreese coaching quietly from a chair positioned right next to the puzzle mats.
He nodded in approval when Miguel hit his opponent with a back kick, so hard that he went stumbling backward.
Red flags flew out from the judges sitting in the chairs in each corners and the center judge stopped the match.
"Yame!"
Miguel walked back to his line, soon bowing to accept the point.
"Aka, chudan geri wazari!" the center judge said.
Miguel's side of the digital scoreboard on the nearby table, labeled red, changed from 1 to 3.
Lucas didn't appear to be remotely worried to fight Cobra Kais despite how strong Miguel looked in the ring.
Donovan Voon, a Goju-Ryu black belt from the hosting school, was a very flashy but effective fighter.
He didn't fight flashy when fighting Xander Stone from Topanga Karate. His mother shouted loudly from the stands as he began to spar.
Donovan was patient, quick, and decisive.
He saw Xander's foot began to leave the mat in a kick, and Donovan already hit him with a jab to the chin.
The judges counted it as one point, and the match continued.
Xander Stone lost the fight four points to nothing, and from what Robby could tell, he was sure Donovan received no favor from the judges because of who his instructor was.
Lucas' first match was against a skilled fighter from San Diego's biggest karate school, who had a quick jab and fast set of reverse punches.
Lucas mostly kept his distance, before using his timing to attack as soon as he felt his opponent was about to attack.
A few in the crowd applauded as Lucas scored a reverse punch to the midsection interrupting the boy's combination.
"Ao, chudan zuki, yuko. Ao, senshu!" the judge said, declaring that Lucas, the competitor wearing blue gloves to the judge's left had scored the first point.
"Tsuzekete, hachime!"
The fight resumed, and Lucas checked a lead leg round kick off his shin, using the bounce he created to block his opponent's kick to send his own kick into his opponent's stomach.
Daniel nodded, smiling and pointing to Lucas from his coach's chair as the judge scored two points for Lucas.
Robby Keene's debut match was some of the best sparring any of the spectators in the crowd had ever seen.
He possessed Johnny's ferocity in the ring, with a degree of timing and finesse to hone it into multiple points.
His opponent, a very experienced black belt from a prestigious Grass Valley Shorin-Ryu karate dojo, wearing blue gloves and foot protectors, tried to set up an attack tapping his knee with his foot, and as it happened, Robby hit his opponent with a perfectly timed back fist with his left hand, so quickly that it looked like a jab.
Robby then scored a very clean three points, timing his opponent's deep lunging reverse punch with two kicks. He actually scored twice, hitting his opponent in the chin with a hook kick with his right foot and immediately with a round kick.
Johnny was proud of his son using his own moves so well.
Donovan ducked under Mitch's round kicks to the head, circling around the ring carefully.
The red footguard Mitch was wearing was flicked off Donovan's glove when he tried to kick him above the hip, and Donovan continued to circle around the ring.
Mitch all but waddled around the ring, walking directly into a spinning back kick to the solar plexus that dropped him.
Kreese shook his head, looking away.
Lucas second round was against Xtreme Martial Arts' top fighter, and Lucas scored a very decisive two points.
Two reverse punches, both directly to the midsection, and all he did was circle the ring afterward and keep his distance, fighting defensively, using his counters to keep his opponent at bay, and then the match was over.
Robby still looked more impressive, fighting far more aggressively, timing round kicks, front kicks, and jabs against his opponent.
He was leading his match five points to one, and eventually, Robby even managed to sweep his opponent, scoring the last three points he needed to win the fight.
In a nearby ring after Miguel easily won another match six points to nothing, Kreese was coaching Aisha Robinson.
She only had two other people to face in her division, and Samantha LaRusso wasn't cheering for a friend she had for years.
Aisha wasn't cheating, but she was certainly sparring very hard and aggressively.
Aisha would sweep her opponents, punch them hard in the face after they fell, and use her jab and reverse punch to the face to hit hard as well.
The degree of fury Aisha had in the ring surprised Sam, unsure of how to feel that despite the fact that she won her first match, she still appeared to be a different person.
The girl Aisha fought in the finals was a lot more skilled than who she fought in the previous round, aware of Aisha's aggression and striking power.
Despite that, she struggled to overcome the strength different Aisha possessed, and Sam was surprised to see that despite how strong Aisha seemed, it was her skill that won her match.
Aisha's timing with her rear hand, her distance measurement, let her win her fight seven points to two. Aisha would fake, move around the ring, and block and counter very quickly, and she scored five points with the same technique.
Using her rear hand as a counter to the face. At the end of the match, Aisha evaded her opponent's desperate attempts to tie the match and win by the tie breaker, or senshu, using her lead leg in a round kick to the head as only a few seconds remained.
She merely hit her opponent with a quick roundhouse to the back, scored the last two points, and won seven points to two.
Even though the girls division had wrapped up, the boys were only entering the quarter finals.
…
All the mats around the edge of the arena were being packed up and taken away, the tournament was essentially over, the last division was entering its last seven matches.
The quarter-finals for Boys Advanced 16-17 Kumite began quickly.
Eight young men, sweat still on their faces from the earlier rounds, lined up near the edge of the ring, and bowed in.
Miguel Diaz, Donovan Voon, Dieter, Lucas Schwarber, Robby Keene, a fighter from All Star Karate, a boy from San Diego and Xtreme Martial Arts, all got ready for sparring.
The first match was between Donovan and the All Star Karate fighter, and it wasn't close. Donovan won by eight points in under a minute.
Lucas faced Dieter and won four points to zero, using his usual strategy of being extremely patient and countering with his rear hand, with a reverse punch to the midsection with timing, ring positioning, and patience. However, he scored two points with a defensive side kick to the body.
Robby sparred the Xtreme Martial Arts karateka and beat him eight points to nothing. He scored a round kick to the temple, fighting southpaw in the first few seconds to tap his opponent's glove, and then instantly covering space across the mat by kicking twice, again snapping his roundhouse kick to the chin.
Robby jabbed, barely missing his first punch to follow it up with a reverse punch to the face. His sixth point was a well timed front kick with his rear leg just above the belt line interrupting his opponent's rushing forward strikes.
Robby finished the match with a pair of jabs.
Miguel barely had any challenge as well, the karateka from San Diego had a few moves and looked fast but Miguel was far smarter and more patient. As well as quicker, being deceptively faster during a few exchanges, winning five points to one.
Daryl spoke into the microphone as Donovan, Miguel, Lucas, and Robby lined up on the mat in front of them.
"Congratulations to these four young men here," he said as the crowd applauded and cheered for them. "Our matches for the medals have begun, and our semi finalists are as follows."
"From Cobra Kai karate, we have, Miguel Diaz!"
Carmen cheered, "That's my son!" she said proudly. Miguel's grandmother Rosa cheered as well, sitting next to her.
"Coached by his Sensei, John Kreese!"
Miguel bowed to the crowd, Kreese silent and stoic behind him, wearing a jet black jacket with yellow embroidery of the Cobra Kai cobra, and the words Sensei J. Kreese stitched on his chest.
"From Miyagi-Do karate, we have, last year's champion, Lucas Schwarber! Coached by his Sensei, Daniel LaRusso!"
Lucas humbly nodded, waving to the crowd a little bit.
"From," Daryl looked at the flash card in his hand in confusion. "Steel Eagle karate?" He stopped squinting at the paper. "Steel Eagle karate! We have, Robby Keene, coached by his father, Sensei Johnny Lawrence!"
Johnny applauded, watching as Robby bowed to the cheers of the crowd.
"And from Garcia's Martial Arts, we have Donovan Voon, coached by his sister, Cindy Voon!"
A young woman in her twenties bowed with her brother to the crowd, applauding and nodding.
"Now." Daryl smiled. "Let's go!"
…
Donovan against Robby wasn't even close. There were judges sitting in all four corners of the ring now, with a judge as kansa sitting in a chair overseeing the match, and a center judge in center of all scoring and decisions.
It was eerily similar to Robby's father Johnny fighting Darryl Vidal in the semi finals of the 1984 All Valley karate tournament.
Donovan would lead with flashy kicks, try a few jabs, and Robby was just circling him around the ring.
Robby was quick enough to counter one of Donovan's kicks with his own, using a very simple, but effective technique to score.
Donovan would try to hit Robby with a round kick just above the belt line with his left leg, Robby would space out, fully block, and as Donovan's foot touched the ground with him in orthodox, Robby had already committed fully to a round kick to Donovan's lower back.
The impact could be heard all the way in the back of the stands.
"Yame!"
The center judge scored Robby's kick to the body. "Aka, chudan geri wazari! Aka senshu!"
Donovan had seen the attack coming but could do nothing to stop it, Robby led the match two points to nothing.
From then on, Donovan was completely shut out.
Robby stood his ground as Donovan began to apply more pressure, countering easily with a jab to the face when Donovan was about to attack, even using his lead leg round kick to the chin while on offense.
Donovan didn't know what to do for the rest of the match, and eventually, Robby won the first semi final six points to nothing.
Then Lucas faced Miguel.
Both of them walked forward, bowed to the center judge, bowed to each other, and then.
"Hachime!"
Began fighting.
"Let's go Miguel!" said Aisha wearing a gold medal around her shoulders, still in her GI.
The Cobra Kais all cheered for Miguel as Lucas kept his distance, patiently waiting for Miguel to make a move.
What Lucas did next was predicated entirely on his gut instincts and what the prior rounds of Miguel sparring told him.
Miguel moved forward slightly, about to commit to an attack knowing Lucas would counter with his rear hand to the body. Lucas faked his reverse punch instead to close the distance a bit, and then readjusted his stance to attack again, launching forward into a jab to the face with his lead hand.
Miguel leaned back and barely parried the jab in time, but it didn't matter, Lucas' right hand scored anyway as Lucas had thrown a combination attack and punched twice.
"Yame!" the judge shouted.
All four judges scored it with a blue flag at a forty five degree angle from their chair.
"Ao jodan zuki yuko, ao senshu!" the center judge said as Lucas led the match one point to zero. "Tsuzekete hachime!"
Lucas and Miguel got back into their fighting stances, circling each other around the ring.
Kreese spoke from his coach's chair. "You gotta strike first Diaz."
Daniel nodded in approval, saying nothing as Lucas was still countering, just timing his opponents with his reverse punch as he had the entire tournament.
Miguel was doing everything he could to beat Lucas' rear hand, faking, throwing combination attacks, but Lucas was far too agile and evasive to let him stay in front of him or in scoring range for too long.
Eventually, Lucas was able to manipulate Miguel's position in the ring well enough by timing his combinations, that he angled out after Miguel rushed forward and missed. To turn off his front foot, his left foot and score a round kick to Miguel's stomach, Miguel had no chance to prevent the attack or make it miss as he was already near the edge of the ring and almost off balance to fall over and go out of bounds.
Daniel smiled, remembering him doing the same move during the first round of his first ever All Valley to his own opponent.
Kreese shook his head, speaking. "Attack Diaz, use your jab!"
"Hachime!"
A kiai and a fair amount of applause from the crowd followed the judge resuming the match, as well as the sound of Lucas' right foot catching Miguel directly on his red belt, above his left hip. Lucas launched instantly off the line catching Miguel off guard as he hadn't expected him to attack so soon or so quickly as he hadn't fought very offensively for the entire tournament.
Now, Lucas was up by five points.
Miguel wanted to get in range to use his jab, but when he did he narrowly avoided running into a side kick to the body or Lucas just angled and used the ring, evading. Lucas then repeatedly interrupted Miguel's kick combinations with his rear hand, using the reverse punch to the body again.
He scored the same technique three times in a row, and Kreese was just shaking his head.
"Aka, kachi!" the center judge raised a hand to his right, and Lucas bowed.
He had won eight points to nothing against Miguel.
…
Miguel thought Kreese would be furious, but he barely said anything to Miguel.
"You did well, go get some water and take a break Diaz."
"Yes Sensei."
Instead, as Miguel walked over to sit down, Kreese was more focused on Robby and watching the advice Johnny was giving to him before his final match against Lucas.
"Finalists, Robby Keene and Lucas Schwarber." everyone's attention turned to Daryl who spoke into the microphone. "You have five minutes to report to the mat for competition. Five minutes."
…
Lucas decided he needed some air from all the shouting and people for a moment.
A large number of students from West Valley High, including Moon, Yasmine, and both previous and current members of the cheer team had shown up to cheer for both Lucas and Robby.
Word had spread how at such an important karate event, two largely unknown but local boys in this new form of competitive karate had beaten so many legitimate teams to make it to the finals.
Lucas was using the water fountain in a hallway in the All Valley Arena, then noticing a picture of Johnny Lawrence handing Daniel LaRusso his trophy after the final of the 1984 All Valley.
"You okay?"
Lucas turned, smiling in surprise. "Sam. You came."
"My dad's coaching you," Sam shrugged with a smile. "You did amazing today."
"Thanks but, the work's not finished."
The reminder of Robby made both teens silent.
"I can't believe-"
"Listen I-"
Lucas stopped talking, Sam ignored them talking over each other.
"Luke I wanted to let you know that I heard how you made up with Eli and Demetri." she smiled. "I think you're doing the right thing. I just, hope things will be better between us from now on too."
"I think they will." Lucas said. "I want the same, it's just hard to let the past be the past. Especially when it was so recent."
"I know, you weren't an angel though either."
Lucas looked confused. "What're you talking about?"
"Messing around with all of my friends? How was I supposed to react?"
"Maybe by not flirting with Robby."
Then Robby turned a corner, watching them start to argue.
"That was none of your business." said Sam irately. "No one would talk to me at school except for him. You flirted with a ton of my friends why couldn't I with yours?"
"Because I know you just did it to piss me off, you know, none of this was easy for me either Sam."
"Hey, leave her alone."
Robby appeared, trying to step between Lucas and Sam.
Lucas scoffed. "No one asked you."
"Guys-"
"I don't think I can just ignore you badmouthing a friend of mine." Robby said. "Take a hike man, I'll see you on the mat in a second."
"Robby!" Sam said with shock.
Robby squared up with Lucas, his eyes a few inches away from Lucas'.
Lucas took a deep breath, turning slightly and shaking his head. He turned the other cheek and walked away.
"Why'd you have to do that?" Sam asked.
"Because no one else will."
"Do what?"
"Stand up to him." Robby said proudly.
Sam, unlike how Robby expected, was very upset over what happened, and walked off. Robby looked more disappointed then he ever had been when Sam left.
…
The tournament had more or less ended, a few children that were part of the dojos who hadn't left yet were still in the stands, wearing gold, bronze, and silver medals.
A few even had smaller trophies.
The arena wasn't nearly as packed as it was during the start of the tournament, but those who had left were replaced by a few dozen teenagers from West Valley High.
"Go Robby!" a girl shouted sitting next to Moon.
Mackenzie, Moon, Yasmine, Lindsay, and a few other previous and current members of the cheer squad were in the stands. A few had come with signs rooting for Robby or Lucas, one had even bought pom poms.
When Lucas exited the locker rooms after getting a drink of water and a break he needed, he looked around at the tournament.
The number of people, all of them the best and most notable karatekas, some adults who were still competing, waiting to see the results of his final match with Robby Keene.
"Let's go Luke!" a boy from West Valley High spotted him.
"Yeah!"
Demetri and Eli were completely unsure of what to think of karate, but still applauded when Lucas walked by to the center mat.
Already Lucas' demeanor changed from a bit glossy to happy. He got what he wanted, some had seen the degree of humility and responsibility for his actions for what happened with Robby to face him in competition.
He smiled, waving back to the cheering crowd.
Lucas and Robby stood at the edge of the ring, and the cheers died down, everyone knew this fight was going to begin.
For the best karatekas their age to have lost to two boys who had only competed once before in karate, everyone was interested word have even spread to highschool teens who knew nothing of karate like the cheerleaders of West Valley.
Lucas looked like a professional karateka.
He had a brand new kumite or sparring karategi, a chest protector, blue gloves, foot and shin protectors, and a mouthpiece, all from Arawaza.
Lucas' sweat from sparring all the previous rounds looked all but gone, and the boy was more than ready to spar.
Robby on the other hand looked far less impressive.
He had a Hayashi chest protector, and a Smai kumite gi, along with red Hayashi gloves, and foot and shin protectors.
Robby's gloves and foot protectors were his father's old gear that he bought when they started training to compete in this new style of karate over a year prior. What really made him stand out to everyone watching was his degree of skill and ferocity.
A few in the crowd who had seen both boys spar from the earlier rounds felt Robby would have an advantage. Despite Lucas' tremendous level of timing, speed, and skill, he only really maximized one technique, countering with his reverse punch to the body, while Robby used a multitude of other techniques and was far more aggressive.
Robby was standing on the other end of the ring from Lucas, neither could make eye contact.
The center judge walked forward and gestured to the lines of tape marked two puzzle mats away from each other to begin the match.
Lucas and Robby stepped onto the mat walking to their lines.
They bowed to the center judge, and then each other, getting into ready stance, Yoi.
"Shobu, hachime!"
The amount of cheers the crowd had for each boy was enormous.
Lucas and Robby circled each other, bouncing lightly on the balls of their feet, never letting their heels touch the ground unless they were changing angles.
Daniel and Johnny had to advise over a noticeable amount of noise from their coach's chairs on either end of the ring.
Robby struck first, but Lucas had more than enough time to slip away, but not enough to counter.
Lucas faked, moving around the ring, and soon, Robby found himself near the edge of the mat, about to step onto the wooden floor of the gymnasium in the All Valley arena.
Robby anticipated Lucas pressuring enough to try and score but used his lead leg, then his right, to attempt a side kick.
It was blocked, but powerful enough to knock Lucas off balance for long enough to allow Robby to reposition to where he'd have more mat space.
Lucas was starting to throw a front kick with his rear leg to interrupt Robby's rhythm as Robby's lead hand flew forward.
It didn't make contact with Lucas' jaw, but it didn't need to.
"Yame!"
Only two judges out of the four, were flagging Robby's jab, with a red flag at a forty five degree angle downward. Robby's technique wasn't close enough to make contact, but the judges determined it was a point since Lucas didn't dodge well enough in time.
"Aka, jodan zuki yuko! Aka, senshu!"
"Stay on him, stay on him, stay on him, you're doing good." Johnny said from his chair.
"Tsuzekete hachime!"
Robby led the match one point to zero and Lucas continued fighting calmly, and then suddenly he proceeded to punch Robby in the face so fast the center judge instantly stopped the match.
Lucas rushed forward in the blink of an eye, covered Robby's lead hand with his right, and as he switched stances hit Robby with a reverse punch to the chin in a split second.
As Lucas kiai'd three judges flagged the point with a blue flag and Robby staggered for a moment under the blow.
"Nice!" a girl shouted from the crowd, Lucas was too into the match to check who it was.
Lucas tied the match, but Robby was still leading by the tie breaker, having scored the first point.
The fight continued and both karatekas had a perfect stance.
Wide, low to the ground, their lead hands, their lefts, both up and bouncing lightly on the balls of their feet.
Robby attempted a reverse punch, deep, explosive, and long, covering over an entire square of tatami, but missed as Lucas already saw it coming and moved away.
Robby's footguard loudly could be heard off Lucas' glove as he blocked circling the ring.
Lucas switched stances, and again, timed Robby with his left hand, scoring a reverse punch to the body in the blink of an eye.
Robby faked, and Lucas determined he was in range to attempt a combination, interrupting the blitz with a deep and strong reverse punch directly on Robby's rib cage.
"Aiiiii!"
Lucas was all but kneeling into the reverse punch, and again, the score was so strong Robby staggered a bit under the blow, caught just as he began to attack.
Daniel remembered Mr. Miyagi teaching him the same technique, putting all of his power into his two knuckles, smiling and nodding.
"There you go." he said.
"Ao, chudan zuki, yuko!"
The judge resumed the match and both boys kept sparring.
Lucas began to apply a bit more pressure, driving Robby back towards the edge of the ring slowly but surely.
Robby was in southpaw, Lucas in orthodox, steadily gaining space across the mat.
Suddenly, Robby's lead leg, his right, flew up in a hook kick, making Lucas lean back.
As soon as Lucas readjusted his stance and gained his balance again, Robby's foot hit him across the cheek very cleanly and very hard in a round kick.
"Beautiful!" Johnny said proudly, clapping as the crowd roared.
There were three red flags raised high in the air, the center judge actually checked on Lucas to make sure he was okay before continuing the match.
Both boys started to keep their distance from each other, and Lucas was given some breathing room.
Unbeknownst to Robby, Daniel, Johnny, and the entire crowd watching as well as the judges presiding over the match, Lucas' whole left side of his face was throbbing, and he could hardly stand up straight at all.
Lucas spent over fifteen seconds keeping Robby at bay with footwork, feints, and patience, gaining the recovery he needed.
There was only a minute and fifteen seconds left on the clock, and Lucas now began to apply pressure again, drawing closer little by little to Robby. Both boys had their right hands forward, in southpaw this time.
Johnny watched as his son attempted another double kick attack with his lead leg, his right, but Lucas was ready for it this time.
Lucas expected Robby to attack with round kicks, and ducked under them, soon, Lucas' head was out of scoring range of Robby's right foot.
Before Robby could so much as reposition a tiny bit on the mat to account for this, Lucas had grabbed Robby's foot as it was still in the air, swept his rear leg, and scored three points on Robby's chest with his fist as he fell to the mat, not giving him a chance to defend himself from the attack.
"Yame!"
Blue flags were now in the air.
Lucas was now leading the match five points to four.
"You're overusing your right leg kid!" Johnny said as Robby bought some time and re-tied his belt. "Come up with something else."
The crowd continued to roar, despite the noise, both boys were perfectly focused on their fight.
Daniel silently watched as Lucas kept his distance, letting Robby attack him first.
Lucas spent the next thirty seconds just buying time and maintaining his lead. He even took a warning for going out of bounds.
A small white dot on the digital scoreboard was seen next to the warning label, and the fight continued.
Robby knew only about twenty seconds was remaining, and committed himself fully to a reverse punch to the midsection.
However, Lucas did the exact same thing, at the exact same time. Both boys landed a very clean point with their right hands on each other's chest, both with a very loud pop on the mat as they knelt into the punch.
Robby was temporarily very frustrated with what the judges flagged but didn't complain as he walked back to his line.
Two judges scored yuko for Robby, and the other two for Lucas.
At five points to six with about fifteen seconds remaining, Lucas noted how Robby didn't look desperate. He was down by only a point in the final match of the entire tournament and looked perfectly calm.
Robby attempted a very quick, powerful, and sudden round kick to Lucas' lower back, just above the belt line. Lucas barely blocked, but only one judge felt it was wazari, or two points, holding a red flag out at half level.
The center judge didn't stop the match, and Lucas circled out, continuing to avoid Robby at all costs.
Lucas and Robby traded kicks back and forth for a moment, nothing landing, when suddenly, the buzzer rang.
"Yame!"
The judge raised a left hand, speaking loudly as the crowd applauded.
"Ao, nokachi!"
…
Miguel Diaz and Donovan Voon were given a bronze medal, Robby Keene a silver medal, and Lucas Schwarber a gold medal, and the Grand Champion trophy for winning the division with the largest number of competitors at the All Valley tournament.
"You did great kid, could've gone either way."
Robby was packing his things into his karate bag, nodding to his father's words. "I lost."
"To the champ."
"To the guy who ruined everything for me."
Johnny looked like he wanted to continue to placate his son, but Robby spoke up first. "Can I just get a quick breather?"
Johnny sighed. "Yeah, yeah," he saw Daniel wanting to talk to him out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah you can."
Johnny walked off to talk to Daniel as Robby saw Kreese debriefing his team after the tournament.
Unlike the cutthroat bloodthirsty and murderous monster he was expecting, Kreese seemed perfectly happy with his team's performance and acknowledged everyone fairly.
He admitted Miguel was outmatched against Lucas but that it came down to experience and that Lucas and Robby were simply a cut ahead of everyone else in their division, and the reasons would be analyzed and adapted to moving forward.
The rest of the team, except for Dieter, Mitch, and a few others, got first or second place in every division they competed in. While Kreese didn't look ecstatic over the performances Aisha and her other Cobra Kais delivered, he didn't overlook them.
Robby approached Miguel, speaking.
"Hey, great job," Robby said to his neighbor. "Wish I could say I did the same."
"Nah. You kicked ass man." Miguel chuckled, tucking his bronze medal away into his bag. "That match was as even as it could get."
"The rest of your team did really well."
"Got some stuff we need to work on anyway," said Miguel. "The judges in Aisha's ring felt she was a little too overboard and everyone else is still getting a handle for the rules too."
Miguel picked up his bag, looking directly at Robby. "Would you be interested in working with us over the summer? Could really use your help, and you could improve a lot from it too from training with us."
Robby looked like he didn't know what to say, and then Kreese walked up to them.
…
Cobra Kai OST: Defeat
…
"Diaz, give us a second."
"Yes, Sensei."
Robby cleared his throat as Kreese approached him. "I gotta go, think I should-"
"This won't take long." insisted Kreese. "I wanted to say you did amazing today."
"Thanks, means a lot coming from the Sensei who dominated this tournament back in the day."
Kreese squinted at Robby, looking around at the arena, and then back at the teen. "You came a single point away from victory. Just like your father did against LaRusso. That failure was mine, and I can't believe you're still suffering for it."
Robby said nothing.
Kreese sighed, shaking his head as he spoke to Robby. "I once believed that accepting defeat would lead to your greatest victories. But I was mistaken. No matter what anyone tells you today, I understand how you feel."
Robby kept looking at Kreese.
"They might say it's okay to lose, no matter how well you fought. But I know the truth, it does matter whether you win or lose. I want you to know that my doors will always be open to you, Johnny will always be family, and since you're Johnny's family. You're mine too."
"Why would I ever train with you after everything's that's happened?" asked Robby.
"Because you know I see your true potential. You have more potential than anyone else I've trained. More than your father, more than Diaz."
Robby looked confused for a moment as Kreese nodded. "More than Schwarber."
Robby perked up, surprised.
"I can teach you how to defeat him next year, and more importantly. I can teach you the most important tool karate can give you, the most important thing you can learn in your life."
"And what's that?"
"Something Lucas knows, it's how he won today," said Kreese. "There's nothing wrong with being merciless, proving to everyone, and showing your true strength, and there's nothing wrong either."
Kreese smiled. "With revenge."
Kreese bowed slightly to Robby. "I hope to hear from you soon."
Robby bowed back slightly, and his father broke eye contact from speaking to Daniel.
Johnny saw how Kreese had spoken to Robby, and he didn't seem to like it one bit.
…
Lucas bowed when entering Miyagi-Do.
He walked into Mr. Miyagi's old home and looked around, then finding a place to rest his trophy, now wearing a blue sweatshirt and brown shorts.
Lucas placed his new All Valley trophy next to Daniel's.
Lucas looked disappointed, shaking his head.
"What's the matter?"
Daniel entered his old teacher's home, speaking to his student.
"You won and you don't look happy at all."
"Why should I be?" asked Lucas. "Even though I won, Robby hates me more than ever now because of it. What was even the point? All of this was to gain his forgiveness, and it didn't prove anything."
Daniel sighed, shaking his head.
"What?" Lucas said.
"Today you proved something I was hoping you would for a long time. The greatest lesson Miyagi-Do can teach you, is that true victory, the real battle. Is always the one within."
Daniel glanced at the trophies. "It's not from there, or from winning a fight. It's actually never about fighting. It's from forgiveness, and balance."
Lucas was silent.
"Robby was fighting against. Against you, against all that had happened. You were fighting for, for your friendship with him, for proving to your friends that you moved on from your mistakes. For growth, for forgiveness."
Lucas nodded. "For Mr. Miyagi's memory."
"For everything he taught me, and I passed on to you." said Daniel. "Luke, that alone was the true victory. Not the trophy, not the glory that comes with getting first place. And I think you've finally learned that."
Lucas looked around the inside of Mr. Miyagi's home. "I'm really sorry."
"About what?"
"I'm done with karate. I don't want to put you in an awkward position with my grandpa, and, honestly, I feel safer with Eli and Demetri training here with me not around considering what I put them through."
Daniel was curious. "You convinced your friends to start doing karate?"
"Hard not to after they saw how many girls showed up to see me compete."
Daniel chuckled. "You made the right decision Lucas."
"Thank you."
The two hugged.
…
Kreese was in his office in the Cobra Kai dojo, sipping cognac and reviewing his team's results from the last All Valley.
He heard the door's bell ring and spoke up. "Miguel?"
Kreese looked up from his desk and exited his office.
He heard a voice speaking from the shadows. "I tried to make things right, but you had to take things too far."
"What're you talking about?"
Johnny stepped forward, into the light of the dojo. "I'm talking about my son. You're trying to do to Robby what you did to me. Look for weaknesses, manipulate me."
"I'm not trying to do any of that."
"Yeah, bullshit, I saw you talking to him after the All Valley."
Kreese shrugged. "And I saw you talking to LaRusso."
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you ally with your worst enemy. A man who ruined your life, and whose student ruined your son's. And I'm the one trying to help you two instead."
Johnny chuckled angrily, balling his fists. "And I thought you changed. All along, this is exactly what you wanted."
"What do you mean?"
"All that bullshit spread about my son at his highschool, about me, about Shannon. That wasn't Luke who started those rumors. It was Miguel, wasn't it? Acting on your orders."
Kreese shook his head.
"I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out. Miguel lived across the hall from us since they moved last year, seeing everything Robby had going on. You manipulated a bunch of teenagers into all this mess, just so you can feel better about how you messed up in the past." Johnny said with disgust.
"That is not true," Kreese said quietly. "I have always wanted you to be number one. I missed my chance, and that was my fault. Now I have to make sure Robby doesn't follow the same path."
"No asshole, that's my job." Johnny approached Kreese, throwing a thumb into his own chest.
Kreese squinted at Johnny. "What're you here for Johnny?"
"To tell you to back off. What you've done to these kids is messed up. The pain I've seen my own son and his friends go through, that's just wrong. And you caused all of it, and I won't let you run this place anymore. Close it down."
"I think we both know I'll do no such thing."
"I'm not asking."
Kreese crossed his arms. "So, what're you going to do?"
"The only thing I can." Johnny said. "I'm gonna beat your ass."
Then, Kreese chuckled quietly, nodding his head in approval.
…
…
…
Author's notes:
Here were the notes I had for myself as I wrote this chapter.
Scene order:
-Best around
-Interlude (Robby Sam and Lucas)
-Final
-Fallout (Johnny placates and understands, sees Kreese try to manipulate Robby)
-Lucas doesn't feel he learned or proved anything despite winning because of Robby, Daniel shows how much he understood internal against external.
I hope you all enjoyed the fic, I don't know if and when I'll write a sequel, but either way, thank you all so much for reading, and stay safe out there folks.