Chapter 8: National Championship

Dad had to head home to get back to work, while Mom and I were off to California so I could compete in the National Championships.

We were heading out there a couple of days early, to allow us to acclimatize to the time difference. I didn’t want to have to fight when I felt tired out.

We booked into a local hotel that was close to where the championships were being held, it wasn’t the best hotel we could have gotten, but it was a lot closer than the higher class facilities available in San Diego.

I had brought all of my own tournament approved safety equipment, it was a pain to have to bring, but that was better than not being able to get replacements of the right size.

We spent the day before the tournament just wandering around the area, grabbing a bus tour, going to a museum and basically acted like tourists do.

The day of the sign in, Mom decided to stay at the hotel since she would be totally bored by the official rigmarole. I had my usual issues signing in, although my name was on the list of competitors, it was only my letter by Master Shinobi that persuaded the officials that I was a legitimate competitor. The weigh in obviously was no problem for me, being that much smaller than the other competitors, though I had grown since the state tournament, so I wouldn’t have such a disadvantage this time.

We wouldn’t even be competing till tomorrow, but with so many fighters involved, the officials needed a whole day to work through everyone in each division. Saturday morning I was up early with nervous excitement. I had to be careful about how to spend my time before I could head to the venue, I didn’t want to work out like I had been doing since the boat trip, trying to build up my muscle mass. That might mean I didn’t have my full energy when the bouts started. For the same reason I couldn’t do any forms, yes they would get my muscles loose and warm, but by the time I was ready to fight, they would have cooled down, so I would just have to do another warm up.

So I just had a light meal, not wanting a full heavy stomach when it came to fighting, I did make sure I was well hydrated though, since that could be a game changer later on.

I was itching to head to the venue, but Mom wouldn’t let me until the designated time on the instruction I had received from the officials.

When it was finally time to go, Mom delayed me even more, making sure I had everything I needed, then we couldn’t find a taxi right away. We made it to the venue, fifteen minutes after the stated opening time, I was a bit anxious that I might be disqualified by arriving late, but there was no problem, I was early compared to a number of competitors.

The set up was actually pretty good, there was a large electronic board which showed the sequence of fights, and the ring and expected time that you could be fighting. I could see my name, I wasn’t expected to be on for a couple of hours, so I had plenty of time, I didn’t even need to warm up yet if it went as the officials were predicting.

I did start to do my warm up a bit earlier than the time that the board showed, just in case I was needed before they said.

My first fight was against the state champion of Florida, it would be interesting in this tournament, all the fighters must be reasonable to have made it this far. I hadn’t been able to see my competitor fight before, so I had no idea what style he favored, plus I would have to work out as the fight progressed whether his offence was worth me worrying about, and if I could beat his defense.

As was my style, I had watched all the other fights that had preceded mine, so that if I did get through the first round, I might have an idea of what my next opponent’s talents were.

My first fight was actually pretty simple, he was very flashy with his leg combinations, but he telegraphed his intentions early enough that I had no problem avoiding the majority, only blocking those that needed to. His defense was pretty weak though, so I was able to pick up points here and there through the bout without conceding any.

I was awarded the first win by all four of the officials watching the bout, my opponent was a bit disgruntled by the unanimous decision against him, he refused to shake my hand when I offered it, but did bow out properly which was all that the regulations required.

After my bout I nearly ran over Patrick Fisher, I was able to steady myself and avoided having a major collision. He laughed at me since he had seen me, but hadn’t moved to avoid the potential hit.

“Hey Jack, you made it I see.” he said with a smile.

“I could say the same, I take it you got one of the wildcard invites, seeing that you’re here as well.” I retorted.

“Yeah, being a medalist two years ago and coming runner up in the state final is an almost guarantee to get you an invite.” Patrick explained.

“Well good luck to you, I didn’t see your name in my half of the draw, so if you make it I will see you in the finals.” I taunted him.

“Same to you Jack, though with the strategy my instructor has given me to overcome your style, it will hopefully make the result different this time around.” Patrick stated with confidence.

“We both have to make it that far first, and I wouldn’t count your chickens before they have hatched Patrick. Though if we do make it, I will look forward to what you might have come up with, since you didn’t come close last time.”

Patrick just slapped me on the shoulder and moved off, not wanting to verbally spar any more.

From what I had seen from all the other bouts so far, there was none that should really concern me, most either had a good offence or a decent defense, none had enough of both that I thought that I wouldn’t be able to overcome what they brought to the bout.

I did hear some whispers about one guy who was thought to be really good, but he wasn’t in my half of the draw, so if anyone would fight him, it would be Patrick before me. The thing that did surprise me was that I heard a few people whispering my name as well. When it was learned that I beat Patrick at the state final, everyone was trying to work out who I was, since he had been expected to easily win that tournament.