Chapter 17: Exhibition and Loss of Face

The match is set up for the end of the day. This will allow all the teachers, admin, students, and parents to come to watch. There’s talk all over about it. At lunch, Min Joon finds Ki Jung and asks about it. He’s worried because he knows that Master Chen can be a vicious fighter. He’s been known to break student’s bones if they’ve provoked him. Ki Jung smiles and thanks him for his concern, but tells him not to worry.

The exhibition hall is packed. Not only are students and admin in the seats, but parents and even the Governor are in attendance! This leaves Ki Jung speechless for a moment. She expected the students, admin, and probably parents. But the Governor? In the end, she realizes that it is of no concern that such a vaunted figure is here. All that matters is the contest and winning it, without making Master Chen lose face. That means beating him, in the end, just by the skin of her teeth. Her only worry is that he might be too aggressive and force her to hurt him more than she believes is necessary.

Having changed into her Gi and Hakama with her First Dan belt, she takes her place as indicated by the referee of the match. In her corner, Min Joon is there waiting with a stool, bucket, and sponge. Ki Jung smiles at him and thanks him for being in her corner. He smiles back and bows in salute to her.

In the other corner, Master Chen is showing off. He figures he can get into Ki Jung’s head and beat her before the match even begins. He is, thus, surprised to see that she is sitting on the mat in lotus calm as a still pond on a windless day. The fact that she seems to be ignoring him upsets him, though he doesn’t allow it to show. Eventually, Principal Kim calls for everyone to be quiet. Once that is accomplished, he introduces Master Chen to cheers. Master Lee is introduced to near silence. No one doubts that a woman can be a powerful practitioner of the Martial Arts, but she looks too young to be a Master, regardless of what she wears.

Finally, he introduces the referee, Master Li. Introductions out of the way, Master Li announces the rules for this exhibition. It will be full contact to first blood, loss of consciousness, or submission. No weapons may be used, but any body part is permitted. No gouging of eyes, or attempts to do grievous bodily harm. Broken bones are a fact of life in the practice of Martial Arts, so as long as the person is willing to continue on, broken bones will not be cause for the exhibition to end. There will be three rounds of three minutes. Once the rules are explained, Master Li calls the two fighters to the center where they each bow to Master Li, Principal Kim, and the Governor.

Facing one another with Master Li between them they bow to one another and the instant Master Li moves back, Master Chen is in motion. Ki Jung expected this from watching him training his students. He is the kind that focuses on offense with a reasonable amount of defense. To her, this is a weakness and she exploits it immediately. Pakchulbong’s forces flowing around her, she can sense his moves and easily avoids his first blow from making a full connection. She allows it to graze her shoulder so that everyone can see that he has struck her. Simultaneously, she steps in and has him falling to the mat.

An infuriated Master Chen attempts to grapple her and pull her down with him, and she allows it. For the next 20 seconds, it is a ground game. While his strikes may seem to be hitting her, they are ineffective. Her focus is on making it look good, which is more complicated than outright winning.

Breaking contact, Ki Jung dances back and shakes out her arms and legs. There’s still another 90 seconds to go in this first round. As Master Chen gets up and looks at her, she can see the angry bull in his eyes that wants to trample her into the mat and claim victory. Her response is a blank face and eyes that seem to look beyond him.

While all this is going on, cheers are going up, and people are even betting on the outcome! The odds started at 50:1, but have been going down and were now at 20:1. No one thought this young woman could have even lasted the first 30 seconds, let alone the first round. Now, they are no longer so sure of their original belief in Master Chen’s ability to end the match so fast. Those who have a strong background and many years of experience in both training and combat can see what others do not. She moves with the attacks, accepting them rather than avoiding them. These warriors want to see just how good she is but are unwilling to bet on the outcome.

Master Lee has instructed Min Joon to bet five gold, of hers, on her to win in the last round in the last 10 seconds. This is a very specific bet, and it was placed before the first round started. The odds he was given when he placed it was 100:1. He had very little money of his own but felt that he would be smart to follow her lead and borrowed 1 gold from a “friend” and bet on her as well. The total bet being six gold at 100:1 odds. If she wins, they will get 600 gold, 100 for him, and 500 for her.

At the end of the first round, Ki Jung’s hair is a little messed up, and her uniform is no longer fresh and pressed. She goes to her corner where Min Joon tells her of the bet he placed with his borrowed gold piece and her money. She laughs and pats his shoulder, complimenting him on his excellent choice.

Master Chen is not happy, and it shows. It isn’t something big that is broadcasting to everyone, but it is there. Those who know him can see it in the way he is moving, the way his eyes look at her, and the way he can be seen grinding his teeth. The break between bouts is 90 seconds, and it ends an eternity later.

Again, they meet in the middle and bow to one another. This time, Master Chen doesn’t go rushing in to attack her. This, too, is expected, which is why Master Lee moves forward in an aggressive attack throwing punches that graze the side of his head and ear. This is followed up with a knee to the side, just under the ribs, but without full force. This is not a fighting style anyone here has ever seen. Everyone is on the edge of their seats, watching intently as her left elbow strikes him in the jaw.

In a rage, Master Chen tries grabs at her. He is attempting to take control and bring her to the mat. He hopes to overcome her and put her in her place. It doesn’t go as planned. When he grabs onto her Gi, she grabs onto his hand and in a swift move, has him down on one knee. A second later, she allows him to break free and take her down. This time she allows him to end up on top of her as she lands on the mat face down. He takes advantage of the situation and straddles her legs. Before he can apply any weight, she slithers out of his hold and is on her feet, bouncing around again. Even he can tell, at this point, that she’s calling the shots. Of course, this just infuriates him.