"Today, one of these Dojos will be crowned as the new champion. Welcome to the 52nd tournament, the first annual All Valley under twelve, enjoy this tournament!"
"It's Karate time!"
While everyone gathered for an inspiring speech, Dash looked at Devon's hair styled in a ponytail, and upon seeing the ribbon headband, he said, "Incredible hairstyle, you look more intimidating that way."
"If you let me tie your hair, you'll probably look the same way." Devon looked at Dash and teased him, thinking that fighting with his hair covering his vision would make things difficult for him.
"First, you have to qualify, which means you'll fight until the tournament reaches the final qualification, and it's important not to show your best moves." Mr. Kim took the list of matchups and knew how his students were arranged.
"So, who goes first?" Devon looked at Mr. Kim, who seemed to nod, and a desperate look formed on his face.
"We'll take turns when they call us, which means both of you will fight, and if we lose here, we won't even make it to the qualifying round..."
"That's right, don't show weakness, and take any opportunity to score points." Mr. Kim said, and just then, someone from the organization approached.
"Devon Lee faces Ann Berker!"
"Dash Hale faces Billy Lastró!"
"We were called at the same time. Will you be okay without my supervision?" Dash licked his lips because they were dry and looked at Devon, trying to provoke her.
"I'll finish this faster than you. Want to bet?" Devon smiled with enthusiasm. She couldn't wait to face someone other than Dash and see how far she had come.
When Devon stepped onto the mat, the referee brought them together, and after they greeted each other, he started the match.
"Oh, here I go..."
This time, she wouldn't face a friend; now she was in front of a rival who was at most three years older than her, so she had to be careful not to receive high kicks.
Remembering each kicking movement, she assumed the fighting style stance of the Northern Dragon adapted to Karate and smiled provocatively.
Her opponent smiled when she saw that there was a girl younger than her in their first match, and after the match started, she ran towards Devon with a smile on her face. But the moment she initiated the fight, Devon, who was barely above the ground, rotated her hips and in a split second delivered a quick kick to Ann's face.
Ann, who had taken the initiative, desperately tried to raise her guard, but Devon's kick was not only fast but also powerful and broke through the defenses she raised in surprise.
"Point!"
Reforming, Devon, whose heart was now beating rapidly due to excitement, this time, as soon as they gave her the green light to move, closed the distance between her and Ann, commanding with front kicks.
The girl she faced had a flushed face from the blow, so normal fear formed in her battle spirit, and she instinctively began to retreat.
After Devon's two front kicks, she noticed this, so the moment she saw that Ann was close to the combat boundary, she jumped and kicked the girl's shoulder with a push kick.
"Ah!"
"Point!"
Devon, who had executed a quick turn, returned to her position, her face filled with seriousness as she sought her opponent's gaze and smiled when Ann looked at her.
"Back to the center!" The referee was surprised by Devon's kick; it wasn't normal to have many kicks in a Karate fight because everyone knew it was easier to train closed combat.
"Just one more point..." Devon clenched her fists; she could sense her opponent's fear, so she didn't plan to ease up at this moment.
"Fight!"
When the referee started the melee, she advanced with a kick, but seeing Ann turn around and start throwing straight punches, Devon slipped between her opponent's punches and landed a clean hit on her chest.
"Point!"
Seeing that she had won, Devon smiled with joy and knowing that she hadn't been hit even once, she felt much better than she had initially thought.
"Well done, Devon, you took incredible advantage of the element of surprise!" Mr. Kim approached with a towel and handed it to Devon, who had sweated a bit.
"What about Dash?"
...
"Look at me, Bow!"
"Look at each other, Bow!"
Dash looked at his opponent and clenched his hands tightly. The guy he was facing was as big as an adult. Billy was a fifteen-year-old quite robust guy, so if he wasn't careful, a punch would send Dash out of the combat mat.
"Ready? Fight!"
When the referee started the fight, Billy thought it was a joke that they paired him with a kid for the qualifying match, so he advanced slowly.
"Let me treat you with care!" Billy, with his long leg, tried to kick Dash. His apathy had enough strength to take Dash out of the fight if it hit one of his weak points.
Thud!
While Dash evaded Billy's first kick, he opened his eyes wide, and upon seeing an opening in his opponent's leg, he turned his body and kicked with great force.
The force behind that kick was something even Dash didn't measure; he had thought that due to his opponent's size, his blows would be like caresses, so he didn't measure his kick.
Thud!!!
"Ahhh!"
But the moment his kick hit Billy's upper leg, he fell to the ground and rolled from side to side while holding the impact area.
"Move aside!" The referee pulled Dash, who was astonished watching the big guy fall with just one of his kicks, out of the way.
"One kick was enough?"
Seeing this scene, Dash stood frozen on the side, not knowing what to do.
They wouldn't disqualify him for this, right? In karate, if you hit too hard, you might be disqualified.