THE HAPPY DOJO - PART 8 (Patreon)

OTHER PARTS  |  ALL STORIES

Part 8: The Truth About The Student 10 Years Ago

The bell signaling the start of the match rang. Neither I nor the mysterious guy had any intention of probing the other. We charged in and launched fierce attacks that had been learned from our own styles and dojos. This mysterious guy takes the name when competing in MMA is Anthony, no surname. CSW Championship only stipulates using real name when registering. The fighters participating in the tournament have the right to use a different name when announcing in the ring. Therefore, only God knows if his name Anthony is real or fake.

At first, the match was very fierce. The martial art of the Golden Dojo is more defensive, but the pace of the battle does not allow me to promote the strengths of the Golden Dojo's style. It was also the first match that I attacked so fast and continuously. My thin body could hardly sustain long-term offensive pressure so after a while, my flaws started to show. The battle is now on Anthony's side.

The moment I got tired, Anthony quickly seized the opportunity and kicked me in the hip, causing me to kneel on the ring. This kick hurts! Anthony did not overdo the victory, but gave a challenge: “Wow! It turned out that the five-year champion of the CSW Championship was just like that! It wouldn't be fun to win you like this. I will slowly crush you!”

After saying that, Anthony raised one leg to kick me in the head, but I quickly turned around to dodge. Then I immediately woke up and punched Anthony hard in the face. This punch caused him to take a few steps back in stun. Anthony didn't show any pain at this time, on the contrary, he showed an arrogant smile: “Not in vain do I challenge! That way, this match will be interesting!”

Anthony continued to rush towards me, but I had enough time to prepare the absolute defense of the Golden Dojo. The slow pace of the match and the control of the match are necessary conditions for the martial arts of the Golden Dojo to bring out its strength. Anthony furiously hit me repeatedly, but absolutely couldn't break my defense. I calmly said: “The reason I was able to stand was not because of your provocation. I just realized that you're not as scary as you used to be! You're still much stronger than me, but I don't believe there's no chance of winning against you.”

Anthony looked puzzled: “What are you talking about? This is my first time confronting you. I just took a flight to country V two days ago.” I was surprised by Anthony's words. In a moment of distraction, I let go of my defense and once again the pace of the match was faster with attacks coming from both sides. I asked in surprise: “You… what do you say? Then why do you know about me ten years ago?”

Anthony replied: “I heard it from my younger sister. I was taken abroad by my family to study and train martial arts of country M from a young age. Ten years ago, when I heard that you had beaten her, I was furious and wanted to fly home immediately to teach you a lesson. However, the raging pandemic made it impossible for me to complete the procedures to leave the country M. Some time later, I received news that you had completely changed your personality so I no longer wanted to hit you. Until now, I have had the opportunity to fly back to country V. The reason I want to fight you right now is simply to prevent you from winning the CSW Championship for the sixth time, because I also have five championships in a tournament at the same level as the CSW Championship held in country M. You are a few years younger than me, but you have the same number of titles as me. I won't let you take the number one spot in the martial arts world!”

I'm not interested in competing for the championship with him. I never took my title seriously because up until now, I thought it was more worthy of that student. Until this match started, I still thought that Anthony was that student, but it seems that he was not. I was even more surprised when I heard from him. Did I hit his younger sister? This is impossible! It's true that I bully female students, but I've never hit a girl! Did he mistake me for someone?

Throughout our conversation, our attacks did not stop. I said: “Impossible! I've never hit a girl! You cannot slander me!” Anthony replied: “Turns out you don't know this yet. It's okay, you'll find out later. Now let's focus on the match. Prove to the martial arts world who the true champion is!” I shook my head: “The real champion isn't me… but… definitely not you!”

The match continued at an ever faster pace. This way, I'll definitely be at a disadvantage again. There is a way to get rid of this, which is to use a special attack. However, this attack was not a move of the Golden Dojo. This is the move that Uyen used to guide me when we were practicing together. I don't want to use this move because if Uyen is watching this match, she will find out.

After some thought, I decided to use that move! I don't care about being found out anymore, Uyen will recognize me one day anyway. There are two reasons why I want to use this move. First, I want to win at all costs! This is not because of my sixth championship, but because I want to keep this championship so that one day that student will come to take it from me. For the second reason, I want to use the move of the person I love to win the championship!

I suddenly relaxed and changed my posture to Uyen's move. Just a second later, I got out of the struggle and put all my strength into throwing a high kick. Anthony's face showed shock when he saw me using Uyen's move. A second later, he was laying on the ring. The referee declared the match over and the sixth CSW Championship was mine.

Anthony tried to sit up and asked me intermittently: “Why do you know this move?! Doesn't she really hate you? Why did she teach you that move…” I was also tired after the last match. I sat down in front of him and said: “Who are you anyway? I can't understand what you've been saying so far.”

Anthony used his towel to wipe the sweat and some stains on his face. Then he stood up and walked out of the ring. He walked briskly toward the exit of Mighty Stadium, with his back to me.

Before leaving, Anthony left a statement: “I don't have much time to explain to you. I need to fly back to country M right now to level the record with you. So, I'll say it briefly. I am Anthony Dawson. Ten years ago, my sister went to the same school as you. We often exchange emails, so even though I'm abroad, I still know my sister's situation. Ten years ago, her school had an obnoxious guy leading the guys in bullying the girls. When she defended the girls, he beat her up. Later, I realized that my sister intentionally let him hit because she didn't want to extinguish his passion for martial arts. That is the real reason why I no longer intend to interfere in her affairs.”

I was dumbfounded when I heard Anthony's last words. Although there is still a lot of data missing, I now have a clear conclusion. Ten years ago, the student who came out to protect the female students, was beaten by me, and also hit me with a lifelong memory, none other than Uyen Dawson. For some reason, ten years ago, she appeared as a male student. Judging by her current tomboy style, I can assume for a moment that she likes to dress like a guy.

I once heard someone say that girls will have a big change in their appearance when they grow up. That's why I never saw that student again. Simply put, “he” didn't go anywhere but changed “his appearance” so much that I couldn't recognize “him”.

But, there's still one thing I don't understand. Since our last meeting, she has not shown any hatred towards me. I'm sure of it, because no one who hates me would pretend to be weak just so I wouldn't give up on my passion for martial arts. If so, why did she hate me so much after not seeing me for so long? So what happened?

After thinking for a while, I sighed and walked out of the ring. Does it matter? After all that has happened, I'm sure I'll never get the chance to be with her again…

PART 9 >>