“The Tiger With No Eyes”
We had made a complete stop in front of Halawa District Park Gym. The Lawakua Kajukenbo Club students unloaded the bus of goodies: variety boxes of Lays chips and granola bars, overly-used sparring equipment, bags of slightly deflated red kicking shields with black straps, tables and tent poles. I pulled my two scrawny arms around a box of Quaker Oats granola bars and followed the pack. As my friends and I turned the corner, the rest of the group formed a home base along the side of the gym. “Come on! Let’s go inside of the gym to find a seat.” “I’ll just stay here for now. I kind of don’t want to go inside yet,” I replied. “Why not?”
The reasonings I had to not go into the gym were driven by one thought; it was my first karate state tournament. It can’t be, I thought, that bad. …show more content…
The hot and stiff air within the gym started to make my hands clammy. The entire gym was a sea of black: black gi pants, black gi tops, and black t-shirts showcasing their respected school. Most of all, there was a lot of adults wearing their black belts too. The location where the Lawakua Club chose to sit was easily located due to our school’s banner plastered on the wall. The gigantic yellow poster featured all of the school branches: Lawakua O’ Kalihi, Lawakua O’ Pu’uwai Momi, Lawakua O’ Hoku Ala and Lawakua O’ Ka’ahumanu Hale. As I dragged my feet up the bleachers, there were instructors, families, and an array of karate students from different
We had made a complete stop in front of Halawa District Park Gym. The Lawakua Kajukenbo Club students unloaded the bus of goodies: variety boxes of Lays chips and granola bars, overly-used sparring equipment, bags of slightly deflated red kicking shields with black straps, tables and tent poles. I pulled my two scrawny arms around a box of Quaker Oats granola bars and followed the pack. As my friends and I turned the corner, the rest of the group formed a home base along the side of the gym. “Come on! Let’s go inside of the gym to find a seat.” “I’ll just stay here for now. I kind of don’t want to go inside yet,” I replied. “Why not?”
The reasonings I had to not go into the gym were driven by one thought; it was my first karate state tournament. It can’t be, I thought, that bad. …show more content…
The hot and stiff air within the gym started to make my hands clammy. The entire gym was a sea of black: black gi pants, black gi tops, and black t-shirts showcasing their respected school. Most of all, there was a lot of adults wearing their black belts too. The location where the Lawakua Club chose to sit was easily located due to our school’s banner plastered on the wall. The gigantic yellow poster featured all of the school branches: Lawakua O’ Kalihi, Lawakua O’ Pu’uwai Momi, Lawakua O’ Hoku Ala and Lawakua O’ Ka’ahumanu Hale. As I dragged my feet up the bleachers, there were instructors, families, and an array of karate students from different