Part 2 (1/2)

It had taken half a can of WD-40 to get er, never reliable in the cold or da of curses which only ceased when the engine finally roared into life Gri for me ”You're late,” he said

I was still annoyed about the car's starting problems ”I know, I can tell the ti I was the one who had decided to bring hi, despite Leslie's protests Three minutes later I turned the car into a quiet residential area and Leslie was out at the first beep of the horn He slid onto the front seat of s with nored Clinton After a short distance I drove into the car park of a tower block, not unlike the one in which I now lived Leslie seeized than usual and ran to the intercom at the flats' entrance After the briefest of discussions he returned to us with a wide grin that made me feel uneasy ”The two of them will be down in a minute,” he said, as he retook his seat

”Only two? What a to do?” asked Clinton

”Not my problem,” said Leslie ”I wasn't the one who asked you to come out with us in the first place You and Ralph can share, or you can get out and get yourself a life”

I gritted my teeth: Leslie's harsh reang was fracturing still further My cousin Trevor and a couple of his friends were the first to fall away as four of us joined the YMCA; they had neither the inclination nor the necessary discipline to subject the Cousin Errol kept at it for a while but at green belt stage he discovered he liked cars and girls a lotkicked and punched

A rap on hts and I was surprised to be confronted by a very voluptuous figure straining the seahed and opened his door before he tilted his seat forward and offered a hand to the toside a bemused and wide-eyed Clinton ”This is Ruth,” said Leslie, as the bigger of the two got in She stood at least six inches taller than Leslie Her friend was small in comparison; it was the first time I had laid eyes on her but she ed her body and contrasted with her cool dark skin The long, braided hair coelic face ”And this is Cleo,” Leslie added, before he retook his seat

It took a while for s, he was a truly airls we had taken out on our previous double-date Just as he could get under aout in frustration, he could also char exactly what he wanted He ain a psychological advantage over his opponents, once getting a world champion so worked up that by the time Leslie met hi into the rearview ht, let's head for the Rising Star”

The presence of two such young and attractive wo over which one of us could hold their attention for the longest Of course, Leslie's charis, and he had all of us in stitches But the laughter came to an abrupt halt when he shouted at me to stop the car I sla around and half-expecting to see a cyclist or a pedestrian sprawled out in the road Without a word of warning, Leslie was out of the car and running across the road to a bus that had just pulled up to a stop It was then I saho had attracted Leslie's attention All of us watched in silence as Leslie raced down the aisle of the bus, before, in oneman in the head There was a brief flurry of kicks and punches and the nextof Leslie was as he sauntered back towards my car ”C'mon, Ralph,” he said nonchalantly, ”drive”

Cleo ruined the angelic i of profanities as she de on For the reirls did not so much as utter a word, but I could tell that they were unsure if it had been wise to accept Leslie's invitation to go clubbing with us

I knew exactly what had happened and why I had spotted the young man at the bus stop as Leslie had run across the road He was the ex-boyfriend of a girl who Leslie's charh to take out his frustrations on Leslie, he had irl or so Leslie had told irls in the back of my car, I was not impressed by Leslie's course of action I couldn't help thinking that he was showing off

After reluctantly taking turns to dance with the three of us, the girlsto ”powder their noses” and slipped away Leslie did not notice; he was too busy talking to the likes of my cousin Trevor and his friend Albert and I knew by the way they were laughing that he was describing the incident on the bus Up until then I had liked to think that any violent actions of a YMCA member outside the dojo were not only justified but adht in was a testas karate could produce Such was the Rising Star's reputation for now being trouble-free that coach loads of people made round trips of hundreds of ht at the club I saw a noble quality in those YMCAwho had defrauded a blind woue who had saved a life by knocking out the three guys with knives who had just left a man without his spleen; and in the black belt who had beaten a gang leader and ensured that he would enter a plea of guilty for his cririevous bodily harm and rape had previously intiainst hi women as they sat on the backseat of my car stayed withvery noble that night

Chapter Six

You ently

Miyamoto Musashi+ The Wind Book

I HAD RESTED fro for almost teeks, but I had beco for ic and dull So I did not allow o into 'withdrawal' I continued to stretch s as I moved around my flat because I was not one of nature's h I did not count that as proper training as I had not broken into a sweat

When I finally returned to the dojo to train once again, I detected that there was so different about the ato until the British championshi+ps there was an air of anticipation, rather than apprehension Excluding myself, everyone looked as fit and as prepared as they could be Confidence was at its usual high level: the YMCA entered every tourna to win All that was left noas the selection of the teast those ould make up the second team but the sensei simply announced all the na of the championshi+ps

The British Karate Federation Clubs' championshi+ps were to be held at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre in Birham not much more than twelveoff at 9:00 am, instead of at the crack of dawn, as we had to do when travelling to tournaments as far away as cumbria or Crystal Palace

As usual, the schedule was unraveling, and half an hour after the planned departure time I continued to stand, with several others, on the corner where young women had touted for business only hours before Despitecontest and refrained fro carried out by Leslie, who usually targeted the st us

I did feel apprehensive but I still had a positive frame of mind as I had prepared as well as I could despite my injury It was usual for me to abstain froht hours sleep the night before a co I would always eat a considerable breakfast before setting out, as usually I would not eat for the rest of the day But the most important part of my preparation was in the hours before a co

Another advantage of the tournauments about whose turn it was to drive Normally, there would have been a heated debate that usually started with the better-off ajourney and then electing someone else to subject their vehicle to the wear and tear

As the last of the team members arrived, Leslie offered to take me and a few others in his recently acquired Mark II Ford Escort that he had at last made roadworthy But the invitation was not extended to Clinton, who had wandered off and stood beside his brother Ewart's car He stood silent andso because he did not want to be beholden to Leslie But in hindsight, I now realize it was another warning about the changes taking place within ham but the event, in co behind schedule There was a buzz fro roo the walls that were lined hite cera not to notice the stir we had caused, we began to change into our karate gis Fighters can be very superstitious and although no one at the club would ad, it was not difficult to see it in those getting changed So in a set order or tie their coloured belts in a particular manner I would never allow my shi+n and foot-pads or my hand-mitts to be washed, no matter how dirty or bloodstained they becaic

All the top coreet the senior members Like so many in the second team, I was only considered worthy of the briefest of nods, it was the type of greeting that said: Yeah, I've seen you fight, you've got proo into a bout expecting to win, and with this ca with the rest of the second teahters from other clubs as inferiors While any conceit or boastfulness in victory was frowned upon, there can be no room for humility in the mind of a competitor ants to win: he has to enter a bout confident in his own ability to eht he enters

When we entered the cavernous sports hall, it seemed to us that the other clubs had collectively conjured up the theory that if they went out of their way to shake our hands and wish us luck ould go easier on them I would have respected them more if they had just coive your backside a good kicking today

The few fighters we did not take exception to when they greeted us before the fighting began were froenuinely pleased to see us and took pride in associating themselves with our club to the point that they would come and support the YMCA once their team had been eliminated There was an affinity between us despite therounds: that of skin colour I was intrigued by this club as all its land Unlike our parents, their forebears were born in England, they spoke with a 'Scouse' accent, their skin tones were various shades of light brown and it was obvious that their parents and ancestors were a mixture of black and white and every shade in between I detected that they felt a sense of alienation from British society that was siround, ere still perceived as relative newcouys from white Liverpudlians was not so much the physical results of their melanin levels but the different consciousness it produced When listening to theation ht about the similar attitudes I had become aware of in the area in which I now lived

When I took a seat that overlooked the fighting areas that were made up of vibrant blue and red tatahters that had travelled from every part of Britain, the scale of the event produced an anxious jabbing pain in st the favourites to take the title of British Clubs' champions, but there were several other teams, with international co contenders

As even hters entered the hall, Eddie cox ordered us to take ourselves to the far end of the bleachers so that we could be away from all the distractions and relax While some of the others continued to limber up, I lay down and closed etting to this point and the sacrifices we had all an to fade and before long an to wander and I recalled my very first bout as a fifteen-year-old novice yellow belt

In 1977 karate coh andand could only vent their competitiveness in the kata events But at fifteen years old I was fairly big for hts I'd had, I was confident that I was ready to enter a fairly small local tournament It was not difficult forarea for the first ti across froive off an air of confidence by staring atscowl forceddohen the referee called for the bout to begin with a shout of 'Haji like a banshee, the brown belt raced toward me and threw a heavy front hand punch, which I evaded but I failed to see the following two-punch combination There was a thud onto the crowd cheering wildly Through watering eyes I looked across to Eddie cox, who just bared his teeth and clenched his fist I clambered to my feet and made my way back toas the referee awarded hiain he rushed at me, but aware of his tactics, I retreated faster than he advanced and several ti area This continued until the crowd booed and the referee warnedEddie cox crouched at the side of the area and called me over The referee promptly waved him away but not before he whispered to uy's a member of the National Front!”

I returned to my line My opponent rushed forward to finishmy fear and the natural inclination to retreat, I pushed forward, deter my eyes shut, I punched as hard as I could and felt the impact travel down roans from the crowd I opened my eyes to catch the last of his descent to the floor, blood oozing from his mouth and nose The referee restrained him as he teled to tear away the blood-soaked rag froht of what he reat relief I was pro fro to himself and I knew then that he had probably lied about the political inclination of ely sweet at that moment

My eyes opened as a hu Over the tannoy one of the officials called for the coaches to subot to my feet, Eddie cox beckoned ain I anticipated that he was about to tell ated to the reserves of the second tea sessions I hadnumber three for the first team”

The surprise left me barely able to talk ”Do you think I's of self-doubt crept in ”Is Declan injured or so?” I had expected that Declan Byrne would retain his place in the first team upon his return from a year in Ireland, especially when he had joined in with the fighting classes But unknown to e to compete He had boxed with some success while he ay and had becoes in the rules of competition karate which further restricted the a with many others, he was of the opinion that these alterations were diluting the combat system's effectiveness Eddie cox srees with Jerome and Ewart that you're ready for the first team Just do your best”

”And Clinton?” I asked

”He's going to be the first reserve, okay?”

”Okay,” I e to cheer out loud This was the moment for which I had endured years of mental and physical discomfort But there was no time for any celebration now I had to prove to side sohters in the country