As me and my academy entered the dome we could feel the ground jumping from all the people in it. The air was alive with excitement and eagerness of the fighters and their instructors.
Me and my academy walked over to our area to set up all of our stuff. I could feel all the other academy's staring at us, looking for weakness, looming for a way to break us.
They would never break me no matter what I would fight if not to win then to show that I would not go down easily.
We went to weigh into our stations and get our arm bands to show where we would be competing.
Me and Jerome had weighed in and looked at each others bands. They were both black with yellow stripes.
Jerome smiles and said, " Yes I get to see yu get your butt handed to ya shorty."
I laughed arrogantly and said, " This is my time to shine, and nobody is going to stop me."
We laughed at each other and mocked each other for a good two hours when we heard the first bell go off.
We ran to the center ring. There we saw no one other then Pedro going head to head with our rival academy's leader.
The fight went back and forth up till the end until Pedro had finally gotten him caught him in a Kamora.
Match after match went by and I could feel myself going rigid. What I felt wasn't nervousness, but anticipation for what was going to happen and eager to step in the ring.
I waited for I don't know how long when finally my name was called to the ring to fight.
My first opponent was named Ivan from Miami Florida. He stood a good two inches taller then me and looked at me as if I was an easy win.
What came next would not only suprise him, everyone else watching, but also me as I seemed to just sync in with his moves I flipped him over my shoulder and put him in an arm bar.
I had not only won my first match but also won by 15-5 shocking everyone I'm the crowd at how someone my size could best him.
The next match went by in a flash. I had take out his legs and found myself caught by the neck struggling to breathe. I was tk stubborn to tap out and continued to struggle to escape till finally I passed out.
He had won the match and I had only 3 more if I would not make it into the central fight.
The next two a rage came over me as I saw the other academy's mock me for my last match. I slammed my next opponent into the ground and everyone watching went silent as he sat there unmoving I had knocked him out cold.
My next match he used my rage against me to throw me around. He had me in the gullitine. When I made my self straighten out and I could feel my wind pipe being crushed.
At that point I did not care all I cared about was proving myself and he was in my way.
When I straighten out I grabbed his was it and sipped his legs from under him. I used his own gi to put him in a choke hold and sat there for around a minute and it was called and I had won.
The last match before the finals I cooled down and rested in between. My opponent was waiting in the ring for me when the bell rang we bowed and said good luck to each other.
That is when time seemed to slow down we both did a slide toward each other and found ourselves struggling to flip each other.
Neither could force the other and we went back and forth until I finally got a hook in and flipped him on his back.
We went back and forth struggling to beat each other.
We gave each other black eyes and a couple bruised ribs but in the end they called in my favor.
The next fight was an automatic he had not shown up.
The fight after proved much harder against the person I had lost to.
Without even a second after the fight had begun he spring foward and grabbed me by the waist and slammed me on the ground I could feel one of my ribs had snapped.
I tried to crawl off the mat so I could get help but he dragged me back center and continued to pummel my ribs until finally Pedro came in and threw him off of me.
I was beaten down now with two broken ribs and a crushed dream.
Pedro said, " Jesse that boy fought without honor he did not truly win. You are still in this if you want it get back up and fight show him you will not give up!"
After Pedro had said that I felt renewed even with my ribs how they were. I went and checked in for my next match.
The next match determined it all.
We went center and when the bell rang I let him think I was to tired and weak to really fight back. After letting him get a few hits in I finally sprang foward and that is when he realized it was all a trick but by then it was to late I had made my way to his back and had him in a choke hold.
He slammed me on the ground repeatedly trying to get me off but I held as he clawed at my face trying to get me off.
In the end after it all me and two other fighters were called center. I was so nervous.
He had called the fighter Ivan as the first place.
Time had felt like it stopped as I hoped for second but as each second went by that hope died.
Until I looked up and saw my academy yelling my name and hadnt realized I had gotten second.
I may not have gotten first but I had shown my worth in how I fought and had shown I was committed to being a fighter.
The first step in my long path was done now to move foward and to see just how far I could go.
