TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: Trouble

  Chapter 2: Robes

  Chapter 3: Sensei

  Chapter 4: Monday

  Chapter 5: Control

  Chapter 6: Meltdown

  Chapter 7: Benched

  Chapter 8: Counting

  Chapter 9: The Big Day

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Glossary

  Karate Words You Should Know

  More about Karate

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  Internet Sites

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  CHAPTER 1

  TROUBLE

  Kenny Parks leaned against the passenger window of his dad’s car. They were driving down Elm Street after a meeting with the principal at Kenny’s school. The school year had just started, and Kenny was already in trouble.

  “I’m pretty disappointed with you, Ken,” his dad said. “I really thought that this year was going to be different from last year.”

  Ever since his mother died, Kenny seemed to get in trouble all the time. For some reason, Kenny would get angry very easily. He would talk back to teachers. Sometimes he even yelled at them.

  “I just wish I knew why you can’t get along with any of your teachers,” his dad said as he turned onto their street.

  Kenny shrugged. “It’s not my fault, Dad,” he said. “Teachers never like me!”

  Kenny dropped his head. His mom had been a teacher, but that was a long time ago. “Look, Dad, I’m sorry,” Kenny said.

  Dad parked the car in front of their house. “I know you’re sorry, Ken,” he said. “You’re always sorry, but nothing has changed. I think it’s time to do something about this.”

  Kenny felt his face get hot. “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Well, when I was a boy, I used to get angry sometimes,” Dad said. “So I took a karate class. It really helped.”

  Dad had often talked about his childhood karate lessons. He had really loved them, and he wanted Kenny to love karate too. But besides shooting hoops with his friends, Kenny had never been a big fan of sports. He wasn’t interested in lessons of any kind.

  Kenny rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to take karate lessons, Dad,” he said. He opened his car door.

  Dad put his hand on Kenny’s arm. “Sorry, Ken,” Dad said. “It’s already done. I signed you up for a class. Your first lesson is this Saturday at eight.”

  “Eight in the morning?” Kenny replied, nearly shouting. “On a Saturday? That’s not fair!”

  Dad got out of the car and walked toward their house. His keys jingled in his hands.

  “Maybe it’s not fair,” Dad said. “But we’ve got to do something about how you’ve been acting.”

  Kenny followed him across the yard toward the front door of their house. “Dad!” he said.

  “It’s final, Ken,” Dad replied. “You’re learning karate.” He opened the front door and walked inside.

  Great, Kenny thought. So much for my weekends.

  CHAPTER 2

  ROBES

  Most weeks, Kenny looked forward to the weekend. Usually, it felt like the weekend would never come. But that week, Kenny was not excited about the weekend. For some reason, the week flew by. Before Kenny knew it, his alarm clock was going off. It was 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.

  “Rise and shine, Ken!” his dad called from the kitchen. “I’m making sausage and biscuits for breakfast.”

  Kenny took a deep breath through his nose. He could smell the sausage and gravy, and the biscuits in the oven.

  Well, Kenny thought, at least I’ll get an awesome breakfast.

  “We need to leave in 15 minutes,” Dad said. “You can’t be late for your first day of karate class!”

  “Okay,” Kenny called. “I’m coming.”

  Kenny threw on some jeans and a T-shirt. He sat down at the kitchen table and started wolfing down his breakfast.

  “What are you wearing?” his dad asked, smirking.

  Kenny stopped eating. He looked down at his T-shirt and jeans. “What?” he said. “I always dress like this.”

  Dad shook his head. “Not this morning,” he said. “Take a look in the gym bag on the chair next to you.”

  Kenny frowned. He reached over and grabbed the bag.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Open it,” Dad replied.

  Kenny opened the bag. He looked inside and pulled out a heavy white shirt and a pair of white pants.

  “Karate robes!” his dad said, smiling.

  “Are you kidding me?” Kenny asked, eyes wide. “I have to wear this thing?”

  Dad got up to refill his coffee. “Of course,” he said. “What did you think you would wear for karate?”

  “I’ll look like an idiot!” Kenny said.

  Dad sipped his coffee and sat down with the paper. “Nah,” he said, “you’ll look like everyone else in your class. Go get dressed.”

  “Come on!” Kenny yelled. “This is so dumb!”

  Without looking up from his newspaper, Kenny’s dad said, “Try saying thank you instead. These karate lessons and robes aren’t free, you know.”

  Kenny started to walk back to his room. But his dad stood up. “Wait a second, Kenny,” Dad said. “Don’t forget your belt!”

  Dad reached out and handed Kenny a white strip of cloth. “At first, you’ll wear a white belt with your robes,” Dad explained. “As you get better and better, you’ll get a new belt as you reach each new level. It’s pretty cool.”

  Kenny rolled his eyes as he grabbed the belt from his dad. He stomped back down the hall to his room to change.

  Could this day get any worse? he thought.

  CHAPTER 3

  SENSEI

  The karate school was in a little mall. It was near the bus station.

  “This is it?” Kenny asked as his dad parked out front. “This place looks gross.”

  “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Dad replied. “I’ll pick you up in an hour.”

  Kenny sighed as he climbed out of the car. He slammed the car door behind him and headed for the karate school.

  “Welcome,” a small man said as Kenny walked in. “Please stand along the wall with the other students.”

  “Okay,” Kenny replied. He looked to his right. About ten other guys were already there, dressed in robes and white belts just like him. They were standing against the wall, staring straight ahead.

  The small man wore a black belt with his white robes. Kenny had heard enough about karate from his dad to know that a black belt meant the man was a karate master.

  Kenny walked over to an empty spot near the middle of the group. “What is this, the army?” he joked to the kid next to him.

  The kid smiled, but didn’t look at him or reply. Kenny shrugged.

  “Students,” said the small man at the front of the room, “thank you for joining our karate class.”

  The man bowed. Kenny watched as the other students bowed back at him. Quickly, he followed their lead and bowed as well.

  “We will begin today with how to tie your belt,” the teacher said. “I can see that some of your belts are a little sloppy. Please remove them and I will show you the correct way to tie them.”

  The other students all undid their belts. Kenny chuckled. “Next he’s going to show us how to tie our shoes!” he said to the guy next to him.

  “If your shoes are as sloppy as your belt,” the teacher said, “then, yes, I will help you with your shoes.”

  Kenny rolled his eyes. “My robe is closed,” Kenny replied. “I guess my belt is doing its job.”

  “The belt does not only close the robe,” the teacher answered. “It shows others what kind of student you are.”

  “Then I guess I’m a sloppy student, sir,” Kenny said. His voice was tense and angry.

  “Sensei,” the teacher replied sternly. “In karate, we use the Japanese word sensei, not sir.”

  Kenny felt his face getting hot. He yanked off his belt.

  “And we reply, ‘Yes, Sensei,’” the man added.

  Kenny looked down at the floor. “Yes, Sensei,” he said quietly.

  CHAPTER 4

  MONDAY

  Monday morning was almost a relief to Kenny. He had been sore from his karate class for the entire weekend. After learning how to tie their belts, the class had done a bunch of jumping jacks and sit-ups to warm up. Then Sensei had showed them how to punch.

  Kenny slouched in his chair before his first class at school on Monday morning. He rubbed his shoulder.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Craig Peters asked from the desk next to Kenny.

  “My whole body is sore,” Kenny replied.

  “Did you get in a fight again this weekend?” Craig asked.

  “No, I didn’t get in a fight,” Kenny snapped. “Why, do you want to start something?”

  Craig laughed and threw up his hands. “Easy, buddy,” he said.

  Craig had known Kenny for years, and he knew Kenny wouldn’t start a real fight with him. They were friends. But he had seen Kenny in a few bad fights over the years with other kids.

  Kenny scowled. “My dad signed me up for karate lessons,” he said.

  “Nice!” Craig replied. He sliced the air with one hand, then the other. “Hiya!” he said.

  Kenny rolled his eyes.

  “You’ll be a ninja in no time,” Craig added.

  “It’s not like that at all, believe me,” Kenny said.

  “It’s not?” Craig asked. “No wicked chops and flying kicks and fighting ten ninjas at once?”

  Kenny just shook his head. “Not at all,” he said. “It’s more like making the students feel like idiots and showing them how to tie their shoes.”

  The bell rang. “Okay, class,” Ms. Riaz announced. “Let’s get started.”

  “Tie their shoes?” Craig whispered, leaning over.

  Kenny nodded. “Pretty much,” he said. “It’s really stupid.”

  CHAPTER 5

  CONTROL

  That week went by fast. It wasn’t a terrible week. There were no meetings with the principal, but Kenny did talk back a few times to Ms. Riaz.

  At karate class on Saturday, Kenny lined up with the other students. He made sure his belt was tied correctly.

  Sensei bowed. Kenny bowed back with the other students.

  “Today,” Sensei said, “we will work on blocking. You will be able to defend yourselves against the punches we learned last week.”

  Sensei stepped to the center of the mat. “I will show you several blocks before we begin,” he said. “Mr. Parks, you will attack.”

  Kenny opened his eyes wide. “Me?” he asked, shocked.

  “Me, Sensei,” the teacher corrected. “And yes, you, Mr. Parks. Please stand here in your punching stance.”

  Kenny stepped forward and stood on the mat. He faced Sensei. Then he spread his feet and bent his elbows. He was in the punching stance he had learned the week before.

  “Good stance, Mr. Parks,” the teacher said. “Attack me whenever you feel like you are ready.”

  “You want me to punch you, Sensei?” Kenny asked, surprised.

  “I want you to try to punch me,” Sensei replied, smiling.

  Kenny inhaled deeply and clenched his fists. He thought back to the last week of class and remembered the way to do a punch to the chest.

  He took a step forward. With a loud grunt, he punched.

  As fast as lightning, Sensei blocked the punch with his left arm. Then, before Kenny could pull his arm back, Sensei lifted him by the elbow and dropped him onto his back.

  In less than a second, Sensei was standing over Kenny. Kenny stared up at him from the mat.

  “Ow,” Kenny moaned.

  Sensei turned to the class. “Do you see, students,” he said, “how I used Mr. Parks’s energy against him?”

  “Yes, Sensei!” the others replied.

  Kenny was angry. Sensei had made him look like a fool!

  Kenny jumped to his feet and ran at his teacher. “Block this!” he yelled. He charged at the small man.

  “Gladly,” Sensei replied. He calmly stepped aside and gently caught Kenny by the shoulder. In less than a second, Kenny was on his back again.

  Sensei kneeled over Kenny. “Mr. Parks,” the teacher said quietly. “You must learn to control your anger. Otherwise, your anger will control you.” He reached out his hand to help Kenny up.

  Kenny got to his feet with Sensei’s help. “That’s easy for you to say,” Kenny said under his breath.

  * * *

  An hour later, class was over. Sensei had been Kenny’s partner for all the sparring. Somehow, Kenny had managed to stay on his feet most of the time, except whenever he’d gotten angry.

  The class lined up. “Very well done today, students,” Sensei said. “I will let you go in a moment. First, I have an announcement.”

  Kenny glanced at the other students. All of them kept their eyes straight ahead.

  “In three weeks,” Sensei continued, “we will have a class tournament. Every year, we hold a tournament for the students in each level’s class.”

  He smiled. “Being in the tournament is required,” Sensei added. “The winner of the tournament will earn the respect of his Sensei and his classmates. He will also receive free lessons for the next level of training.”

  Some of the students smiled or cheered. “Cool,” said the guy next to Kenny.

  “Thank you, students,” Sensei finished. He bowed. All of the students, including Kenny, bowed back. Then they headed outside to wait for their rides home.

  “Man, I really want to win that tournament,” a kid said to Kenny as they waited.

  Kenny shrugged. “I doubt I have a chance,” he said. “Did you see the way Sensei threw me around in there?”

  The other kid laughed. “That just means you get more practice than the rest of us,” he said. “And sparring against Sensei is better practice than sparring against one of us.”

  Kenny nodded. “That’s true,” he replied.

  The other kid kept talking, but Kenny wasn’t paying attention to him.

  Hmm, Kenny thought. Maybe I do have a shot at winning the tournament.

  CHAPTER 6

  MELTDOWN

  “Another rough karate lesson?” Craig asked before class on Monday.

  Kenny groaned. “You know it,” he replied.

  “What happened?” his friend asked. “Did the teacher pick on you again?”

  Kenny nodded. “Even worse than last time,” he replied. He rolled up the sleeve of his T-shirt. There was a big purple bruise.

  “Whoa!” Craig said. “That’s a nice one. How’d you get that?”

  Kenny shook his head. “Man, you wouldn’t believe me,” he said.

  “Try me,” Craig said.

  Kenny looked around the classroom before answering to make sure no one was listening. “I attacked him on Saturday,” he whispered.

  “The teacher? You attacked your teacher?” Craig asked, stunned.

  Kenny nodded slowly, smiling a little. “Can you believe it?” he asked.

  “To be honest, yes!” Craig replied. “I think you’d attack Jackie Chan if he made you angry.”

  Ms. Riaz walked in. Then the bell rang.

  “Don’t start with me, Craig!” Kenny said quietly. Craig chuckled and opened his notebook.

  “Good morning, everyone,” Ms. Riaz said. “Can I have three volunteers write the answers for the homework on the board, please?”

  Kenny looked around. As usual, no one volunteered.

  After a moment, Ms. Riaz sighed. “Okay then, I’ll choose three people,” she said.

  Everyone, including Kenny, slouched a little in their seats. No one wanted to be chosen.

  “Okay, question number one, Hanna,” Ms. Riaz said. Hanna stood up.

  “Number two, Jay, please,” Ms. Riaz went on.

  “Yes,” Craig said in a whisper.

  “One more,” Kenny said, crossing his fingers.

  Ms. Riaz looked at him. She said “Kenny, come on up and do number three, please.”

  Craig pointed at Kenny. “You’re the man,” Craig said, laughing.

  Kenny pulled his homework out of his notebook. He walked up to the white board.

  Ms. Riaz handed him a marker. “Thank you, Kenny,” she said.

  Kenny glanced at the work the other two students were doing. They were going through their math problems quickly.

  He looked down at his homework. His handwriting was sloppy, and he was sure his answer for question number three was wrong.

  Slowly, he raised the marker. He started copying the problem onto the board.

  Math, Kenny thought. What a waste of time! Like I’ll ever need to know this stuff in real life.

  He finished writing his answer on the board. Then he stood back and looked it over. He had no idea if his answer was right.

  With a shrug, Kenny tossed the marker on the tray. Then he went back to his desk.

  “I don’t think your answer’s right, man,” Craig whispered as Kenny sat down. “I got 42.”

  Kenny looked up at his answer. He had written 117. If Craig was right, Kenny wasn’t even close.

  Great, Kenny thought.

  He barely paid attention as the class went over the first two problems. Then it was time for number three.

  “Okay, Kenny,” Ms. Riaz said. “For question three, you came up with 117.”

  Kenny shrugged. “I guess,” he said.

  “Can you explain how you came up with that answer?” Ms. Riaz asked.

  “No,” Kenny mumbled.

  “You can’t explain?” Ms. Riaz asked, frowning.

 

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