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The crowd roared.

Excitement filled the air, buzzing with electricity like power lines or generators.

Every member of the audience was excited to see a match between two greats. They might end up disappointed that the first to come out was unfamiliar to this tournament.

The first to exit from the North Hall, out into the light of the high sun and before the eyes of every person watching, Joe’mante Avaraje stood nervously. His head was held high, his eyes were scanning the whole arena and the throngs of fight fans watching him from above in the stands. Sweat from pre-warm up exercises and exertions rolled down his chocolate skin. His body was bare except for orange shorts with black tiger stripes, tennis shoes, and thick wraps around his hand, forearm, and lower legs. His torso was free for view, exhibiting a well chiseled and hard worked body that weighted at 168 pounds for a 5’8 frame of male prospect. On his back was a bag, and sheathed into it was his staff and fan. The dark skin fellow, the young black man gulped slightly as the crowd’s boisterous shouts and noise had settled down to just watch them.

Without thinking, Joe raised a friendly hand to wave. Then he clasped a fist into his palm and started to bow to as much portions as he could, politely. “I hope you enjoy the fight!” His voice was loud enough to be carried through the arena and well, the crowd responded positively. At least this fighter was a bit more pleasant, nicer, but he looked like easy meat, ready to be consumed.

In truth, Joe knew that he was far from easy. Yet, this was the first time he ever fought with such a large crowd. Without over thinking it, he ran with a speedy gait towards the ring and leaped onto it. Landing on the hard stone, he came to a stop five feet from the edge and peered towards the South Entrance, wondering how his opponent would show himself. Joe had no idea what would occur or what his opponent was capable of, but he was here to fight and the fire in his chest yearned to test his growing abilities.

This is going to be a good fight. I know it will be.

And as he thought it, the volume of the crowd would rise again.

Joe'mante Avaraje had removed his backpack and dropped it near the edge of the arena. The fan was slipped into his waist, the Bamboo Bo Staff was grasped in the right hand while rested in the shoulder. The weapon was a large part of Joe'mante's abilities, an extension of his body, and a very good weapon against all types of foes, from unarmed to armed. Joe smiled some, his nervousness would dissolve while he saw his next opponent jogging in with his hand up. Once he got up on the arena, Joe stood back with a smirk on his face. He had a feeling he was going to like this round very much so, might be a match that he'll learn a lot about himself more than anyone else here. "Why is it," Joe had started in a matter of fact voice, "that looks determine a fight?" It was a honest and good question, a better response than anything else Joe could muster. Sure, they both resembled each other, but that was just the surface.

"I'm Joe'mante Avaraje, let's have a good bout." And the round would begin, the crowd would roar, and the air in the stadium was going to thrive with excitement, enthusiasm, and energy.

Joe the man would come forward, closing the distance between him and his foe with a hip and a hop in his steps. A little dance, a little tango, confidence was growing and it was evident in the smile that grew on his face. It wouldn't take long for the two competitor's to meet, especially if Jamal helped close the distance as well with his boxing stance. Joe would continue the course and once they were within twenty feet, the black staff wielder would whirl his staff from his right shoulder and into both hands. The staff was exactly as tall as Joe, somewhat strange since most Bo Staff's are traditionally taller than the user. But Joe prefer it like this.

The tempo in his steps increase, the movement of the staff was a similar circular whirl thanks to the dexterity of ten fingers. The staff would be spun around to Joe's left until the distance cut within the ten feet.

Joe would throw the first blow, starting off by bending forward, passing the Bo Staff around his back from left to right until he grasped close to one of the ends of the staff. In both hands, he would swing the staff out long towards Jamal's left foot, from Joe'mante's right to the left. His knees would be bent, his body would torque slightly with the swing to add to its power, thanks to the wide and far reach.

The bamboo staff did not respond with the thwack of hitting a limb.

Joe had expected that, it was the reason why he had aimed for a low point of the body -- the foot. It gave his adversary the incentive to leap over and attack with an aerial maneuver or something that would utilize Joe being at a disadvantage for aiming at such an angle. A point in which Joe could not block with his staff and that incoming left foot would hurt like hell if it struck.

It was a good thing Joe'mante Avaraje kept up the momentum of his torquing motion. With bent knees spread shoulder width apart, his body low with a tiny center of gravity, Joe demonstrated what this position could lead to. What was key was the momentum of his swing, since it had missed, he could continue to spin around without losing speed.

By the time Jamal hit his highest point of the leap, Joe was turning his back to the other fighter. Joe's left leg would swing out wide, he would lean into that direction, and tilt his weight with the spin in order to swivel around towards Jamal's left. This would occur while Jamal's attacking leg would come down.

Woosh! It would slice the air parallel to Joe's bare back and hit the arena floor with a notable thud!

In that moment, Joe would still be in his lowered stance -- leveled at a shorter height than his foe. His Bo-staff was still in motion but from a different position. While Joe had spun out of the way like a NFL Runner-back, he had positioned his staff with one end against his left hip. The right hand grasped close to the forward pointing end of the staff, the left hand assisting the backward point of the staff to stay against his hip.

It was the iconic pose of a samurai sheathing his sword. Joe would pull the staff backwards with his right, guide it with his left, and jab the attacking end hard towards Jamal's left side - the ribs. Using his lowered stance for leverage, the offensive point of the staff would be striking upwards towards its goal.

The moment Jamal had landed, Joe was attacking. "Haaaa!" Joe added his own yell too. It helped him breathe and it entertained the crowd. The enthusiasm and the fun for the fans would ascend gradually while the two combatants dueled it out.

Joe huffed out from his nostrils, and inhaled deeply from his parted lips as the strike registered down his bamboo staff. Good, he landed the first blow, but he understood that he was in a very problematic dilemma. In order to complete that jab, he had to stop his feet and settle himself in a sturdy stance that imitated the samurai. With his long pole weapon extended behind him, this was a great opportunity for his opponent to grab his weapon or worst, attack his back. Joe had set his head turned towards the left, gazing behind him from the side of his eyes. He saw the intent of his opponent written all over the eyes, they would always look down for something if they wanted to seize it. This was particularly a sound case when the objective could change the game and sway it into their advantage.

Part of fighting was awareness. Just before Jamal would touch the staff, Joe was starting to turn around.

His first hand had succeeded in grasping it.

Joe’s left side would face him.

His second hand had grasped it as well! With one strong pull against Joe’s sole right hand, Jamal might be successful in disarming the fast and wily Joe’mante Avaraje.

Joe could feel it all with the shift and added weight of extra hands on his dear weapon, the extra limb of his body. But at that point, Joe was set up in an advantageous position.

But oh no! Jamal was not only going to rip away the weapon, he was aiming to kick Joe’s left leg at the knee joint.

His attack would go Woosh again!

How would that be?

It was because Joe had moved into a position to set up a hard kick with that very left leg. If Jamal had busy both hands to tear away the staff and he had committed one leg into kicking. He was setting himself into an exposed position that could easily knock him down.

Joe’s attack would be a small but crucial hop forward on the right foot, his left leg would be bent, the heel aimed for his exposed target. Then Joe would straight kick into Jamal’s right side – the liver mainly – with extremely close to perfect timing and it held a high chance of connecting and knocking the wind out of Jamal. Unfortunately, Joe had kept his left hand off the staff to help balance him, so Jamal would gain something out of the ordeal.

He would succeed in taking the staff, but he would be sent flying from Joe’s kick. And just for good measure, Joe had tacked on a bit of air that had circled around his left foot, concentrated into a tight bubble at the heel of his shoe, and then burst at contact to increase the damage.

BAM!

It was enough power to cause contusions, serious bruising, and hurt that liver.

Fast, accurate, and coy was Joe’mante Avaraje, the young fighter. Even after losing his staff, his confidence would not bulge and the hip and the hop in his steps would increase.

Was taking his staff going to slow Joe’s roll?

Perhaps it would, perhaps it won’t.

Joe smiled and the crowd was buzzing with energy.

Ah, so his staff would be respectively thrown out of the arena and close towards the Northern entrance. Joe would have to make sure to thank Jamal for not snapping it. Half of him had expected it to happen but that event would not occur. Besides, breaking a bamboo staff in half was no easy feat, it was a weapon that could bend like a blade of grass in the wind. But oh well, Joe would have to manage this fight without his iconic weapon.

The crowd would look for his outward response, how would he handle his weapon being taken away?

Joe responded with a growing smile, a grin that etched across his face as he danced about fourteen feet from across his opponent. Yes, he was dancing, hopping, and bouncing, moving with an irregular beat. It was hard to follow, it was distracting, it was somewhat weird with the way he move, stop, move, move, stop, and randomly shifted or paused.

He would do this while he waited for his opponent to regain his composure and rush back at him. Joe in the mean time would maintain his excellent control over breathing, his confidence, and his irregular movements. Jamal didn’t come at him with a blinding fast dash either, it was the sort that was careful about its approach.

Jamal was smart to do so because Joe would stay on the offensive.

While the distance would close, Joe would enter a rhythm of circular, loose, and flexible motions with his arms in front of him. Then, abruptly, he would spin around in place, clockwise. At the end of the spin, his right arm would swing out with the palm facing Jamal, waving at him.

“Haaaaaaa!”

Out came a crescent shaped, solidified wave of air that was four feet wide and had enough power to knock a man on his back. It was a horizontal attack that cut through the air rapidly and was aimed for Jamal’s head, specifically the neck. Joe had fired it just when Jamal had cut the distance to half.

It might have been unexpected, especially with the irregular movements that Joe had been exhibiting. The only sign of this power would be in Joe’s eyes. They had glowed orange the moment he had started to spin around to gather momentum and air. It was the sort of attack that might seriously hurt Jamal like taking multiple bamboo staffs to the throat.

After releasing the attack, Joe was set in a stance with feet shoulder width apart, right foot in lead, his right arm wide to that corresponding side, and his left arm down. His torso was completely exposed. Joe’s nostrils flared, sucking in air and blowing it out with hot puffs to keep his stamina up.

The crowd went wild as Joe’s Air Swipe soared for its intended target - the throat.

Soaring fast and hard was Joe’s Air swipe, a dense wave of air that might knock Jamal’s head off like a baseball taking a hit from a super bat. Yet, Jamal was aware and agile enough to avoid it with a simple duck and come forward for the kill. The target would be Joe’s open and very available torso. A strike to the chest could change this whole match around, especially if it was followed by Jamal’s skillful kicks.

Unfortunately for Jamal, Joe was one step ahead of him.

The Air Swipe attack was part a trap, a ploy that Joe had unleashed with the knowledge that it won’t hit at all. It was the reason why he had aimed high, so Jamal would have a chance at avoiding it. Joe went for the neck specifically just to make it a little more difficult, but it will all lead to the same objective in mind, for Jamal to target what appears to be an unguarded torso.

Joe had stood in such an unguarded stance after sending the Air Swipe on purpose. He wanted to corral Jamal in with the mind-frame that there was opportunity there, but there really wasn't.

As of lately, Joe was not fighting just to prove his skills in Martial Arts. But he was teaching himself how to fight smart, how to pull his opponents into a trap where he could be on top.

Initially, Joe was hoping for an uppercut or a punch at his torso. Ironically, Jamal had leaped for a flying knee, the same attack Joe was going to deploy if Jamal had stayed on the ground. It was fortunate that Joe had not jump the moment Jamal had ducked, then it would have lead into a crash akin to that of two race cars smashing together.

So Joe’mante Avaraje rolled with a different maneuver that might actually provide an even more enriching reward and a devastating consequence for Jamal.

Timing it down to the last second, Joe had kept his open stance until Jamal’s flying body came close enough. Then he swung his left foot around into lead position. His right foot took a step back so his left side would be facing Jamal. Jamal’s knee would strike Joe’s chest momentarily and lose power since it was not a dead on hit, more like a glancing shot.

Joe still had to huff out, releasing the air in his chest from the deadly weight of Jamal’s knee. A full on hit from that strike would have hurt badly. Good thing he avoided it somewhat, but now it was time for Joe to have some fun.

The moment Jamal’s knee touched Joe, the young eighteen year old black male – that’s on the ground – reached up to latch onto Jamal. The left arm would curl upwards, the bicep against the shin of Jamal’s right leg. Joe’s left hand would latch onto the threads of Jamal’s pants covering his inner thigh. Joe’s right hand had reached up, and hooked underneath Jamal’s left armpit, grabbing at the shoulder blade.

Once Joe hooked on, he would ride Jamal’s momentum by simply tilting with the direction of his flight path.

Then Joe would spin his hips towards the right. His right hand would pull Jamal down while his left hand acted like a seesaw, doing the opposite to flip Jamal over. Jamal would find himself chest to chest with Joe in a perpendicular matter.

The both of them would fly together for an aweinspiring and fleeting split second, before the…




Joe the man slammed Jamal’s back into the harsh, cruel, and punishing arena ring floor with a sickening THUD!

The audience would go MAD, roaring like a pack of animals from the jungle. Joe would stand up and take a few steps back to observe the damage that had been dealt. His chest throbbed with pain and excitement. That had to be one of the most thrilling moves Joe had ever pulled off.

Now that's how you make the crowd go nuts.