Karen




Hmm well this is a first that's for sure. I am writing or should say I am
being told to "report" about a fight I had some years back when I lived in New
Jersey. Not sure exactly how to do this so, well I will start like this.

About me at the time: I am an African American woman who started in karate
school at age 9. Raised by a wonderful single parent I had 2 brothers who were
great athletes. By the time I was 14 I was a blackbelt and by the time I was
19 I was a 2 stripe blackbelt. We were not allowed to spar until I was 16 and
my first match lasted 7 seconds as I kicked my opponent unconscious with a
roundhouse kick. From that point until I was 20 I competed in enough contests
to fill my room with trophies and the den. I was known for my kicks and
knocked out 54% of my opponents with my feet. I also developed into a pretty
good striker and finally scored my first TKO the month after my second stripe.
Thereafter I scored several more knockouts with my fists which was very
satisfying. I enjoyed teaching and fighting. I stood 5'7 and by the time I was
22 I weighed a skinny 125lbs but I was really good at kickboxing. We never
really lifted weights back then.

The fight: I never met nor heard of Karen prior to the fateful night after a
big contest where after 9 gruesome rounds I ended my opponents dream of
beating me with a kick to her jaw that put her out. At the party afterwards my
trainer came over to me and said there was a woman who wanted to fight me and
would pay me $3,000, which was not only a lot more than I earned for any of my
other fights back than at 22 I really needed it for school and things. The
deal was that I could kickbox but she would just box. I thought to myself
either she is 10 feet tall or crazy. My trainer assured me she was 5'9" and
maybe 25 lbs more than me but the kicker( no pun intended) she was an "old" 32
at the time to my 22. I also thought that nobody could stand up to my kicks
and if she was just boxing I would end this in no time and I agreed. The fight
was scheduled for 3 days from that day, 12 rounds each round 2 minutes as
usual.

The gym was empty except for me and my 3 people and her and her one person.
Still I never met her. When I finally did I was not intimidated or anything.
She wore a white tanktop, white shorts and white shoes and white gloves. She
was sweating a lot and naturally saw all her defined but not intimidating
muscles. Her defined abs were clearly showing through the tight wet tank top
but still I was not in the least intimidated b/c I too have muscles and have
totally destroyed my other opponents with my feet and thought once I connect a
few times to those muscles, no matter where they are, she'll be sent packing.
Well, without going into great detail, by the seventh round after kicking her
all over her body including a few to her chin it was me who looked worse for
wear. I did wobble her for sure but it was me who had both eyes shut from
swelling, bloody nose and was hurting. In the 11th round she scored her
knockout (my first KO loss and my 8th loss after all of those years of
fighting). I remember vividly opening my eyes and seeing the canvas as a pool
of blood formed around me from my nose as my trainer turned me over on my
back. When I finally sat up seeing Karen getting her shoulders rubbed by some
guy with that shit ass grin on her face and my foot print on her chin I felt
frustrated as hell. She walked over to me and bent down and whispered for me
to stand up as my trainer took off my gloves and I did. I stood up but was
still cloudy, very cloudy since I was NEVER hit so hard in my life. I remember
her hugging me so tight it hurt and than I felt myself wanting to sit since
the room was spinning still and I grabbed her arms around her bicep area and
was fucking astounded at their size. It was like someone blew them with air
they were so swollen from punching the shit out of me for 11 rounds. I looked
in her eyes as I felt those mounds of power and it was at that moment she
stared right through me with a power I never felt before or since. I knew I
was in the ring with a woman who could kill me. Not kidding. I never felt
anything like that bore through my being. I never felt arms like that on a
woman or even most men, I never kicked someone as many times as I did her, to
her body, to her chin, to her arms, and them not wilt or get counted out. She
put out her fists and told me to kiss them and without a second hesitation I
did so in front of all of those people. She said "good girl, now go and be
well" and she turned and walked away and I never saw her again. I was never
the same, on many levels, from that knockout! I now live with my 3 daughters
and husband in another state and no longer do full contact fighting but still
teach. "Someone" contacted me to write this and that's all I have to report.