I Read Stories: Karate Obligations by Michael Czyzniejewski

 

Karate Obligations by Michael Czyzniejewski in Bull

DeVries cancels a Saturday date for the third time due to “karate obligations”. The narrator asks if they can tag along and DeVries agrees. They go down to the beach where she practices, then to two karate tournaments across the street from each other, both of which she’s competing in. Then to Chinatown for ice cream where some thugs are hassling the owners, and she defeats them. Then back to see her protegee who complains about the menial tasks he’s doing, before his big tournament…

This joyful and absurd journey through variations of scenes from martial arts films moves swiftly and sometimes elegantly. That someone has karate obligations is a fun idea, and even when it becomes over the top in it’s silliness, no more than in the films it's drawing on. Of course this ignores many questions (which date is this; if they know so little about DeVries and her karate, then why are they so keen to join them etc) the narrator something of a cypher until finally briefly becoming important to the narrative.

Read This: To learn about the fun of karate obligations
Don’t Read This: The karate obligations are very silly