AN EXOTIC FRUIT that once came from distant China was very curious about martial arts. Every time he saw movies about karate on the TV he got very excited, always picturing himself starring in contests and winning. He even came up with a nickname for himself: "I want you to call me the 'Dragon's Eye'!", he told the other fruit and vegetables in the garden. And it was true that this was what they called him in China, not for his talent in martial arts but rather for his shape that looked like an eye. In Greece, he was simply known as "Longan Fruit".
When, one day, he ran out of movies about martial arts to see, he thought of making his dream of acquiring a black belt in karate a reality. So, he searched the city for a good school, until he eventually found the one to his liking that was rumored as one that set the bar high. "But always have in mind that it's not like in the movies", the karate teacher warned him.
Excited as he was, the Longan Fruit didn't bother to contemplate on the teacher's warning. After completing his registration, he bought proper training clothes, as well as a white belt which he fastened around his waist. His first lesson got him even more excited:"I'll soon be the next Bruce Lee", he thought, and returned to the garden wearing his karate suit to show everybody what a strong fighter he was. Within the next few weeks, however, the training got tougher and tougher. The falls, the scratches and the bruises became very common. Things got really bad when one day our good Longan Fruit accidentally hit his foot on the wall, as a result feeling great pain and being unable to walk properly. He then let out a scream so wild and loud that everybody turned their heads to see what was going on. "It didn't look as painful in the movies...", he justified himself, then went straight to the changing rooms to calm himself down. As soon as he went back home, he took out a videotape of the "Karate Kid" so as to examine the famous "Crane Strike" scene again and pluck up courage for the next day. He played it over so many times, that in the end he decided to do the same thing in tomorrow's class so as to show everybody what he was made of, ignoring the fact that his foot was still bruised and in pain. So it happened: the next day and during the course of the training, he stood with one foot and his hands stretched in the air, then lifted the other one as high as he could, mimicking the move he had seen in the movie and waiting for his opponent to come closer. As soon as he was close enough, the Longan Fruit gave him a strong kick using the bruised foot. "It's the same foot that made you scream with pain yesterday, yet you pretend to be Karate Kid today?", the other fruit and vegetables told him in a strict manner as he fell on the floor and screamed with pain once more. This time he realized that many things that happen in movies are far from reality and the teacher explained to him that while pain is unavoidable in martial arts, it doesn't mean he should exaggerate or avoid looking after himself. So, our good Longan Fruit took his lesson, and with much patience and discipline managed to get all the belts during the course of the years to come: from white and yellow, to brown and black....
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