Karate Rebels

By Jake Maddox and Diego Diaz (Beehive Illustration)

Karate is the most important thing in Aliyah’s life. It allows her to fight - and she’s good at that. It also makes her feel like a winner. Nothing is more important to Aliyah than taking down an opponent, especially if it’s her main rival, Suma. Things soon change with the arrival of a new student, Zoya, who also happens to be Suma’s little sister. Aliyah sees something familiar in Zoya - an anger and aggression that reminds Aliyah of herself. Upon the request of Suma, and with the approval of the sensei, Aliyah agrees to train Zoya. Through their training, she helps Zoya control her anger but also manages to learn a valuable lesson of her own - winning isn’t everything.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Aug 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781515889267

Jake Maddox

Who is Jake Maddox? Athlete, author, world-traveler – or all three? He has surfed in Hawaii, scuba-dived in Australia, and climbed the mountains of Peru and Alaska. His books range from the most popular team sports to outdoor activities to survival adventures and even to auto racing. His exploits have inspired numerous writers to walk in his footsteps – literally! Each of his stories is stamped with teamwork, fair play, and a strong sense of self-worth and discipline. Always a team-player, Maddox realizes it takes more than one man (or woman) to create a book good enough for a young reader. He hopes the lessons learned on the court, field, or arena and the champion sprinter pace of his books can motivate kids to become better athletes and lifelong readers.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Chapter 1: Sparring Champ

Chapter 2: Dojo Kun

Chapter 3: Missing Home

Chapter 4: New Kid in Class

Chapter 5: Remind You of Anyone?

Chapter 6: Taking a Chance

Chapter 7: A New Pupil

Chapter 8: Learning from Teaching

Chapter 9: Regionals

Chapter 10: Real Winning

Author Bio

Glossary

More About Karate!

Discussion Questions

Writing Prompts

Explore More

Copyright

Back Cover

Chapter 1

SPARRING CHAMP

Aliyah circled her sparring opponent, Suma. The other karate students sat cross-legged around the sparring mat. Aliyah blocked out the familiar sights and sounds of the dojo.

She ignored the weight of her sparring gear. She focused on making her breath come from deep inside her belly.

Suma Samadi-Kroft was twelve, the same age as Aliyah. The brown belt around Suma’s waist was tied tight.

Suma was quick and light on her feet. She easily danced out of the way of Aliyah’s jabs and kicks. But Aliyah knew Suma’s one weakness. Suma often forgot to block, leaving herself open to kicks and punches.

Adrenaline rushed through Aliyah’s veins. Suma was good, but Aliyah still knew she’d win. She always did.

Aliyah had won every brown-belt sparring match since she’d arrived at the dojo two months ago. But there was nothing quite as satisfying as beating Suma. Nothing, that is, except being sure that she was going to make black belt first.

Keep your guard up, Sensei Juarez reminded Suma. She turned to Aliyah. Work on your kicks.

Aliyah studied Suma. She knew that Suma tended to drop her back hand.

Aliyah could go in for a back fist strike and then kick. Suma was so fast that Aliyah would need to reach to get to her. If she pushed Suma out of the ring, that would be a point in Aliyah’s