Fighter's Brew Transcript: Episode 7 (Patreon)

• Fighter's Brew

All-Rounder Meguru was created by Hiroki Endo. Fighter's Brew is written, produced, and narrated by Sam.

[Note: Manga is read right to left.]

Inside Korakuen Hall.

Urasawa is in the last round of his pro shooto fight. He's on bottom, defending ground and pound. Tamiya is coaching him, but Watanabe and the Head Coach are also in his corner.

Urasawa catches an armbar, but time runs out. He loses by decision.

On his way back to the locker room, Urasawa yells, "Maaan! So much for rising to Class A."

Furuya enters the ring.

"In the red corner," the announcer calls, "Kenichiro Furuya!"

There's loud applause. Furuya already has a small fanbase.

"Who's he up against?" Maria asks.

"The Rookie King from last year who just rose to Class A," answers Yudai.

The fight begins, and Furuya immediately drops his opponent with a right straight.

"That was fast!" both Yudai and Meguru exclaim.

Furuya is softening his opponent up with ground and pound. He gets up to pass, but his opponent kicks up at him.

Furuya grabs his opponent's left leg and drops for a kneebar.

His opponent taps. The match is over. It took all but 21 seconds, including the touching of the gloves.

The spotlight is on Furuya as the referee raises his hand. Meguru is in awe.

"He won the National Amateur Shooto championship," Meguru thinks to himself. "He became a pro starting at Class B, then took the Rookie King title. Then rose to Class A and became ranked. It feels like Furuya-san is so far away. Then again, do I even want to go pro?"

The team is having a celebratory dinner.

Inside the restaurant, the Head Coach addresses all the gym members and guests. "Tonight, Furuya had an impressive win. With this, the Pacific Rim championship is within our sights. And it's thanks to the support of all of you here. And though Urasawa lost, I know he'll learn from this experience and grow as a fighter. To all of you gathered here, please continue to give them your support."

Everyone raises their glasses for the two fighters. Urasawa doesn't get to drink because he took too much damage. Furuya, on the other hand, didn't take one strike and is enjoying himself.

Furuya's wife pours beer for the Head Coach. "Thank you for always looking out for my husband," she says.

Furuya and the Head Coach have been together for a long time. He cornered all of his fighters in the past, but as the team developed, he began taking more of a support role. His plan was to never make it about himself but the team.

However, Urasawa is sulking. When a fighter loses, they're often filled with regret. You can see all the opportunities you missed in hindsight.

"It was a good match, Ura-san," Meguru tells him.

"I don't want to have a good match. I want to win, dammit!"

Meguru doesn't know what to say.

At the other end of the table, Maria is teasing Maki even more now that she's drunk.

"Hey, Meguru. Your place is on the west side, right? Wanna split a cab?" Urasawa asks.

"Oh, sure, Ura-san. Thanks."

In the cab.

Urasawa looks out of place in his street clothes. Meguru has only known him as a fighter.

"Say, Meguru," Urasawa says.

"Yeah?"

"Do you plan to go pro?"

"Well, my family told me to go to college, so I'm not sure."

"You should go to college if you have that option. It's tough to make a living on fighting alone. Especially here in Japan. We don't even have any major pro organizations anymore."

Urasawa sighs. "I got work on Monday, too. I just hope I heal up before then."

"Ura-san, why did you decide to go pro?"

"Easy. Because it's fun."

"Even when you lose?"

Urasawa laughs. "Yes, even then. You can't keep this up if you're just in it for whatever little money there is. All the practice and weight control. But whether I win or lose, I always think, 'I wanna get back in the ring again.' I figure this is what actors feel when they go on stage. Once I get into the ring and the lights are on me, I feel alive. Not like at work. Plus I've got my friends with me. So as long as they keep going, I'll go with them for as long as I can."

The next day at practice.

Meguru looks over at Yudai hitting the heavy bag. "Hey, Yudai."

"What?"

"Why do you wanna go pro?"

"Isn't it obvious? For the money and fame, of course."

At the world-famous Purebred MMA gym. Fighter's Brew is there for another amateur shooto event.

A bubbly stranger walks up to Meguru and offers his hand. "You're Meguru Takayanagi, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Kiyoshi Ogasawara. Let's have a good match."

"Likewise," Meguru says as they shake.

"Knowing that I'm up against Tamiya's junior today, I can't afford to lose. See ya!"

Kiyoshi waves as he walks off.

"You know him, Tamiya-san?" asks Meguru.

"Yeah, we used to train together when I only did jiu-jitsu."

"Then you know his fight habits?" asks Yudai.

"Pretty much. He's a guard player. The type I hate the most."

"How did your matches go?" asks Furuya.

Tamiya, through clenched teeth, "He always beat me on points."

"He doesn't come off cocky. He seems nice and friendly," Meguru says.

"That's why I don't like him. We're too similar."

"You already lost just by saying that," Meguru says while cringing.

Maki is warming up with Maria for her own match. She spots her opponent, who's much shorter than her but also more muscular. She has short black hair and freckles.

Out of the corner of his eye, Meguru spots Takashi. He's sitting with Kogure Gym.

Yudai is up first. His opponent is Kunio Otani from SGA gym.

"He's already going to anticipate your grappling," Furuya advises.

"Fine by me," Yudai says. "I wanna show the fruits of my striking training."

The fight begins. The two touch gloves then circle.

"Don't rush, Yudai," Furuya yells.

Yudai throws a jab to measure distance, staying on the outside. Kunio throws a low kick, but Yudai backsteps to avoid it. Both Meguru and Maria are impressed.

Yudai lands his jab. "I made contact," Yudai thinks to himself, "I have to remember this range."

Yudai misses with the right.

"You're swinging too wide!" Tamiya yells.

Yudai avoids all of Kunio's offense while landing his jabs but still keeps missing with his right.

"You don't need those big swings!" Furuya calls out.

"Wait," Maria says. "Knowing him, he's got something up his sleeve. I trust him."

Yudai feints the jab, which gets a big reaction. When Yudai loads his right, Kunio steps in looking to counter, but this time Yudai throws a perfectly straight 2, just like he practiced. It hits Kunio right on the chin, sending him to the floor. Kunio can't get up, and the match is over.

In the corner.

"Did you aim for that," Furuya asks.

"Of course," Yudai confidently tells him.

"That was incredible!" Meguru says.

Maria couldn't be happier with her pupil. "He gauged the distance with jabs and distracted him with wide right hooks," she tells Meguru. "Then, just when his opponent looked to the side for the right hook, Yudai threw a short right straight. The fact he thought that up and put it into practice during a fight is proof that he has a knack for this. But..."

"But?" Meguru asks.

"Well, he won. Let's leave it at that."

Meguru is facing off against Kiyoshi Ogasawara from Access Academy in a grappling rules match.

"Grappling rules? Maki asks.

"It means no striking," answers Furuya. "Meguru got KOed in his last fight, so he's still on concussion safety protocol. But he can still compete under grappling rules."

Tamiya to Meguru, "He's gonna try to get under you right away. So be careful not to get swept. There are different guards he can play in grappling than in MMA because there's no striking."

"There are?" Meguru says, worried.

"Regardless, you're gonna start out on top. So keeping your balance is critical."

The match begins. Kiyoshi charges in. Meguru blocks, thinking it's a tackle, but Kiyoshi drops underneath him into guard.

"Did I take him down that easily?" Meguru thinks, confused by Kiyoshi giving up the takedown.

Meguru stands up to pass, but Kiyoshi grabs Meguru's right leg and uses it as an anchor to pivot and get behind him. From behind, Kiyoshi knocks Meguru over and takes his back. Meguru is completely lost. Fortunately for Meguru, he worked a lot of back defense after his match with Takashi.

"Like hell am I gonna lose instantly twice in a row!" Meguru tells himself.

Meguru fights Kiyoshi's hands and tries to reverse position to get on top, but Kiyoshi follows him and retakes his back.

Meguru tries to shake him off, but Kiyoshi transitions to Yudai's specialty, the armbar. Meguru, by this point, has practiced armbar escapes countless times with Yudai.

When Meguru escapes and begins his pass, Kiyoshi grabs Meguru's ankle and spins, retaking his back.

"He's playing with him," Yudai says.

"His back defense is tight, and he knows how to defend armbars," Kiyoshi thinks. "Then I'll just let him escape."

Kiyoshi releases Meguru. Meguru turns to face Kiyoshi, but Kiyoshi holds onto Meguru's right hand. As Meguru spins to get on top, Kiyoshi traps him in a triangle choke.

"The escape was just bait," Furuya says.

Meguru fights to defend his arm and avoid the tap, but—

"—Shit! I'm going out," Meguru thinks.

The round ends. Meguru is saved by the bell. He takes a deep breath.

"He really didn't want to tap," Kiyoshi tells his corner.

Yudai is sweating. "I don't see how Meguru wins this one. He's down by eight points."

"This is so boring," Maki says. "Just get submitted already."

"Maki-chan..." Maria admonishes.

"Meguru, don't think about winning or losing," Tamiya tells him. "Just give him everything you've got."

"Got it!"

Round two begins.

"If I get on top, he's gonna use his guard to set the pace again," Meguru thinks to himself. "In that case—"

—Meguru jumps guard. Kiyosi pushes him onto his back. Meguru snatches Kiyoshi's ankle.

"No way," Tamiya whispers to himself.

But when Meguru tries to spin to Kiyoshi's back, nothing happens. Kiyoshi crushes him.

"You can't just pull off a move you've never practiced!" Tamiya angrily yells.

"Don't screw with me," Kiyoshi thinks. "You can't just copy my move. You have no idea how hard I worked to make this guard my own. I started jiu-jitsu with no prior grappling experience. Everyone else at my gym came from judo and wrestling. So I had to become better than everyone off my back."

Meguru and Kiyoshi scramble.

"Taking the back from guard is my specialty," Kiyoshi keeps thinking. "Of course, I know how to defend against it."

It wasn't that Meguru did it wrong, it was that Kiyoshi blocked him.

Meguru tries an arm drag, but Kiyoshi is too experienced. Meguru is running out of ideas.

"That arm drag must have been legit," Yudai says, "because it got a big reaction."

Time is running out, and Kiyoshi is looking for a finish. He stands up to pass.

Meguru tries another arm drag, but Kiyoshi overreacts when pulling his arm away. He's standing too tall with his weight leaning back. Just as in striking, this is also a danger in grappling.

Meguru sits up and grabs Kiyoshi's right knee, off-balancing him, then he grabs his right ankle and spins to get behind him. He knocks Kiyoshi over and takes his back.

If being on top is all about balance, then being on bottom is all about off-balancing. It made all the difference in Meguru's second attempt at taking the back.

The pros, whether in striking or grappling, are always looking to cause reactions. Often the difference between two identical moves is whether the defender is ready or not. This same principle can be applied in multiple ways, like with a jab or arm drag.

Tamiya is stunned. "Meguru thought up arm drag to inside spiral guard in the middle of a fight? No way. He doesn't even know what a spiral guard is."

Then Tamiya remembers he's a coach. "Meguru! If he escapes, you lose. You have to finish him!"

"If I can survive until the end of the round, I win on points," Kiyoshi thinks.

"30 seconds!" Tamiya screams.

"What should I do?" Meguru asks himself.

Kiyoshi begins his escape. He gets Meguru's hands off his neck and holds his wrist as an anchor to spin on top. But as an anchor, you can still attack. Meguru uses Kiyoshi's own grip to pull him into a triangle choke.

Regardless of who's holding whose arm, they move together. Control, therefore, is bidirectional.

Meguru cinches the choke and pulls down on Kiyoshi's head as hard as he can, but Kiyoshi is defending. There's not much time.

Meguru uses the arm drag from the triangle position to transition into an armbar. Kiyoshi locks his hands.

"I can do this. I will do this," Meguru tells himself.

Meguru pushes Kiyoshi's posting leg away, just as Yudai has done to him countless times. Kiyoshi instinctively lets go of his grip to post his hand to prevent falling over.

But with the lock broken, Meguru extends his arm.

Kiyoshi yells because he can't tap with his hands. The ref stops the fight. Meguru wins by submission in an upset.

An exhausted Meguru is more relieved than proud.

Kiyoshi congratulates him. "Good fight, Takayanagi-kun! I lost today, but you're entering the regionals, right? Next time, we'll be fighting with shooto rules!"

"Okay..."

"See ya!" Kiyoshi waves as he steps out of the ring.

"He's gonna keep looking to fight you until he wins," Tamiya tells Meguru.

"Why is he such a sore loser?!"

"He lost to a high schooler. Can you blame him?"

"A come-from-behind victory. That's pretty gutsy. I still don't get what you don't like about that Takayanagi kid." A senior member of Kogure Gym is speaking to Takashi.

"He was an old friend, right? What was he like in your karate days?"

Takashi thinks for a second. "This was the first time I've seen him so determined to win."