Fighter's Brew – S2: E2 (Audio + LMA Transcript) (Patreon)

• Fighter's Brew

[Note: Read the manga images from right to left.]

Maki is asleep in her messy room. Upstairs is the Kamiya home. Downstairs is "Kamiya Contractors."

Her door slides open.

"Maki nee-chan," a three-year-old girl says. "It's morning."

Maki gasps and rolls away as a giant vase lands where her head was on the futon.

"Quiz time," the young girl says. "What nut has no shell?"

"A doughnut," Maki answers.

In the kitchen, a young woman in a ponytail reads a magazine while drinking coffee.

"Sis!" Maki shouts.

"Oh, you're awake," the woman says.

"You need to do a better job raising this brat," Maki says as she holds Aya, her niece. "She's gonna kill someone eventually."

Her older sister is Itsuki.

"What?" Itsuki says. "And here I sent your cute little niece to wake you."

"As an assassin?" Maki replies. "She nearly put me to sleep for good!"

Koki, 25, Maki's older brother, is outside building a dog house for Dio, their dog. He's only wearing a red loin cloth. Maki is embarrassed.

Maki's father, Koji, says, "25 is an unlucky year! A red loin cloth wards off bad luck!"

"I'll warm up some miso soup for you," Takako, Maki's mother, says. "So please go get dressed, Maki."

Maki is also not wearing any pants, only a shirt and underwear.

Maki is eating breakfast. Maki's sister-in-law, Yui, plays with Sho, Maki's one-year-old nephew.

Sho is pinching Maki's face.

"Hey, Itsuki! If you're gonna move back in, the least you could do is help with the housework!" Koki yells.

"Shut up and put some pants on!" Itsuki yells back.

"I've gotta get out of here," Maki thinks.

"You're up, Maki-nee!" Eiichi, Maki's six-year-old nephew, shouts. "Let's play catch!"

Sho is on Maki's shoulders, pulling her hair as Maki tries to eat.

"At least let me eat breakfast first," Maki says.

Outside, Maki is throwing the ball to Eiichi. She's a natural athlete from an athletic family.

"Maki-chan!" Maria yells. Maki didn't see her arrive.

Momoko is with her. "Hey!" she says.

"What are you guys doing here?" Maki asks.

"Today's the Kanto Championship, remember?" answers Maria.

"Yeah, but I'm not in it."

"Yeah, but our teammates are," Maria says. "We should go cheer them on."

Momoko nods.

"Sounds annoying," Maki says.

Takako steps outside and sees Maria and Momoko. "Oh, are these friends of yours, Maki?"

"Oh, don't mind us," Maria tells her. "We only came to pick Maki-chan up."

Momoko and Maria pick Maki up with their arms and carry her away.

At the Kanto Championship, Meguru makes weight and passes all his medicals.

Maki, Maria, and Momoko get out of the taxi. Maki notices a man running. It's a hot day, and his head is covered in a hood.

"Uh-oh," Maki thinks. "I dunno who he is, but I'm guessing he didn't make weight."

The man is exhausted and panting.

"Poor guy," Maki thinks. "Looks like a lost cause."

Meguri is warming up with Take but sees Yudai over with Furuya.

"He's been working only with Furuya for this whole camp," Meguru thinks. "Wonder what's up."

Maria arrives with Maki and Momoko. They watch Meguru kick the pads.

"Sparring so much with Maki-chan is paying off," Maria says. "His left middle kick looks just like hers."

"Now that you mention it..." Urasawa says.

"He learns more from sparring and actually fighting than he does from drills," Maria continues.

"You think so, Maria?" says Urasawa. "I suppose you could call that a type of talent. That being said, when it comes to conditioning, power, speed, and stamina, he needs more training than most others."

"Probably," Maria says. "By the way, about Yudai-kun's elbow. Does Meguru-kun know?"

"Not yet," answers Urasawa. "Yudai made us keep quiet about it. But it'll be obvious as soon as he's in a match."

Momoko looks worried.

"We have an announcement," a voice from the PA system says. "Lightweight Nakamura has failed his weigh-ins. As such, lightweight match 17 will be subbed in by Meguru Takayanagi."

Meguru is in disbelief.

"Meguru-kun" Maria says. "Look for the left body blow. And if you lose track of your striking range, backstep and remember karate engagement distance."

"Okay," Meguru says nervously.

Takashi watches Meguru from a distance. If they meet, it'll be in the finals.

In preparation for the Amateur Shooto National Championship held in September, over ten preliminary tournaments are hosted, beginning in June. Of all the preliminary tournaments, the Kanto Championship is considered the most competitive, with the highest skill level and the largest turnout.

Only the regional tournament winners may move on to the nationals. Only those who show good results earn the right to go pro.

Yudai is up. He takes off his shirt and exposes his bandaged arm. A chill runs down Meguru's spine.

"Don't tell me that was from our roll..." Meguru says to himself.

"Focus, Meguru." Take says. "You're almost up, too."

"Match 12, lightweight division, single-round," the announcer says. "In the red corner, from Fighter's Brew, Yudai Kitamura."

"What's the point of fighting with an injury?" Maki asks Momoko, but Momoko is fixated on Yudai.

"Fight!" the referee yells.

Yudai's opponent starts with low kicks.

"Horiuchi is a black belt in full-contact karate," Take says.

Yudai is eating leg kicks from the expert kicker. He winces with pain.

"He's in range for his right straight, but he can't throw it," Take says.

Yudai reaches for the low kick, but Horiuchi notices and throws a high kick. Yudai ducks and tackles.

"A takedown?" Meguru says.

"He baited him by reaching for the kick," Take says.

Yudai passes the guard and spins for the armbar. Horiuchi taps.

Yudai walks over to Meguru and taps his chest. "You'd better win," he says.

Furuya tapes Meguru's gloves.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Meguru asks.

"Yudai didn't want you to feel guilty," Furuya says.

"Why didn't you stop him?"

"Believe me, I tried," Furuya says. "He was going to do this with or without us."

"What is he so stuck on?" Meguru asks.

"That, I don't know. He hasn't told you anything?"

"No..."

On a different mat, Takashi is facing Koichiro Miwa from Fight Sanctuary.

The fight begins, and Takashi throws a heavy left middle kick—Koichiro blocks and counters with a left hook. Takashi blocks. Both back away.

"Everyone in the Kanto Championship is good enough to win," Take tells Momoko. "You're going to run into fighters who can counter your best moves."

Takashi fires off right jabs. Koichiro slips and lands a left hook to the body. Takashi backs away.

"That Miwa guy really studied Takashi," Furuya tells Meguru. "He knows Takashi is weak to body blows but also knows how to counter a southpaw. The basic steps are to move away from the left mid kick, then counter with a left hook. When he fires right jabs, slip to the outside, and follow up with a left hook to the body. Counter a lefty with your left."

[Fighting someone in the opposite stance is both confusing and straightforward. The moves you both have access to and don't have access to are straightforward. However, this means both of you are much more vulnerable to these attacks than if you were both in the same stance. If you are aware of what's available, defending is academic. If you're unaware, the attacks will take you by surprise. Hitting without being hit is both easier and harder. Since power shots are available and attacking means turning, you can counter a turn with your lead hook. They will turn into your hook, causing a collision. We previously talked about how you can counter turning kicks with hooks. Furthermore, you can counter their lead with your lead more effectively since they're both occupying the same space.]

"He who commands the left commands the world," Maria says. "It's from boxing but still holds up in MMA, even against southpaws."

Takashi throws right jabs, then disguises his stance switch with a left punch. Takashi throws a right straight, and Koichiro slips again, looking for the hook. This time Takashi catches him with a right kick.

[Going back to perception, since Takashi changed stances as he punched, his opponent only looked at Takashi's fist and didn't notice he took a step forward with his rear leg. This is why it's best to look at the chest to see the whole body rather than looking too high, at someone's face or hands.]

Koichiro didn't notice the stance switch and is out cold. The match is over.

"He's knocked out every opponent in his amateur career," Furuya tells Urasawa.

Watching Takashi win again puts Meguru back into focus.

"If Meguru wants to face Takashi," Furuya thinks, "he needs to win."

Yudai is also watching Takashi with great interest.

"Meguru, your opponent is a speedy out-boxer," Furuya says. "He wins by racking up points, combining a strong defense with jabs and counters. He's gonna keep his distance, so you'll have to be aggressive and take him to the mat."

"I'll do that," Meguru responds.

"Match 17, lightweight division single-round," the announcer says. "In the red corner, from Wise Factory, Shigeru Omaeda. In the blue corner, from Fighter's Brew, Meguru Takayanagi."

Shigeru, at 25, is an older amateur fighter. This may be his last year to go pro. He stares at Meguru. "I'm gonna go pro this year and shut Dad up," he thinks. "I'm not gonna lose to some high school brat!"

Meguru takes a deep breath.

The fight begins.

[Going back to perception, by using feints and lateral movements, Meguru's opponent can move to Meguru's blindspots because Meguru's attention is elsewhere. He's looking at a punch that isn't there or directly ahead of him when his opponent is moving to the side.]

Shigeru shows feints, then moves to the outside and lands a jab. Meguru didn't see it. Shigeru keeps moving to Meguru's blindspots.

"Backstep, Meguru," Urasawa yells. "Watch his whole body."

[Taking a step back is essentially zooming out. You're able to absorb more of what's in front of you. However, the drawback is this leaves you open for more attacks or getting caught along the edges. There are no perfect answers in sport; everything is contextual.]

Meguru slides back. He can now see Shigeru. However, Meguru still needs to score.

"Why doesn't he throw the mid kick?" Maki asks Maria.

"His kicks won't land unless he gauges his distance with the jab," Maria says. "He's also super tense. He can't bring his legs above his waist unless he relaxes."

"If I don't bring this fight to the ground," Meguru thinks, "what was all that practice for?"

Meguru throws a body jab into a tackle. Shigeru dodges both.

Meguru slowly gets back to his feet. The match is halfway over.

Meguru throws body punches and jabs.

"He's too predictable," Maria thinks. "A counter's coming."

Shigeru lands a left hook. Meguru goes down.

[Having a favorite technique makes you predictable. Also, the risk of this lunging body punch is lunging right onto a counter. Furthermore, it's trading a shot to the stomach for a shot to the face. Many opponents will gladly eat a punch to the stomach to hit you to the face.]

"What hit me?" Meguru thinks.

"If I can keep it standing," Shigeru thinks, "I can go to the next round with no damage."

"He completely read Meguru going for the body," Take tells Maria.

Meguru gets up.

"I have to switch things up," Meguru thinks. "I can't get anywhere like this."

The fight resumes.

Meguru goes on the offense, but Shigeru is running out the clock.

Meguru jabs and goes for a takedown and misses again.

"That Omaeda guy is great at staying out of takedown range," Take says. "The easiest time to land a takedown is when your opponent comes forward to land punches. But he jabs while sidestepping to the left. He refuses to get close. When Meguru comes forward, he moves out of the way and counters with a left hook."

[Standing directly in front of your opponent and moving forward is the best way to get countered, not only with a takedown but also with strikes, for the reasons previously mentioned. You're directly in front of your opponent. Better than blocks or head movement is to simply move to the outside of your opponent's attacks and get into positions where your opponent is in front of you but you are not in front of your opponent. Lateral movement and footwork is the first thing developing fighters should develop. It's simple and effective.]

"And unfortunately, it's working for him," Maria says.

"How can Meguru beat him, then?" asks Take.

"Well, if he had quicker footwork and KO power, but he doesn't, so..."

"Then what?" asks Take.

Maria shrugs, "Creativity?"

"Talk about unreliable," Maki says.