Fighter's Brew – S2: E10 (Audio + LMA Transcript) (Patreon)

Season 2 finale.

• Fighter's Brew

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

At Yudai's house, Yudai is washing up.

"The pain's almost gone," he thinks. "But that damn kick. I only lost one measly shooto match. So why do I feel like I've hit a brick wall?"

He walks into Saidai's old room. It's full of trophies.

"My brother put his heart and soul into judo. But one accident made him give it all up. And he was way stronger than me."

The day of the jiu-jitsu tournament has arrived.

Tamiya gives the team instructions.

To Meguru, he says, "Don't pull guard. Watch out for sweeps and pass the guard cleanly. Lastly, try to finish with a submission."

To Watanabe, he says, "Take top position and pass guard from there. Careful not to get countered."

He gives instructions to everyone else, excluding Momoko.

Momoko points at herself. "And me?" she says.

Tamiya thinks for a second and says, "Be free, child. Go wild."

"Roger!" she says.

Meguru is up first.

"Don't worry about winning the whole tournament, Meguru," Tamiya says. "Focus on the match at hand."

The stance for jiu-jitsu is much lower because there's no striking and because people are looking to pull guard, which is what Meguru's first opponent does. Meguru's opponent gets a sweep.

However, Meguru immediately takes the back. It's becoming his signature move. But since Meguru doesn't know how to choke with the gi, he transitions to an armbar. Meguru gets the tap.

Next up is Momoko. She tosses her opponent and goes to mount, then transitions to the triangle choke and gets the tap.

After getting her hand raised, she looks around but doesn't see Yudai.

Maki hands her a towel while on the phone.

"Maria-san just met up with Iida-san," Maki says. "She said they'll try to track Yudai down."

At the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open. All the competitors from Fighter's Brew made it through the first round, partially because of sandbagging.

To everyone's surprise, Meguru wins his second match with a submission Tamiya had just taught him. Momoko wins the galo division finals with a quick submission after a failed tackle by her opponent.

[Sprawling isn't about kicking your leg backward but about obstructing your opponent's access to your legs.]

[From a failed tackle, you expose your back to your opponent. The priority has to be defending your back.]

Galo means rooster and is the lightest division in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It's 48.5 kg or 107 lb and under. All the smallest women are in this division, including those far below the limit.

Open division is next.

Yudai is at home, opening the gift Azumi got him. It's macarons, along with a letter and a picture.

"I found this while I was packing," the letter reads. "Saidai will be back on the 12th. Azumi."

The picture is of Yudai and his brother Saidai winning a tournament together.

Yudai looks at his phone. It's the 12th. There are also several missed texts.

At the park.

"How ya been," Saidai asks.

"Fine, you?"

Women's open weight division has begun. Momoko is on bottom, fighting a much bigger opponent. Momoko defends a guard pass and transitions to a triangle choke. Her legs can barely wrap around her opponent.

Her opponent postures and begins her escape, but Momoko sticks with it and grabs her arm for an armbar. Momoko wins but is visibly exhausted.

Maria and Azumi find Yudai walking near his home.

Back at the tournament.

"Momoko, shouldn't you be lying down to recover?" Maki asks her.

"I'm fine!" Momoko says as she sits and diligently watches and studies her possible opponents.

"I don't think I've ever seen her quite this determined," thinks Maki.

"Hey, Momoko," Maki says.

"Yeah?"

"Be honest. Do you have a crush on Yudai?"

Momoko's concentration breaks, and she gets flustered.

"Never mind," Maki says. "Sorry I asked."

Momoko goes back to watching the match. One of the competitors is a foreign exchange student from Canada. Kate Rampling. She's a wrestler from the pesado division, which is up to 79.3 kg or 175 lb. Kiyoshi Ogasawara is her coach.

Rampling easily tackles her opponent and submits her with a double wrist lock from top.

Maria and Azumi arrive at the tournament with Yudai.

Meguru is in his third match. He's on top and winning but lapses in concentration as he admires his work and is flipped over. Meguru loses on points.

[Never admire your work. Admiring your work centers your attention internally when your attention should still be on your opponent!]

"What the hell was that?" Yudai says. "How'd you let yourself get swept after getting the top position? Did you just give up or what?"

"I'll have you know I won my last two matches by submission!" Meguru counters.

"Who cares? I didn't see them."

Meguru is annoyed.

Momoko is up next. She sees Yudai and gives him the peace sign with her fingers, or perhaps it's "V" for victory.

"Just go already," says Yudai.

Momoko meets Rampling at the center of the mat, and they shake hands.

The ref starts the match, and Rampling immediately shoots for a tackle. Momoko sprawls. Rampling sits out and tries to take Momoko's back, but Momoko recovers guard. 

[When Momoko sprawls, Rampling immediately hides her back toward the mat and tries to get on top. She knows the assignment.]

Rampling gets up to pass, but Momoko sits up and tries to take her back. They break off, and Momoko gets back up.

Rampling takes her down again but can't pass her guard. Momoko looks to sweep, and Rampling backs out.

[From holding onto Rampling's left leg and sitting on her foot, Momoko has obstructed its movement and pinned it to the mat. When Momoko kicks out her other leg, Rampling naturally loses balance, which gives Momoko the opportunity to try and get on top. However, Momoko has a tendency to rush things, and she lacks the control to maintain the position, so it's easy for Rampling to escape. However, this also allows Momoko to escape from the bottom.]

Momoko gets back up. They grip fight, and as Rampling pushes Momoko away, Momoko uses that momentum to throw Rampling over her shoulder.

Boom!

They crash to the mat. Rampling rolls to her knees to grab Momoko's legs, but Momoko sprawls and takes her back. Rampling shakes her off, and as Momoko is falling, she grabs Rampling's collar and applies a choke. Rampling stands up, but Momoko sticks with the choke.

[The key to this strangle isn't simply pulling down on the collars but bringing your hands together to close off the arteries on the sides of the neck. Strangulation means closing off the neck rather than pulling or pushing down on the head.]

"Aikawa!" Yudai yells. "Hook her now!"

Momoko jumps guard. Rampling drops to her knees. They're both motionless for a long while.

Eventually, Rampling falls forward. She taps.

The crowd erupts. Momoko gets up and celebrates.

Momoko and Kate Rampling shake hands and bow, showing mutual respect.

Momoko goes to the rest area but can barely sit up, yet her spirit is unbroken. Yudai looks on.

Meguru runs into Kaoru. She shows him some variations on how to finish the double wrist lock. Maki is displeased since Kaoru is her rival and smacks Meguru upside the head after Kaoru leaves.

Everyone's worried about Momoko's stamina. She loves to roll, but she notoriously avoids conditioning outside of class.

Yudai walks around the gymnasium, watching the competitors while thinking about the earthquake and the nuclear disaster. Saidai said the disaster area was horrific. What Saidai learned from judo isn't that judo is what matters, but rather doing the right thing. He took up judo to protect himself. Helping with the disaster relief is how Saidai is doing the right thing, especially after the suffering he's already caused. When Yudai asked if he regretted quitting judo, Saidai said no because he got what he needed from it.

In the finals, Momoko is up against Kaoru's teammate Kaede Sakuma. Kaede is a judoka who's known for her conditioning.

The match begins, and Momoko rushes in for an attack, but Kaede, who has already studied Momoko's matches, is waiting for her. She grabs Momoko and throws her, but Momoko uses her athleticism to land on her feet.

Kaede changes tactics and drags her to the ground. She rolls Momoko over to get top position.

[The weakness of this throw is that the top position is determined by whoever gets on top first. A preferable throw or tackle is one where you secure the top position as you go down.]

Kaede stays on top and gives Momoko just enough room to scramble and wear herself out while carrying her weight. Eventually, Momoko succumbs to a choke.

[Momoko fights and trains to be offense only, which is very taxing. Her coaches, too, fell in love with her offense. However, for Momoko to become a well-rounded grappler, she needs to spend more time on defense, slowing things down, and conserving her energy. Kaede exploited these weaknesses in Momoko's game.]

"As usual, Aikawa ran out of gas and lost," Yudai tells Tamiya.

"Yes," says Tamiya, "but jiu-jitsu isn't all about winning."

"No?" Yudai asks.

"Jiu-jitsu is rooted in self-defense," answers Tamiya. "Live to fight another day. Simple, right?"

Yudai thinks about what Tamiya said and asks, "Tamiya-san, where do you see yourself in ten years?"

"Hell if I know," Tamiya says. "But, I am a jiu-jitsu fighter, so I'll probably still be doing jiu-jitsu. It's fun, and I get to hang with my friends."

"Sempai!" Momoko shouts. Yudai turns around. Momoko is distraught and still out of breath.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I lost in the finals again."

"Well," Yudai says. "You did your best, right?"

Tamiya, Urasawa, and Meguru are stunned at what they are hearing. Momoko is also confused.

The tournament continues on. Watanabe takes first in the medio white belt division. Urasawa takes second in the blue belt pluma finals. Tamiya faces Kiyoshi for the fourth time in the brown belt pena finals. Tamiya lost the last three times, but he gets his revenge with a submission win. They embrace at the podium as rivals and friends. Momoko takes home gold and silver.

"Yudai-kun," Azumi says. "Saidai may have had his reasons for giving up judo, but plenty of people stick with it despite their setbacks. Tell me, Yudai-kun, what do you want to do?"

Two days later, at the gym, Yudai is participating in the jiu-jitsu class.

Watanabe and Momoko get their blue belts, and Urasawa his purple.

Meguru is back in the pro MMA class, preparing for the Osaka regional qualifiers. The emphasis is on wrestling, keeping your back off the mat, and staying on top. Since so many of the fighters in the pro class have judo and wrestling backgrounds, Meguru is having a hard time.

Summer rolls on, and everyone is training hard. Yudai and Meguru continue training together, but Yudai can no longer keep Meguru on his back.

Maki is also training hard, especially on her grappling. Since the two girls who beat her are competing at nationals, Maki is also shooting to compete at nationals. Everyone is training six days a week.

Meguru notices Maki eating in the corner.

"What you eating, Maki-chan?" he asks.

"Fruit and soy milk," she says. "What do you eat post-workout?"

"Uh, ramen and snacks, mostly?" answers Meguru.

"Geez, dude. No wonder you keep losing," she says. "Not that I'm one to talk."

"Then why don't you make something for me?" Meguru fearfully jokes, only to leave Maki lost for words.

Meguru waves to everyone as he leaves the gym. Maki is still speechless.

"Why is she just sitting there?" Furuya asks.

"Beats me," answers Maria.

Fighter's Brew season 3 will be out on Patreon and Substack first, then on the public feed. Please consider financially supporting Southpaw. Fighter's Brew is dedicated to Alexander Bucker and his family and friends.

Catch you here for season 3, a tale of misfit anticapitalist martial artists refusing to grow up and finding community in a shared embodied practice.