Post by Daichi Kusumoto on Oct 22, 2018 18:21:21 GMT -5
It’s been a long time since Daichi Kusumoto has been a student - the past ten or so years, every time he’s been in a dojo has been as a teacher - but right now as he sits on the dojo mats on his knees, sweat running from his forehead over his closed eyelids, he does so as a student. His friend Hachirou Yamashita sits across from him, not as his equal but as his teacher. Despite being very close in amount of wrestling experience, there’s no doubt that Yamashita is heads-and-shoulders above him, or mostly any other wrestler, when it comes to mat wrestling. That’s why Daichi chose to train with him in preparation for the Tiger’s Festival tournament.
One, currently very prominent, part of him regrets that decision.
He tries to remember if it was always this frustrating being the student, but he suspects it mostly has to do with the fact that he has to forget and re-learn over 30 years of combat experience, in order adapt to these “sport form” rules. How can you be in the moment of the fight, when you constantly have to think about keeping your elbow from doing what it has always done - strike?
____
October 1986 - Nihara Dojo, Osaka
A fresh-faced young Daichi, sporting a trendy mullet and a pair of cheap black boxing shorts, lies on the washi-thin floor mats of the run-down old wrestling gym with pain all over his body and professional wrestler Osamu Nihara standing over him.
“Get up, kid. I haven’t got all day.”
Ignoring all signals his body sends his brain, Daichi gets to his feet and comes face to face with the barrel-chested man in front of him. Nihara watches him with calm intent, as he takes a drag of his cigarette.
“Let’s try it again. This time, try to actually hurt me.”
Mustering all his strength to prove this asshole wrong, Daichi throws his forearm into Nihara’s rugged face. The old man in front of him still barely flinches, and the doubt that he can ever make it as a wrestler still eats away at him. As an amateur boxer his punches were a subject of fear among his opponents, the knockout ever-looming over their heads. Was it really that big of a difference between a punch and an elbow? What secret is he missing?
Nihara takes another drag of his cigarette, before laying into Daichi with an elbow of his own. The impact thunders through his entire being, but he manages to stay on wobbly feet.
“Try again.”
In a moment of pure frustration, Daichi rears back and rushes into his teacher with a lariat, knocking him down on his ass. Before he can stand Daichi flies into him with a sliding elbow strike, finally knocking that damn cigarette out of his mouth.
___
He earned Nihara’s respect that day. The old wrestler said it had felt like a Golem pounced on him with the grace of a Tiger. Thus the Golem Tiger was born.
Nihara explained to him that the Chinese consider the tiger the “King of the Animals” and the epitome of earthly creatures. Not because of its strength, but because of its mastery of utilizing its environment. It hides in the grass, bides its time and waits.
Then it catches its foes off guard.
He opens his eyes. Yamashita still sits, eyes closed, in front of him. As silently as he can, he stands up in a crouching position.
And waits.
As soon as Yamashita opens his eyes, Daichi rushes towards him, rears his elbow back - but instead of pushing it forward into a strike, he waits - and clamps on a side headlock, taking the old man off his knees and to the ground. Old Hachirou may know a million counters to the hold, but the Tiger caught him off guard and now that the his claws are cinched in, he will never let go.
Even if he can’t throw Sliding Elbows, he can, and absolutely will, bring the Golem Tiger to the Festival. Few believe he can win it, but it is the Tiger’s Festival after all. And the Tiger will adapt to its surroundings. It will bide its time. It will do what it does best and catch everyone off guard.
Then all that is left, is to show the Lynx who truly is the King of the Animals. And claim his crown.
One, currently very prominent, part of him regrets that decision.
He tries to remember if it was always this frustrating being the student, but he suspects it mostly has to do with the fact that he has to forget and re-learn over 30 years of combat experience, in order adapt to these “sport form” rules. How can you be in the moment of the fight, when you constantly have to think about keeping your elbow from doing what it has always done - strike?
____
October 1986 - Nihara Dojo, Osaka
A fresh-faced young Daichi, sporting a trendy mullet and a pair of cheap black boxing shorts, lies on the washi-thin floor mats of the run-down old wrestling gym with pain all over his body and professional wrestler Osamu Nihara standing over him.
“Get up, kid. I haven’t got all day.”
Ignoring all signals his body sends his brain, Daichi gets to his feet and comes face to face with the barrel-chested man in front of him. Nihara watches him with calm intent, as he takes a drag of his cigarette.
“Let’s try it again. This time, try to actually hurt me.”
Mustering all his strength to prove this asshole wrong, Daichi throws his forearm into Nihara’s rugged face. The old man in front of him still barely flinches, and the doubt that he can ever make it as a wrestler still eats away at him. As an amateur boxer his punches were a subject of fear among his opponents, the knockout ever-looming over their heads. Was it really that big of a difference between a punch and an elbow? What secret is he missing?
Nihara takes another drag of his cigarette, before laying into Daichi with an elbow of his own. The impact thunders through his entire being, but he manages to stay on wobbly feet.
“Try again.”
In a moment of pure frustration, Daichi rears back and rushes into his teacher with a lariat, knocking him down on his ass. Before he can stand Daichi flies into him with a sliding elbow strike, finally knocking that damn cigarette out of his mouth.
___
He earned Nihara’s respect that day. The old wrestler said it had felt like a Golem pounced on him with the grace of a Tiger. Thus the Golem Tiger was born.
Nihara explained to him that the Chinese consider the tiger the “King of the Animals” and the epitome of earthly creatures. Not because of its strength, but because of its mastery of utilizing its environment. It hides in the grass, bides its time and waits.
Then it catches its foes off guard.
He opens his eyes. Yamashita still sits, eyes closed, in front of him. As silently as he can, he stands up in a crouching position.
And waits.
As soon as Yamashita opens his eyes, Daichi rushes towards him, rears his elbow back - but instead of pushing it forward into a strike, he waits - and clamps on a side headlock, taking the old man off his knees and to the ground. Old Hachirou may know a million counters to the hold, but the Tiger caught him off guard and now that the his claws are cinched in, he will never let go.
Even if he can’t throw Sliding Elbows, he can, and absolutely will, bring the Golem Tiger to the Festival. Few believe he can win it, but it is the Tiger’s Festival after all. And the Tiger will adapt to its surroundings. It will bide its time. It will do what it does best and catch everyone off guard.
Then all that is left, is to show the Lynx who truly is the King of the Animals. And claim his crown.