Clash of Soft Styles

At 4 pm, Kanou was at a restaurant sitting opposite his coach, not looking at the middle-aged man in a grey suit who when compared to him was too small.

"Kanou... I didn't invite you for this... but could you try to get along with the other club members." The coach asked timidly.

Kanou didn't reply for moments, instead, he placed his focus on the plate full of roasted chicken.

The coach continued with a wry smile. "It must be difficult for you not to have in a partner for Randori."

(T/N: Randori means training in pairs in Judo.)

Kanou put the plate down and looked at the coach. "What are you talking about? The place for my sparring partner has been taken."

"Who is it?" The coach asked, surprised. "Which dojo is he from?"

"Not from a dojo or a club," Kanou said then brought forward his injured brace covered wrist. "It's the midget that gave me this."

"A street fight." The coach slumped back in his chair. "This kind of fight isn't practical for sports Judo, beside you can't risk any major injuries, you will be applying for the Olympics soon."

"That I would," Kanou grinned and said, "and it would be a shame if I applied from another club, wouldn't it?"

"No, it's fine." The coach said with a defeated face. "I don't have any objection. You could fight whoever you want."

"That's good," Kanou growled. "And from now on, don't ever insult my Judo by calling it a sport!"

****************

It was almost 7 pm, the sky was getting dark and the streets were empty, Kenichi walked down the street towards the soccer ground along with Akisame, Elder and Ohma, after all, it was his fight. As soon as the area came into view he saw a tall man in his early twenties in a judo gi standing near the goal post with a middle-aged man.

"That monster is your opponent?" Kenichi asked.

"How else did you imagine him to be when I said he outclasses me in strength?" Ohma retorted.

"He certainly does," Akisame said then added, "He is around 6'4, his weight is around 130 kg with most of it begin muscles, his bust is 140 cm, arms are 58 cm; if you combine the shoulder movement his reach should be around 72 cm, his waist is 107 cm with his hip being 135 cm; for an amateur; it would be hard to determine his centre of mass hence making it difficult to throw him, not to mention his 86 cm legs and 30 cm foot span. He absolutely outclasses Ohma."

"How do you even tell all that with just a glance?" Kenichi asked.

Akisame smirked. "It's a skill I developed after years of experience. I could tell Ohma's too, he is 5'7, the weight is around 70 kg most of it is dense muscles and bones, his bust 90 cm, his arms are 40 cm which makes reach over 60 cm, his waist is around 68.5 cm, the hip being 72 cm, the leg being 84.5 cm and the foot being 26 cm."

"Enough with the analysis, it's time to fight," Ohma said walking ahead. The Elder and Akisame shared a glance and followed Ohma towards the goal post.

Kanou looked to Ohma. "I didn't think you would come, midget."

Ohma took his position a few feet away from Kanoh, while the master and Kenichi stood near the fence with the coach.

"I am not in the mood for talking, fatass," Ohma said as pulled out his shirt and threw it away. "Let's fight."

The Elder commented, "That's a smart strategy."

Kenichi was confused at this comment. "How is that?"

"Because most techniques in classical Judo involve getting hold of the opponent's garments to perform a throw," Akisame explained, "without it, much of the techniques in the judoka's arsenal would be unusable."

"Does that mean Ohma has the advantage in this fight?" Kenichi asked with his eyes lit.

"No," Akisame sternly replied, "not necessarily if he modified the techniques."

************

Kanou laughed, "Do you really think taking off your shirt will project you from my throws?"

"Maybe," Ohma said, "Why don't you prove me wrong?"

Saying that Ohma dashed towards Kanou who was still like a mountain, ready to grab. The moment Ohma entered his reach, Kuroda moved his hand trying to grab hold of him but he only caught empty air.

'He is down.'

Before Kanou could react, Ohma stood on his hands and threw a heel kick right on Kanou's injured nose, sending him lurching back as covered his blood-spewing nose

"A backflip heel kick." Elder commented.

Ohma pushed himself back from the handstand position and then landed back on his feet.

"Now die!" Kanou removed his bloody hand from his injured nose and dashed towards Ohma with arms forward.

Ohma stood and waited, all sounds except for Kanou's breathing ceased for him, all his focus was on Kanou's lungs. The moment the judoka came into the range trying for a grab, Ohma ducked and dodged then swiftly delivered a straight punch to Kanou's chest.

Kanou coughed in pain, his body bending forward, Ohma swiftly took advantage of this chance, moving sideways and grabbing hold of the judoka's arm, placing him in an elbow lock. He then twisted the arm and pushed Kanou's centre of gravity forward, making him fall on his face.

He didn't stop and went down on the ground. Then he grabbed hold of Kanou's arm with both of his hands and twisted it before sitting down on his shoulder while using the entire force of the twist to push further pressure down.

'Water Kata: Screw Cutter Jizo.'

"He is now in now control of the fight." The Elder commented.

"What just happened?" Kenichi asked, "Didn't Ohma earlier said his Ironbreaker punches wouldn't have much effect on Kanou?"

"I don't know about Ironbreaker but it was not a special punch, it did the damage because he struck precisely the moment of inhalation," Akisame said and further explained, "The air in the lungs protects the internal organs like an air-bag. However, the beginning of the inhalation phase is the moment where the air is least present in the lungs, and a shock taken during such a condition would undoubtedly do more damage."

Kenichi's eyes lit up as he realized something. "The kick to the nose, in the beginning, it filled his nostrils will blood forcing him to exhale more air to clear the blood."

"Looks like you are getting smarter," Akisame said. "at least in the subject of combat. To improve the senses; to observe the weakness in your opponent's movement is what my training was all about."

"But he far surpassed the expectation." Elder remarked. "He could now observe each of his opponent's each individual breaths while being in a fight. The training didn't help him achieve something new but unlocked the enhanced senses that remained dormant in him. But Ohma isn't yet in full control of the fight."

Kenichi looked at Ohma who was dominating the fight. "What do you mean?"

"Look over there," Akisame said, "the judoka's arm isn't completely straight, to perform a lock like that you need to straighten the arm, to forcefully straighten it you need herculean strength which Ohma doesn't have, moreover his other arm aligned his other shoulder in a pushup position."

"What does that mean?" Kenichi asked.

The elder simply replied, "Look for yourself."

Kanou pushed himself up with his other hand while Ohma hung onto the locked arm with an arm-bar.

"Take this!" Kanou roared as he got back up on his feet while Ohma maintained his lock.

'I need to get to this neck.' Ohma thought as tried to pull his feet towards Kanou's head.

'Water Kata: Bind of Pisces.'

But before Ohma could place the lock in place; Kanou swung his locked arms towards the nearby goal post aiming for his opponent's temple, Ohma snapped his head in time taking a hard impact with his forehead.

Kenichi shouted, "That's cheating."

"That's not cheating, Kenichi." Elder said, "taking advantage of the environment in a street fight isn't cheating."

Ohma dropped to the ground, blood oozed from the split made on his forehead.

"Remember the difference between us," Kanou said pulling Ohma into his arms. "I am the true Judo Champion."

Then he threw Ohma back over his head, upper back first onto the ground.

'Judo: Ura Nage.'

Kanou turned around and then pulled up Ohma by his hair, before placing his arm around his head, then hip tossed back onto the ground while dropping his entire weight on him.

'Judo: Kubi Nage.'

Kanou then picked up Ohma again, this time by his shoulders then pulled him towards himself as fell on his back and then threw Ohma over himself with an extended leg push. Ohma flew and clashed with the nearby fence.

'Judo: Tomoe Nage.'

"Damn it." Kenichi gritted his teeth. "Ohma is losing."

"Don't make the judgement yet," Akisame commented. "It's a clash of soft styles, a reversible could be pulled off any moment just like it did now."