Furuya Uno (3)

Thwack!

[Oh! Furuya Uno's Brazilian kick! Did Yu Jung-ak take the hit?]

The commentators got excited seeing the Brazilian kick land. However, Furuya Uno and Yu Jung-ak themselves remained calm. The kick's timing was so perfect that everyone thought it had landed properly, but in reality, it hadn't. What's captured on camera and what actually happens in the fight often look different depending on the camera angle. That's what happened just now. It looked like Yu Jung-ak had been hit by the Brazilian kick and staggered, but in fact, he hadn't been hit at all - he had staggered while dodging it.

Yu Jung-ak turned his head in the opposite direction of the incoming kick to minimize the impact. Then he threw a counter low kick.

Furuya Uno's expression immediately hardened. He hadn't expected a counter to be thrown aiming for that kick.

Usually, when a fight starts, fighters don't feel much pain from low kicks due to the adrenaline rush. Low kicks typically start to show their effect in the middle to latter part of the fight.

Before that, most fighters don't feel much pain. However, there are cases when low kicks hurt even in the early stages of a fight.

That's when a low kick lands while the opponent is supporting their weight on one leg. The impact is doubled compared to when standing on both feet. It's not just the muscles that take the hit, but the bone itself resonates.

With bad luck, a fight could end right there with an injury in this state. That's how dangerous it is to take a leg kick when your weight is on one foot. Especially low kicks to the knee. But Yu Jung-ak had dodged the Brazilian kick by turning his head, and in that moment, he threw a long low kick at Furuya Uno's supporting leg.

To throw a low kick from that position requires extreme flexibility of the entire body. No, more than that, throwing a counter from that position was something Furuya Uno couldn't comprehend with his common sense.

'Is this what they call a genius? This young kid in front of me?'

Furuya Uno was a man who prided himself on having talent for martial arts second to none. Yet this man was amazed by Yu Jung-ak's counter. It was beyond his understanding that an attack could come at this timing.

There were only two types of people who could attack at this timing. One was a beginner's luck, unable to properly time their attacks, or an ultra-first-class fighter who could strike one beat faster than first-class fighters. However, Furuya Uno couldn't accept Yu Jung-ak as ultra-first-class. All of his fights had impact, but he thought the skill level was far below his own. A fighter who compensates for lack of technique with physical ability.

That's exactly the kind of fighter Furuya Uno thought Yu Jung-ak was. But what was this? Furuya Uno stepped back slightly after taking the hit to his leg.

That's when Yu Jung-ak threw an overhand hook, a technique he rarely used, forcefully hitting Furuya Uno's guard. Furuya Uno staggered for a moment.

'This timing too...'

Yu Jung-ak was now adjusting his striking rhythm irregularly instead of following the orthodox pattern. Rhythm is extremely important in martial arts. Good rhythm allows for appropriate combinations to be thrown.

If rhythm is off, attacks can't be placed properly, and the opponent's movements can't be followed accurately.

That's why fighters try to figure out their opponent's breathing pattern and attack timing during the feeling-out process.

But Yu Jung-ak was fighting while adjusting his timing like a snake. Both the low kick counter to the Brazilian kick and the long overhand hook thrown when Furuya Uno stepped back were examples of this.

Neither move could be considered orthodox. Throwing a counter to a Brazilian kick could easily result in getting KO'd if not done right, and throwing an overhand hook when the opponent steps back was the same.

What was Yu Jung-ak's specialty?

Wasn't it throwing counters while stepping back? In simple terms, throwing an overhand hook at an opponent stepping back meant he was vulnerable to his own specialty counter.

Yet Yu Jung-ak boldly threw the overhand hook. He knew Furuya Uno wouldn't counter-attack. And he knew it wouldn't land. Still, Yu Jung-ak extended a powerful attack.

It was to crush Furuya Uno's spirit. The purpose was to threaten him and shock his guard at the same time.

In short, it was like sending a warning that he had big punches too, so be careful. Perhaps due to this effect, Furuya Uno stepped back to create distance with a more shrunk posture than before. From that point, Yu Jung-ak started to unfold his game by taking a forward stance.

Yu Jung-ak preferred the distance where Furuya Uno's attacks barely didn't reach. A place where Yu Jung-ak's attacks reached, but Furuya Uno's didn't.

Realizing this, Furuya Uno was consciously stepping in one more step to pressure Yu Jung-ak.

But Yu Jung-ak broke that pressure with just two moves.

Thud, thud!

Yu Jung-ak's double jab landed. Then he slightly leaned his upper body forward. A sign that he was about to throw a sharp straight.

Furuya Uno stopped his counterattack and stepped back. Yu Jung-ak's straight was too much to handle.

The first round ended with an intense feeling-out process. It seemed like Furuya Uno was doing well, but the atmosphere reversed due to Yu Jung-ak's unexpected timing attacks.

"Don't overdo it, take it slow. It's a five-round fight. Manage your stamina, okay?"

Yoon Chang-seon told Yu Jung-ak.

"Jung-ak. You can use what we practiced. Try throwing the one-two and then a kick."

Rumsak Noi said, looking at Yu Jung-ak. Yu Jung-ak nodded.

The second round began. Yu Jung-ak unfolded the fight leisurely as he did in the first round, following his corner's instructions. Furuya Uno was getting more and more frustrated. Yu Jung-ak seemed passive, but he was very shrewdly accumulating points.

Furuya Uno was always the one to allow clean hits first. Yu Jung-ak seemed to have no intention of striking, focusing on defense and throwing counters.

As time passed, Furuya Uno's frustration began to build up. Yu Jung-ak, on the other hand, was concentrating with a calm demeanor as if he was in no hurry.

'Is this bastard trying to go for a decision now?'

'That's right. Get heated up. I know your mentality isn't that good. Keep losing your temper.'

Yu Jung-ak was smiling inwardly while provoking Furuya Uno. He wasn't overtly provoking him. He was provoking Furuya Uno just through the fight itself. Furuya Uno wanted to rush in right away, but he couldn't.

Hadn't he experienced how sharp Yu Jung-ak's counters were in the first round? If he rushed in carelessly, he could be properly countered.

That's when a voice came from Furuya Uno's corner. It was an instruction to keep doing what he was doing slowly. Furuya Uno bounced a couple of times to loosen up, then stood in front of Yu Jung-ak again. And he stepped forward one step.

That's when Yu Jung-ak threw a sharp double jab. Up to this point, it was the same as before. Furuya Uno shook his head and tried to dive into Yu Jung-ak's inside.

But a problem arose. Yu Jung-ak, instead of retreating after retracting his double jab as before, immediately threw a straight.

Furuya Uno quickly crossed his hands to guard. Yu Jung-ak's right hand hit Furuya Uno's guard hard. When Furuya Uno lowered his guard to counterattack, Yu Jung-ak stepped in one more step and threw a left knee kick.

Furuya Uno defended the knee kick by pulling his hips back.

Thud!

'What was that?'

Furuya Uno staggered, not even knowing what had hit him. Yu Jung-ak's pounding came flying down on Furuya Uno as he fell backwards. It was a situation where the fight could have been stopped right there, but Furuya Uno immediately secured a guard position.

"Hey. Don't waste your stamina. He's come to his senses!"

Yoon Chang-seon was calm. So was Yu Jung-ak. If it were an ordinary fighter, they might have thrown indiscriminate pounding in this situation. But Yu Jung-ak didn't do that, calmly assessing the situation. If he could end it with pounding, nothing would be better, but if not, it could lead to extreme stamina drain.

So if the opponent seemed to have regained their senses, it was better to stop pounding and think of the next plan. He had definitely scored points already. Furuya Uno thought while defending Yu Jung-ak's pounding from the guard position.

His face was flushed red.

What had Furuya Uno been hit by?

It was similar to the combination that Yu Jung-ak had suffered from Jang Sung-hyun.

Yu Jung-ak threw a double jab, then a straight, then stepped forward and threw a left knee kick. Usually, fighters don't allow knee kicks thrown while walking in. However, because it came after a straight that had hit the guard hard, Yu Jung-ak was able to approach Furuya Uno easily.

Furuya Uno's reaction was quite good. He shook off Yu Jung-ak's attempt to grab his neck and defended the left knee kick by pulling his hips back. However, Yu Jung-ak's real attack came next. As soon as Yu Jung-ak's left foot touched the ground, he quickly twisted his body and threw a high kick.

It was a high kick where the left foot became the support and the right foot kicked the opponent's head. Because the high kick came in right in front of him, Furuya Uno was hit as he tried to step back. When a high kick comes in like this, Furuya Uno couldn't see Yu Jung-ak's attack in his field of vision.

When hit by an attack they can't see, people easily fall down. People unconsciously prepare for the impact of visible attacks, but for invisible attacks, they can't prepare and easily fall down.

Even Furuya Uno, known for his strong chin, couldn't withstand a head kick coming from his blind spot. It was Peter Aerts' specialty high kick from the blind spot during his prime.

It wasn't exactly the same combination as what Jang Sung-hyun used, but it was similar. A kick attack aiming for the opponent's escape route.

Furuya Uno couldn't recover in the second round and spent it on the ground. Yu Jung-ak didn't overdo it and controlled the round while occasionally throwing pounding. More blood was flowing from Furuya Uno's cheek.

Furuya Uno's movement in the lower position was superior to Yu Jung-ak's. Despite this, the reason he couldn't properly transition positions was because he had been so shocked by the high kick. It was such a powerful kick that it would have immediately led to a count if it were a standing match.

Furuya Uno, who had allowed numerous poundings to his face, looked markedly different from before the fight started. Not only was his skin flushed red, but a small bump had formed on his forehead. And the cut on his cheek had widened, with blood seeping out.

In just two rounds, Japan's undefeated rising star had become a mess. On the other hand, Yu Jung-ak's face looked no different from before the fight.

"Rumsak hyung. It went just like you said."

"Jung-ak. You did well. Well done."

"We've scored enough points. Go even slower now. He's a tough guy, so don't overdo it. According to our plan, we're aiming for the middle to late part of the fourth round. Until then, just keep doing what you're doing."

"Yes."

Scoring a knockdown in the second round was a big achievement. Originally, Yu Jung-ak's plan was to accumulate points while conserving energy and then go all out from the middle to late part of the fourth round. But before that time came, Furuya Uno was already taking damage.

The feeling wasn't bad. Yu Jung-ak focused again and started to regulate his breathing.