Yu Jung-ak wasn't excited about his first overseas trip. Arriving a week before the match, he started water cutting with Angela.
The hardest part of weight cutting.
It was easy for Yu Jung-ak as he didn't have much weight to lose, but Angela looked quite struggling. However, she didn't seem too difficult as she had already lost a lot of weight through diet control and intense exercise before coming to Japan.
Yu Jung-ak's training was harsh. Many voiced concerns that he was pushing too hard, but Angela always responded that she could handle it.
Who would stop her if she said she could do it?
"Okay, that's enough."
"I can do more."
Angela said. Despite being only a year apart, Angela was very respectful to Yu Jung-ak. She clearly recognized him not just as a colleague or senior, but definitely as a trainer. That's why Yu Jung-ak pushed Angela even harder.
Yet, he didn't neglect his own training. It took a lot of time to manage his own training while overseeing Angela's overall training.
As a result, Yu Jung-ak completely lost his personal time after work.
"Your stamina isn't the same as mine. Overexerting during weight cutting can cause problems."
"Yes."
"Go rest."
After sending Angela away first, Yu Jung-ak started his final training.
The Rising event at Saitama Arena had many matches. From dark matches starting in the afternoon to the main event in the evening, a total of 12 matches were scheduled.
Yu Jung-ak was in the first main event, and Angela was in the third dark match.
It was enough time for Yu Jung-ak to be Angela's cornerman.
As the weigh-in began, questions poured in for Yukimura Daisuke. It was natural. No matter how well-known Yu Jung-ak was domestically, he was just a foreigner overseas. Although he had beaten Kizaemon, that alone wasn't enough to expect recognition in Japan.
Moreover, it was a welterweight match, not his original weight class.
Most people thought Yu Jung-ak was being thrown as bait for Yukimura Daisuke. This was especially true in Japan, where such matchups were common.
However, as always, Yu Jung-ak had no intention of losing. Especially not to Yukimura Daisuke.
After watching all of Yukimura Daisuke's videos, Yu Jung-ak found that Yukimura's pattern was one:
Wrestling.
Yukimura might think Yu Jung-ak was a striker, not a wrestler, but that was a big misconception.
After the weigh-in, meals began.
"Can I eat whatever I want now?"
"You can, but slowly. Focus on carbohydrates."
Angela's group guided Yu Jung-ak to a famous soba restaurant in Saitama. Yu Jung-ak didn't particularly like noodle dishes. However, it was time to rebound after the weigh-in.
Usually, even during this period, Yu Jung-ak preferred to rebound with healthy food, but it wasn't necessary to go that far.
During rebound, you eat what you want.
That's how you gain weight quickly.
Since Yu Jung-ak didn't cut much weight, if he rebounded well, he would return to his walking weight of 82.5kg.
The issue was the weight of his opponent, Yukimura Daisuke.
However, Yukimura was older.
It was natural that weight cutting becomes harder with age. Especially Yukimura, a veteran of 30 fights.
That meant he had fought through many weight cuts.
Body aging was a given.
At the weigh-in, his body lacked elasticity. Of course, after rebounding, he would weigh more than Yu Jung-ak, but the difference didn't seem too significant.
Yukimura was a 177cm tall fighter with a typical wrestler's build. He had developed trapezius muscles and an overall solid body. Moreover, he had cauliflower ears, evidence of long-term ground training.
Among younger fighters, it was rare to see ground experts with cauliflower ears. Cauliflower ears were a form of ear deformity caused by repeated ground training, resulting in bleeding and hardening of the ears. The name came from their resemblance to dumplings.
In the past, many wrestlers and jiu-jitsu practitioners had these cauliflower ears. But nowadays, they were rare.
With ear guards widely available now, there was no need to deform ears for ground training.
The rebound went smoothly, and the day of the match arrived. Yu Jung-ak adjusted his condition with stretching from early morning.
Yu Jung-ak, who never caught a cold.
His condition was always good. With such thorough diet management, it would be almost fraudulent if his condition was bad.
Of course, Yu Jung-ak had fluctuations in condition, but it was always between very good, good, and slightly less good.
Average or bad conditions didn't exist for Yu Jung-ak.
After lunch, the dark matches began.
Saitama Arena was a multipurpose venue that could function as a stadium or an arena as needed.
Being dark matches, there weren't many journalists yet, and the audience wasn't very full. The first dark match ended quickly, and the second went to a close three-round battle. Although it was a close fight, it was extremely boring from the spectators' perspective.
The fighting style of Japanese fighters was more sticky than exciting. Their grappling-heavy style tended to feel relatively boring.
"Take it slow. Don't get excited. You can use all the time, so go slowly."
Yu Jung-ak said as he put the mouthpiece in for Angela. Angela nodded.
"Listen to instructions and breathe calmly. There's no need to rush. Be careful with strikes."
"Yes!"
Angela finally entered the cage. As she climbed the stairs, she suddenly turned back and hugged Yu Jung-ak.
Surprisingly, Yu Jung-ak didn't push her away but returned the hug.
"If you don't get overexcited, you can win. Go on."
Nodding vigorously, Angela entered the cage. Yu Jung-ak had been particularly cold towards Angela.
The reason was that he knew better than anyone what happens inside the cage. It's a world where you get devoured if you let your guard down.
To enter that world, you needed to have a steel-like mentality as a basic requirement. Yu Jung-ak knew this, which is why he pushed Angela to what some might consider an extreme degree.
And Angela understood this intention.
If not, there would have been no reason for her to receive training from Yu Jung-ak. Though Yu Jung-ak grumbled, he took meticulous care of Angela.
It was true that Yu Jung-ak had helped Angela more than anyone else.
Angela trusted Yu Jung-ak.
The opponent was a 24-year-old amateur fighter. She was Japanese and 10cm shorter than Angela. Angela was quite tall for this weight class.
Angela, in her women's fight wear, looked like a female warrior. Her solid abs were visible. Her eyes were fierce.
After touching gloves, the match began.
The opponent came in striking from the start.
A one-two followed by a high kick combination.
Angela stepped back and raised her guard. Her upper body wobbled momentarily at the sudden right high kick.
Though she blocked it with her guard, there was impact.
Seizing that moment, the opponent grabbed the back of Angela's neck and threw a knee kick. This technique is called a plum clinch.
It's a Muay Thai clinch technique where you grab the back of the opponent's neck and strike their abdomen or face with your knee. Despite the sudden strike, Angela didn't panic. As the opponent raised her knee, Angela pushed in and hooked her leg.
If the timing wasn't right, the knee kick could have landed on her face. But Angela executed it skillfully.
Above all, the opponent's knee kick wasn't very well-balanced.
Angela had the advantage in strength.
Angela knew as soon as they collided. That the opponent wasn't very strong.
As they fell, surprisingly, the opponent immediately attempted a triangle choke. The opponent's legs wrapped around Angela's neck.
However, Angela had already slightly twisted her body. Angela's head gradually slipped out from between the opponent's legs.
She moved into side position.
As she was about to rain down ground and pound, Yu Jung-ak's voice was heard.
"Angela! Breathe! Take it slow!"
Yu Jung-ak watched Angela's match with more nervousness than when he fought himself. Is this how a trainer feels?
Hearing Yu Jung-ak's words, Angela stopped midway through throwing a punch and took a breath. Phew. As the opponent tried to move her foot to get half guard, Angela slowly breathed and kept her pinned down.
Just as she was about to start ground and pound, the opponent's body suddenly turned, ending up in a prone position. Angela instinctively reacted to this movement.
She mounted the opponent as they tried to turn and stand up. It was a smooth motion, and Angela lightly clung to the opponent's back, wrapping her legs around them.
This is commonly known as the body triangle position.
The opponent couldn't stand up and remained face down on the mat. Angela took a breath and then started her ground and pound.
The ground and pound Yu Jung-ak had taught her.
The method of lightly clenching your fist like in boxing and only putting power into it just before it makes contact with the opponent.
Though it looked like light taps, it was surprisingly damaging.
Of course, it would do less damage than a full swing ground and pound, but this method had the advantage of not losing balance.
As Angela's ground and pound rained down, the opponent covered her head and twisted her body, trying to get up. Then she ended up lying on her back.
This put Angela in the bottom position.
However, because she had her hooks in, it wasn't a disadvantageous position for Angela.
Angela continued to throw upward punches from the bottom. The opponent, who had been guarding with her hands, suddenly twisted her body.
In an instant, the position was reversed to guard. However, Angela had been waiting for the moment the opponent would reverse the position. In jiu-jitsu, the best moment to attempt a submission or joint lock is when the opponent is changing positions.
Angela had been waiting for the opponent to change from back position to guard position. She had intentionally loosened her grip slightly to allow this.
As the opponent turned her body, Angela raised her legs high. Angela's hips and waist rose as if doing a leg raise.
And a familiar grip was completed.
The triangle choke that the opponent had attempted on Angela earlier. A technique commonly known as sankaku-jime.
Unlike before, the opponent's arm and neck were completely caught between Angela's legs.
The opponent twisted her body, resisting.
Angela pulled the opponent's head with both hands. The referee asked if the opponent, who was trying to stand up with Angela's body attached, wanted to tap out.
The opponent shook her head.
Then the opponent collapsed to the side. The referee lifted the opponent's arm. It fell limply.
Unconscious.
The referee quickly stopped the match, and Angela immediately released the triangle choke. Angela stood up, jumping wildly and shouting.
The Team Silence coaching staff immediately climbed into the octagon. Angela ran to Yu Jung-ak and hugged him.
"I did well, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did great."
Yu Jung-ak finally smiled broadly.
Now it was Yu Jung-ak's turn.