FIGHTER'S LEAGUE: Jonathan Michaels vs. Hyung-Tae

[Dain Gavyns]

(You guys have read the rules, I assume? Straight up streetfight on the roof of Legion this time, crowd all around you. Get your posts in by, oh, let's say 24 hours.)

[Jonathan Michaels]

Tournament fighting.

It had been a part of Jonathan's very genetic code for the last seven years of his life and has he began getting more active with it as he grew closer to adulthood he soon came to a conclusion and it was a very scary one, but one that he'd have to accept whether he liked it or not: people where stronger then him. It was something that perhaps the tournament wins of his childhood had detracted from, but strangely he found himself meeting this revelation not with hatred and self pity, but with a new resolve to take part in what had caused him to go down the road that he found himself traveling.

His love for fighting was renewed.

As he approached the crowded Club Legion, he found himself smiling as he was now dressed in a more informal attire then he was at the past tournament, no longer was there the standard boxing equipment or even a traditional jiujutsu gi instead the stocky boy came in dressed in a standard black hoodie, black basketball shorts, and strangely enough a pair of wrestling shoes. There was perhaps one thing that remained, an echo to his boxing past and that was the standard wraps that found themselves comforting his knuckles. More of a way to protect his own hand then prevent cuts on his opponent. As he went through the club eventually making it up to the roof, he found himself smiling as he basked in the crowds screams. Perhaps is recent showing at the tournament earned him something more then a few black eyes and a busted lip.

Regardless though as Jonathan resisted the urge to look at who is opponent was he instead found himself rolling his shoulders and jumping about as if to loosen his muscles. There was no ring . No reminder that this was a legitimate tournament. All that remained was the enclosure that the crowd had created and the strength and skill of the fighters themselves.

A stern reminder that conventional boxing tactics just wouldn’t cut it.

[Dain Gavyns]

((It's quite fine Hyung-Tae, I don't mind you being out and celebrating my birthday for me at all. Just get your post in asap on the 29th. Hopefully your mystery judge will take the late start into account when he/she decides to judge the match.))

[o3o]

"Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, thirty-five; fifteen more to go," the Korean youth huffed, his chest and triceps bulging as he preformed one-armed push ups, alternating between hands. "Thirteen, fourteen, sixty," with a slight grunt Hyung brought himself quickly into an upright position from his previous prone push up position. He threw short, compact punches, repetitively flexing and relaxing the muscles in his upper body. Then, a low, melancholy melody emitted from the pocket of a pair of jeans that lay but a few feet from Hyung. Fishing the phone out of the right pocket, he glanced at the bright LCD screen and pushed the 'Ok' button. A text message appeared on the screen, and the melody cut off. The text notified him that the Fighter's League had begun, along with the time and place his match would occur. A small smile crept onto his lips as he thought, "Lovely. I hope I'm not too rusty." After swiping up a few items from the spare room that he currently used as a workout room, he went to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of water from the fridge. He took a few sips before replacing the cap and slipping on a pair of red and white trainers. The condo was then left empty, Hyung leaving the building sans a hat, his messy ebony locks sticking in every direction as he made his way toward the club Legion.

This time he decided to leave his bike in the underground parking lot of the condo building he lived in; instead, he sprinted all of three miles and jogged for one to the Legion. By the time he reached the club he was already warmed up for his upcoming bout. After the doorman confirmed he was one of the fighters, Hyung made his way up to the roof. A large crowd had erupted into fits of cheering and screaming as he emerged from the stairwell leading to the roof. The excitement had gotten Hyung more pumped up than he was previously; he'd never really experienced fighting in front of spectators. Perhaps it would make him fight better. Or worse.

Across from him on the roof of the club stood what Hyung assumed to be his opponent. Despite the loose black hoody draped over his figure, he could tell the boy was short and stocky. He seemed to not notice him, indulged in his own warm-up exercises. Hyung decided he might as well do a few warm-ups, too. He preformed a few breathing exercises, inhaling deeply and relaxing his muscles, then exhaling and tightening them. Bending himself in half, he wrapped his arms around his legs with his head almost between his shins, stretching his body. Hyung took a swig from his water bottle and began wrapping his hands in the wraps he had swiped up from his workout room. Once that was done with, he peeled off the black shirt he was wearing, then approached his opponent. He was now clad only in hand wraps, blue gi pants, and red and white trainers; a thin sheen of sweat was present on his finely cut upper body. With a taped up left hand he brushed some damp locks of hair from his forehead, and stood a few feet away from the stocky boy before him. Hyung's stance remained neutral: feet shoulder-width apart, arms at his waist, neither side leading. His face was impassive, but his eyes were questioning: "So, are you ready? I'd like to get this thing started."

The front of his shoe would hit the rooftop a few times, the rubber sole tapping against the solid concrete. He looked around quickly, observing the crowd and beyond. "Hard concrete floor; no ropes, turnbuckles, or restrictions. This is the ring I'm used to." Without warning he sent a swift whipping kick with his left leg toward his opponent, who was still warming up. The instep of his shoe would lambaste the inside of the boy's leg and would retract as quickly as it had been shot out, and Hyung would circle around the stocky competitor counter-clockwise, maintaining lead-leg distance from him.

[Jonathan Michaels]

Jonathan was many things, he was perhaps a tad bit overconfident and most of the time he had the ability to graciously overestimate and underestimate his opponent but one thing that you could not say about Jonathan Michaels was that he was "stupid" and once he saw his opponent enter the ring that the crowd had created he became focused upon him all the while doing the minor arm stretches that he had been doing, when his opponent began to approach him and more so when the tapping of the shoe reached his ears. Perhaps his opponent had known that he was a boxer? Perhaps his opponent knew kicks where not his forte or perhaps kicks where just his opponents strength.

What his opponent had not counted for was Jonathan Michaels raising his own leg to meet the force of Hyung-Tae’s kick and as the leg retracted Jonathan found himself once again going into his standard peek-a-boo position stance and staring at his opponent as he circled around him, turning to meet him Jonathan noted that the boy was a consistent leg distance away from him. He was used to fighters trying to keep their distance, but the force of his opponents kicks made him a bit apprehensive for rushing in. Though as his eyes narrowed it became clear that Jonathan was doing one thing, but the thinking had all taken place in the time that his opponent had managed to circle him.

Deciding that he had enough room to counter if his opponent tried another kick Jonathan started the fight with a standard dash, sprinting in and trying to get into his opponents guard you’d notice though that during the sprint Jonathan would be ducking down this combined with the peek-a-boo defense defending him from most punches but he wouldn’t stay ducked down for long because the moment he’d enter his opponents guard Jonathan would have his legs spring putting him back into a full upright position and sending in a vicious right uppercut towards his opponents chin. What made this uppercut different was that the power of the spring was added in the blow and ideally if it hit it’s target then his opponent would find himself either on the floor or at least disoriented enough so that Jonathan could land a few more blows.

[o3o]

As his attack finished and he moved to his opponent's left side, he noticed that the stocky boy had taken up a boxing stance. Judging from the stance itself and his opponent's stature, he assumed it was an in-fighting stance. This assumption was confirmed when the boy dashed in, attempting to get inside of Hyung's longer reach. He maintained a backward-counterclockwise shuffle, and noticed that his opponent's shoulders and hips dipped down slightly as he dashed in. The forward-dashing movement was faster than Hyung's backing away movement, so as the distance closed and his opponent was within arms reach, his right arm shot out. However, it did not strike his opponent; instead, he placed the ball of his palm against his opponent's head. He continued to move back, but his elbow bent as the dash was still faster. When his elbow reached an angle just greater than ninety-degrees, the stocky boy was within close range, and through his hand he could feel his opponent's body rise.

Judging from the proximity of their bodies and his opponent's previously lowered position, his right hand retracted back harshly as he pushed off the ball of his left, as well as his right foot. With the left he moved back, and with his right he moved (to his opponent's) right. The uppercut he had anticipated was thrown, and as soon as he landed outside of the short-distance punch's range, his left foot pivoted abruptly along with his waist, his shoulders rotating as Hyung sent a crisp, snapping hook toward the shorter boy's temple, the retraction of his right adding some rotation to his shoulders and in turn, power to the punch. His longer, horizontally bent arm would weave through his opponent's vertically bent arm. After throwing the hook he would step back and once again circle his opponent counter-clockwise; hell, he had the whole rooftop to prance around in.

[OOC: He stepped back and slightly to the right as Jonathan went to an upright position to throw the uppercut. As he did so he threw a left hook fractions of a second after Jonny had thrown his uppercut.]

[Jonathan Michaels]

For those of you who know anything about the peek-a-boo position, the hands are placed right below the eyes, which are renowned for their close proximity to the temple. This allowed for Jonathan -who followed his opponents movements on principle- to be protected from most facial blows, but because he also wasn't wearing traditional boxing gloves it allowed him enough room to counter certain blows. Jonathan took full advantage of this by moving his right hand upward towards his temple and grasping Hyung's wrist.

Because Hyung was moving counter clockwise, Jonathan only had to follow him and move at a slightly wider arc, Jonathan found himself pulling Hyung's arm and facing Hyung's back. This position seemed oddly nostalgic, but Jonathan didn't hesitate as he sent his left elbow crashing into the back of Hyung's skull and immediately followed that up by doing a straight kick (with the sole of his shoe facing the target) at the back of Hyung's knee. The hold on the arm was maintained though to keep the dominance he had just obtained there regardless if Hyung managed to counter or not.

Jonathan had to fight off the urge to smile as he marveled at how different this fight was going compared to the last one he was in, but he remained focused because if anything he was taught that in a fight...well things rarely went the way you planned.

[o3o]

As his wrist was grabbed following the hook Hyung immediately twisted his wrist and returned the grab, though his iron grip coupled with his size and weight advantage would be more beneficial for him in this position. Because Hyung was travelling to his opponent's left at arms' reach, his opponent's attempt to reach his back would prove difficult. That is, Hyung could've countinued moving counter-clockwise and play this game of ring-around-the-rosie, but instead he pivoted on his left foot quickly as the stocky boy made the wide arc to reach his back.

He would simultaneously pull his opponent forward and hook his right arm under the arm in his grasp as he pivoted and threw his right leg ahead of his left. Now his back was fully facing his opponent, and his opponent's arm was across his right shoulder; his hip was also dipped a bit lower to press against his opponent's. With a violent forward jerk of his arms, an upwards thrust of his hips, and a lean forward, Hyung would propel the smaller boy over his shoulder and slam him to the rooftop. The hard, concrete rooftop; there would be no mats to absorb the impact of his back smacking against the ground. Once his opponent was on the ground Hyung would maintain side control, pinning his opponent with his body weight. He would be mounting his opponent from the right, his chest perpendicular to his opponent's and his left elbow pressing against the left side of his opponent's face.

[Jonathan Michaels]

A move that is used to compromise your opponent also compromises you, this was fairly much standard and Jonathan knew that while it was favorable for him to have a hold of his opponents hand, it was consequently favorable for his opponent to have a hold of his own and thusly the moment he felt Hyung grasp his hand, he managed -using the smallness of his hand and the slipperiness both hands had accumulated due to being bound up in a fist- to slip his hand out, now while this sacrificed his own strong position, it also made sure that his opponent couldn't gain one either. The moment that the hand escaped, he found himself moving both of his hands to his opponents head and grasping the back of the boys head and pulling it downward.

This was a very familiar and basic Muy Thai clinch, but also a very loose one as Jonathan was not very skilled in getting people into clinches, but the fact that it was a fairly loose kick didn't matter as he found himself twisting his hips to gain enough torque as he sent a swinging knee to his opponents rib cage. The knee immediately retracted and he then found himself sending several rising knee's to his opponents chital cavity.

A fairly basic, but devastating combo.

[o3o]

[OOC: Assuming you used your right leg since you didn't specify and the fact that Jonathan has an orthodox stance.]

The stocky boy had somehow slipped out of his grasp, but Hyung immediately spotted an opening as the six-inch shorter competitor reached up to clamp behind his head. His head was pulled down slightly, and the telltale rotation of his opponent's hips indicated a knee due to their proximity. Quickly moving his left arm, though not quick enough, Hyung attempted to deflect the knee but instead it crashed into his ribs, winding him slightly. The arm, however, was swift enough to scoop the right leg up before it was able to retract. Hyung could tolerate the pain, but his face had gotten a little discoloured from not being able to breathe for a moment. It did not hinder him, though; his opponent's kneeing technique was not refined and he had received worse.

Without a second's pause after catching his opponent's knee Hyung used the opening presented by the shorter boy's need to reach high in order to wrap his arms behind his head. Having to remain static in order to maintain the clinch, torque his hip and throw the knee would prove advantageous for Hyung. Dipping below his opponent's extended arms and loose clinch by bending his knees slightly, he pressed his left shoulder against the stocky boy's open midsection, simultaneously using his right arm to grasp behind his opponent's left thigh, above the knee. This would all occur in one swift motion, and with a sudden shoot of his knees, coupled with the forward push of his shoulder against his opponent's center of gravity, he would scoop the smaller boy's legs from under him and lift him in the air with ease, following up by slamming him against the concrete rooftop. Hyung would land directly to his left, and immediately throw his left leg over his downed opponent's body, obtaining a full mount.

From this dominant position he would bend over slightly and begin to rain down a myriad of strikes on his opponent, whether he blocked or not. Powerful, short straights; brutal hooks and savage elbows would pound into the boy's guard -- or face as Hyung began his assault. The strikes would come in quick succession. No opening would be left unpunished.

[Jonathan Michaels]

OoC- Sorry, my internet was messed up, hopefully you don't mind the lateness.

If Jonathan had the time to think you would’ve seen him wince as he felt Hyung’s arm wrap around his right leg, but he didn’t have time to think and instead focused upon preventing himself from going into the same position he had lost in his last fight: the ground and pound. In the MMA world there are certain iconic moves and as someone who deeply admired the whole sanctity of MMA Jonathan was well versed in the execution of these iconic moves. That being said that moment Hyung grasped his right leg Jonathan found himself twisting around and inverting himself so his left leg was now wrapped around the arm that had accosted his right leg.

Upside down, but not on the floor Jonathan positioned his hand on Hyung’s elbow and pushed up, performing what is possibly one of the most gutsiest moves in submission wrestling: the flying armbar. Normally with an armbar you’d like to pull back, but due to the fact that Jonathan was inverted he ended up using his body weight to pull the arm down, stretching it with the power of his near equal body weight -in terms of Hyung- and gravity itself, all the while trying to reverse Hyung’s elbow.

Of course the main point of this was to get Hyung to submit rather than have a broken arm.

[o3o]

Hyung's opponent had preformed some kind of flashy move. His left leg was thrown across his body and over the arm that grabbed his right leg, placing his left arm inbetween the stocky boy's legs with his back to Hyung. Swiftly he would wrap his free right arm around his opponent's waist and support him, putting less pressure on his elbow as the boy attemped a very bizarre armbar. Pinning his opponent's legs and waist against himself with his right arm, with his opponent grabbing his left, Hyung, using his hips, lifted the smaller boy into the air. With the upside-down backwards position of the boxer, the taller Korean would bring the boy down face-first into the hard rooftop. Hyung would lift and drop the smaller competitor several times on his head until he forfeit or was knocked unconscious. If the boy let go of his arm, he would immediately wrap it around his waist and interlock his arms, trapping him against his body. His arm felt uncomfortable as it was being forced the wrong way, but if he was supporting some of the boy's body weight, the simple upwards push would not be sufficient enough to break his arm, his opponent lacking the leverage in the strange position he had put himself. Besides, a little discomfort in his elbow was probably nothing like his opponent's head smacking into the concrete.

[Nathan Branigan]

Nathan was standing in the crowd watching the two competitors on the rooftop. He loved the idea that this match depended somewhat on his decision. Even more so that he was just another face in the crowd to these two opponents.

Nathan watched carefully with his hand resting on his chin, absorbing the attacks and counters the fighters employed to assure victory. While one of the fighter seemed very dependent on boxing, the other was much more open to other types of moves. However, he also seemed to have less expertise in the other's field. This and the considerable height distance allowed for an interesting match.

As the fight occurred, Nathan saw the 'boxer' duck down and attempt a powerful uppercut to his opponents chin. This was easily avoided and lead to a blocked counter-attack and a return. It then came to the true test of the match. The smaller fighter yanked his opponent's head down and kneed him in the gut. A counter had the knee strike grabbed to gain control. He replied with a very skillfully attempted move. An arm bar. However, his opponent was not finished. He would attempt to lift the smaller man to alleviate the pressure on his elbow. He would be in danger of his damaging his arm for a moment, but this wouldn't last. He dropped the man to the ground, directly on his head. He continued this twice before Nathan took action to intervene. He had seen enough.

"All right you two that's enough. This is a competition, so I'm ending this before it gets out of hand. Hyung-tae wins. Now get down from here before one of you falls off the roof." He said waving them both away. He hated to finish the fight, but he didn't want them to be hurt so badly that they couldn't continue in the league.