Una Lección del Maestro

As the two talked, Mako got the feeling that Carmen wanted her to toned it down a little. That being due to the veteran fighter motioning her to do so. Luckily the shark wasn't so dense that she'd keep yelling. Of course, had this been someone else, Mako might've ignored it. There was no chance that she'd intentionally ignore this woman, though. Carmen was just too big of a name.

That being said, when the Puerto Rican native said she'd be taking a break break from wrestling, Mako's jaw dropped. Had she been drinking her tea, the shark might've spit it out. Carmen Rodriguez...taking a break from wrestling? Tension was gonna take a big hit this time. Of course Mako respected the fact that she wanted to try out boxing in momentum. That's what she done first, after all. Carmen had even reached the olympics doing so.

So instead of making a big fuss about it, Mako decided to play it cool.

"Huh...Well I guess that leaves Dasher to me then." the shark would say with a slightly wild looking smirk. "I can't say Tension will get along smoothly without you...but I think I can hold down the fort while you're away. And I think I'll get my hands on Dasher as soon as I can. The sooner the better really. I just can't stand the thought of his smug face getting along without a black eye..."

Mako would then take another nice, long sip from her tea to keep herself from getting too riled up.

So after calming herself down with the taste of raspberry, the shark would start to speak once again. "Still...it kinda sucks that you're taking a break. Not that you don't deserve one! If anyone does, it's you, and you've earned it. I just think it's a shame that I won't be able to take you on myself..."

‘That leaves Dasher to me’.

Something about those words made Carmen smile, though she managed to cover it with a sip. Mako had spunk, there was no taking that away from her. Even with everything she’d been through in that match against Dasher, she was already willing to just jump back against him. Some would write that off to stupidity, stubbornness, or some mixture of the two, and Carmen wouldn’t lie and say the thought didn’t cross her mind, too.

But she felt there was more to it. Honor? Respect? You don’t take a lost like that and not feel like you’ve lost some of those two of things. What Carmen saw in Mako, she’d seen in herself when Dasher left her humiliated in the ring. While she didn’t care enough to get back at the man directly, she wouldn’t deny Mako her decision.

What she said at the end caught her attention the most, though.

”We could probably still make that happen, if you’re interested.” She nodded her head to the side, towards the middle ring in the center of the gym. ”How about a round? Sparring? Just a one-on-one.”

Mako had to admit that this little chat between her and Carmen was doing some good. The shark was clearly in a better mood than when she'd arrived, and now she had her spirit back. After she finished speaking, though, Mako would get one hell of an offer from the former champ.

"Woah...wait...really!? Haha! That'd be great!" Mako would shout before popping off of the ring apron excitedly. A one on one spar with Carmen sounded incredible. It was the classic argument of fists versus kicks. Arm day versus leg day. Mike Tyson versus Bruce Lee. And now...Carmen versus Mako! All the shark needed was a minute to change into her fighting gear and she'd be all set. So after quickly picking up her bag, she'd quickly make her way to the changing room while talking with her sparring partner.

"Ok I'll get changed real quick! I'll just need a second!" Mako would say as she made her way across the gym. "Oh! And don't you even think about holding back on me! Cause I'm going all out when I get back!"

Mako did not lack for enthusiasm, Carmen had to give her that much. The moment she mentioned a spar, the woman lit up like it was Christmas morning and she’d just been handed her favorite present, so quick to go dashing off and change. There was no telling how that energy would translate in the ring, whether or not the woman respected her enough - or too much - to give her a proper challenge, but it would be a learning experience either way.

Carmen was already mostly dressed up for a good spar, she didn’t have much to do in order to get ready. She wrapped up her fists, got them nice and tight, then got on some gloves to keep herself fully padded. Once she was done with that, she rolled into the ring and started stretching, along with a few quick drills to keep her limbered up.

As confident as she was in her own skills, she’d seen enough of Mako to know that this wouldn’t be easy any way she sliced it, Judging by how eager the young wrestler was to impress, she had to assume that she would be bringing her A-game...

Mako quickly changed out of her casual clothes and into her black fighting attire with matching leg guards. Then after looking in the mirror to make sure everything was fitting, the shark would head out to meet Carmen in the ring. Her heart was racing as she walked through the door and judged over to the ring. Mako would then slide under the ropes and pop back up on her feet.

"Ok Rodriguez! You ready to go?" the shark would ask as she bounced eagerly on the balls of her feet. Carmen had put on some boxing gloves while she was gone, which gave her the impression that the Puerto Rican was going all out for this spar. So just to give her sparring partner the same level of intensity, Mako would do a few light stretches as she spread her legs and leaned down to touch her toes from one foot to the other. Then she'd stretch her legs out a little more by extending one up over the top turnbuckle before doing the same with the other.

"So...standard rules sound good? Pin, Submission, or if we're lucky Knock out?" Mako would ask as she looked back at Carmen. Then after finishing the stretches she'd walk over to her opponent before punching her palm with a big smile.

"Just say the word and we'll start" Mako would say before stepping back and getting into a fighting stance with her fists raised. Meanwhile, her left foot slightly off the ground as she readied herself to kick at any moment. Carmen had some fast punches, after all, and the shark wanted to be ready.

Carmen had just finished up her stretching when Mako came jogging out, full of vigor every step of the way. Only a moment later and she was inside the ring, bursting at the seems as they prepared to face off.

The elder Rodriguez was just as ready to go, if truth be told. She was just a bit less eager to show off that enthusiasm, but it was there all the same. She made her way to the center of the ring and got into position after a final check on her grappling gloves. ”Standard rules are fine, yes.” She arched her back and got out one last kink with a quick crack. ”Any trouble areas that you want to work on? Things to focus?”

When it looked like Mako was ready, Carmen slid into her stance as well, getting her fists up, moving back into position, tightening up and taking one last look at her opponent from top to bottom. This wouldn’t be an easy spar from what she could tell, but it would be fun, certainly.

”I’m good to go.” She tapped her gloves together. ”Fire when ready.”

"Yeah, standard rules are good...things to focus on?" she would say before falling silent in thought. Mako would briefly think about what sorts of things they should focus on. Counters, grapples, submissions? Mako had been improving in these areas ever since she came to Tension, though she could still use some help in more specific areas. But the shark was just too excited to really give it any real consideration.

"Yeah nothing comes to mind really, but if you notice anything I'm lacking in feel free to let me know." she explained as Carmen got into her stance. Then as the taller woman said she was good and that the shark should fire when ready, Mako didn't need to be told twice.

"Ok then...Ding ding!" she'd quickly shout while moving forward. Mako was looking for a grapple to start things off, but she kept her arms raised to guard her head from any strikes Carmen was famous for. The shark thought that if the woman knew anything about her, that she'd be expecting a strike. So hoping to catch Carmen off guard, Mako would quickly try to lock up with the taller woman's shoulder and collar. That way she could maybe try to stall her opponent until trying to land a few knees to Carmen's gut while they were up close.

Things to focus on?

Carmen contemplated that for a moment, remembering Mako’s match, what had gone right and wrong with it. While she wasn’t always the best when it came to analyzation, she could think of a few things that stuck to her right away. ”Stay mobile. Let me bring the fight to you, not the other way around. Make me work to catch up, and use your speed to keep ahead. I’m fast, but not as fast as you, so that’s your edge.”

Decent advice, on paper. Time would tell how well it translated.

No matter talking now, however, as the ‘bell’ rang and they prepared to get things underway. Carmen moved in right away with an orthodox stance, one arm down while the other was raised for defense, but she didn’t bring it beyond that, instead wanting to see how well Makoto worked with what she was given.

She didn't have to wait long for an answer to that question, either, as the distance was closed in short order. Pulling her in tight, Makoto showed her prowess with knees that hit deep, crashing into Carmen's hardened abs. The Puerto Rican Pugilist grunted with each hit, before launching her fist hard into Mako's chest with a right cross - nothing too serious, just a tactic to make her back off and gain some space to recover.

Mako thought Carmen's advice was pretty accurate. The woman couldn't beat what she couldn't catch, after all. That's what was allowing the shark to land some hard knees to her opponent's gut right now. Of course, Mako stopped moving and just kept striking. That allowed Carmen to drive a hard punch to the center of the shark's chest. The impact wasn't full force, but it was enough to trouble Mako's breathing and force her backwards.

The shark was slightly cursing herself now as she clutched her chest. Literally five seconds in and she already made a mistake. Well, Mako wasn't going to make the same mistake again. And it looked like she'd given a good amount of damage for the first attack.

So after a few moments, Mako would go back on the offensive as she ran towards the ropes before bouncing off them. Looking to have as much speed as possible as she roared out, the shark would attempt to hit Carmen with a running drop kick to the chest!

There was a bit of deja vu here, Carmen remembering her younger years. More impetuous times, when she was eager to take up her father’s mantle and prove her skill wasn’t fluke, that not having certain body parts meant little to her legacy as a Rodriguez.

She saw a little of that in Mako, too. That punchiness. That energy. That drive. It was a good tool for any fledgling fighter, a strong weapon. But it could cut both ways, and as Mako came barreling in, headlong and headless, she saw a good chance to change things around.

Carmen took a step back as Mako rushed in, waited for the leap, then did a quick pivot to the side as her dropkick shot out, giving her nothing but empty air to hit. It would’ve been a good move if it hit, but she’d managed to stay one step ahead, and her reward was a vast opening that she could readily exploit.

As Mako flew, Carmen dipped just enough to get her fists under the flying woman’s body, and punched up with a hard uppercut to her side, something to make her poor landing even less graceful than it would naturally be.