The tension in the room was palpable.
That’s when Shiori walked in.
Ronin could feel Knox and Deacon’s questioning looks, but he kept his focus on his sister. He’d asked her to mediate this meeting. Personal issues aside, Shiori was a shrewd businesswoman, and he wanted her involvement in this situation.
“Gentlemen.” She nodded to the other woman in the room. “Sophia. I’m Shiori Hirano, a visiting instructor from Japan. Since I have no personal stake in the outcome of this meeting, I’m here as an impartial mediator. Anything that is said in this meeting is confidential, agreed?”
“Agreed,” Blue said.
“Agreed,” Ronin said.
“Let’s start with you, Mr. Curacao. Tell us about your dojo. Number of students, qualifications of instructors, monthly fees.”
“Currently we have three qualified instructors besides myself, black belt levels sanctioned by BJJA—Brazilian Jujitsu Association. We teach seventy-five students. The majority of them are below blue belt ranking since the Brazilian method moves slower through the belt ranking system than traditional jujitsu. Our requirements are a minimum of three paid classes a week. We do not charge higher-ranking belts higher fees.”
Everyone around the table nodded approval. Several martial arts disciplines charged higher fees for brown and black belt levels—which created a problem because the instructors moved the students up the ranks faster to collect the significantly higher class fees.
When Blue revealed his hourly class fee, Ronin quickly did the math. They were making a nice chunk of change every month.
Shiori looked to Ronin to offer the same information.
After he finished speaking, she opened up the discussion to the instructors from both camps. Ronin was really impressed that his guys asked things he hadn’t considered. And Sophia asked why the Black Arts staff wasn’t utilizing female instructors. Then she questioned the boy-to-girl training ratio. Something that had never crossed his radar—until Shiori had questioned him along those same lines.
When Shiori began speaking of the different philosophies, Ronin discreetly shook his head. Always a pointless discussion.
Knox stood. “Let’s look at the training rooms.”
At that point, everyone left Blue and Ronin alone.
“I thank you for opening the door to this discussion, Sensei. Especially after—”
“You knocked me out? I don’t hold grudges.”
Blue cocked his head. “So I shouldn’t hold it against you that you let me win?”
Ronin said nothing.
“I’m an excellent fighter, but it shouldn’t have been that easy. I have to ask, why did you want the punishment?”
He would’ve been disappointed if Blue hadn’t picked up on it. “Ever done something so unbelievably stupid that you want to kick your own ass?”
“Of course.”
“Since I couldn’t do that, and no one here would help me out, I let you kick it for me.”
Blue laughed.
“I appreciate you following up on my physical condition after the fight.”
“No problem. I never asked if you made any money from the event.”
Ronin paused and studied the guy. Blue’s face carried scars from his fighting years. He was one intimidating motherfucker in the ring. But he had a decent head for business—Ronin had checked him out thoroughly before setting up the meetings. “It’s a nonissue at this point. Do you make money from events?”
“I make enough to tempt me into wanting to make more. I’d like to bring something up before we get into the possible dojo merger. Because if that doesn’t work out, for some reason I think this idea might.”
“I’m listening.”
Blue leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “We both know mixed martial arts fighters’ goals are to get into one of the big organizations and fight on a professional level. But if amateurs have no place to fight, how will they establish a record and move up the ranks?”
“It’s impossible. Or close to.”
“The major players are bypassing this market. I figured out that the way to make money is to pack the fight card with amateur fights. That brings in friends and family. Put women in the ring for one match. Then close the evening with a pro match, or what passes as a pro matchup. If we combine our resources, in very little time we would be the go-to promoters for amateur fights in this area.”
Ronin cocked his head. “How many fights are you promoting a year right now?”
“Three or four very small ones that are barely a step above smokers. How about Black Arts?”
“Officially? None. I personally set up . . . underground bouts a few times a year. I keep it off the radar. Pay the purse out of my pocket.”
Blue gave him a narrow-eyed look. “So you fight in these unsanctioned matches?”
He fought the urge to squirm. Before he’d returned to the cage, he’d had to come clean with Knox. It’d been f**king embarrassing to admit that in the past three years, he’d hidden his compulsion to fight like it was some dirty secret. He’d convinced himself he needed to test his skills outside of the dojo, outside of being Sensei Black. But the truth was, after all the years he’d spent earning his reputation with his fighting skills, he couldn’t just . . . stop. He loved to fight. It was the one thing in his life that he was good at.
“Hachidan?” Blue prompted.
“Yes, I’ve maintained a presence in the underground fighting world. Seventy percent of the time I referee. The other thirty percent?” He met Blue’s gaze head-on. “I fight.”
“Dangerous hobby, my friend, and one I’d require you give up for good if we join forces.”
Ronin nodded. He’d already been forced to give it up, and his respect grew for the man across the table for expecting they’d keep things on the up-and-up.
“Back to the topic at hand. I’d like to pursue a partnership with you for the major amateur event we’ve scheduled in three weeks.”
“Here in Denver?”
“Yep. And you’re thinking . . . why haven’t you heard of it, right?”
“Right.”
“That’s what I’m saying. You’re involved in the fight world, and you’re unaware of the event. Think how many other martial arts studios with MMA training programs are in the same situation. They have no place to put their fighters to the test. Between us, we’ve got the network to make it happen. We’ve got the diversity. We’ve got the money.”