Guys Read: Choke: A Short Story from Guys Read: The Sports Pages
About this ebook
Joseph Bruchac follows Johnny from a humiliating cut on the school football team straight into a storefront gym. East Country MMA surrounds the six-foot-three teenager with blue mats and instructors in boxing, wrestling, and Muay Thai.
The author charts Johnny’s progress with the triangle and the rear-naked choke, earning the lanky novice the nickname Little Spider. The narrative sets up an intense rematch against his schoolyard tormentor Tipper Sodaman across three two-minute amateur rounds.
This short story from the collection Guys Read: The Sports Pages is a winner.
- School Drama: A confrontation behind the football bleachers leaves Johnny determined to defend himself without getting baited into another reckless fight.
- Sibling Dynamics: His younger sister Maggie never hesitates to tease him about his bony frame, adding plenty of humor to his quest for muscle.
- Athletic Discipline: Maestre Jao emphasizes patience over brute power, teaching his students to respect every fighting style and anticipate an opponent’s moves.
- Also by This Author: Squanto’s Journey, Skeleton Man and The Return of Skeleton Man.
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About the author
Joseph Bruchac is the author of Skeleton Man, The Return of Skeleton Man, Bearwalker, The Dark Pond, and Whisper in the Dark, as well as numerous other critically acclaimed novels, poems, and stories, many drawing on his Abenaki heritage. Mr. Bruchac and his wife, Carol, live in upstate New York, in the same house where he was raised by his grandparents. You can visit him online at www.josephbruchac.com.
