Grappler Baki is a story about Baki, a happy student with an odd hobby. Baki is a mysterious martial artist who enjoys fighting; not the normal fighting, but fighting in the ruthless secret martial arts tournament where the best fighters fight in extremely nasty combats; the tournament where fighters are routinely crippled or even to the extent of getting killed!The story begins when 13-year-old Baki Hanma faces 100 opponents in a martial-arts battle! He manages to defeat 37 of them, but is disgusted with himself for not beating the rest of them. He goes home and fires his trainer for not doing a good job. He then sets out to fight with tough guys such as Yu Lee, the junior welterweight champion. Baki has set himself on this tough path of self-discipline because he wants to be a tougher man than his father, Yujiro Hanma.