Narrative on Muay Thai

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The bell rang, we touched gloves and it was on. After that moment everything was pure instinct. All I was doing was reacting and not thinking. That is what fighting is. But I did have a game plan: I was to deliver repetitive kicks to his legs in order to slow him down and finish him. The problem was that he had the same game plan, and he who had 21 years on me, delivered much harder and much more painful kicks to my legs. I would basically eat one of his kicks, and return it with everything I had. Being the 15 year old in the fight, the crowd cheered me on as the underdog. The crowd really did bring more energy, and it helped me push through the fight as hard as I possibly could. After the first two rounds of some decent exchanges, it was clear that I was outmatched. I could feel every kick as his shin would basically cut through my legs. It was in the third round where my legs were kicked out from under me. I was breathing hard, it felt like my lungs were going to explode. Then the crowd started yelling at me, motivating me to get back up and into the fight. The moment I did get back up, I felt the excitement of the crowd as they cheered me on. I started throwing much harder punches in hopes of landing a lucky overhand right to deliver knock out. But it was too little too late, and we ended up going to distance. When the referee raised his hand as winner, people would think that I would have felt crushed. But really, it was the opposite. I felt that I have done something that not too many people will ever do in their lives. I walked out of that fight with the biggest bruises, and yet the biggest smile.

I lost that fight, but I felt as if I still won. Not only did I fight till the end while I was clearly outmatched and go all three rounds, but losing that fight resulted in a huge stage of growth and development for myself. You learn a lot about yourself when you fight, and that was what happened to me. I did fear losing at first, but after the fight, I learned to embrace failure and fear all together. Fear was necessary in order to push myself, and defeat was an opportunity to learn and become better a better person and fighter. It really is all about perspective, and this fight had taught me that. This new perspective I learned first handed should be applied to everyone’s life. Being afraid to fail can prevent people from doing new and great things. Defeat is one of the key ingredients to success, you just have to embrace it, learn from it, and move on.

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