as if maybe i'm a winner...

May 23, 2005 00:21

this weekend was crazy. friday it was a mad scramble to get the lettering done on the back of my boxing robe (if you EVER need something done, let me know, this lady was incredible), and to get enough tickets for the friends who wanted to come to the fight. i had plans the whole evening to hem my kickboxing pants (since those pants are made for someone who would be about four inches taller than i am), but it didn't end up happening.

saturday morning i continued trying to find tickets for more people who called and said they wanted them (i felt like a drug dealer with all the calls sounding like, "so how many do you want? when should i pick up the money? where can i drop them off?"). and i finally sat down and hemmed the pants. then lunch. and then the fear after lunch that i might have eaten too much. and throughout the day i was almost constantly drinking water. it was a pretty warm day out, and it's important to stay hydrated for...well, just about anything.

went down to the center at five. signed insurance papers and whatnot, and then sat around. they had all of the fighters stand next to their opponents and discuss a few things (are we going to use knees? my opponent said no. are we going to do leg kicks? my opponent said no). i was a bit disappointed, because she took away half of my strategy by refusing the leg kicks, but whatever.

more standing. some stretching. and FINALLY they posted the order of the fights. there were going to be eleven fights (due to some fighters having to drop out). i see my name at the bottom. "we're the LAST fight?" "yep. you guys are the main event." "...SHIT..." i couldn't believe it. i was hoping our fight would be somewhere in the middle. somewhere it could get lost. somewhere it wouldn't be so noticed. but since we were the only girls fighting (other than in the tag-team match), they decided we'd be a good choice.

more standing. more stretching. the crowd starts to enter the building. i see friendly faces and give people hugs. i make jokes with my friends, and i jump around a bit with my nervous energy. then eight comes. my brother was scheduled to do a short demo of a weapons kata he came up with (involving four different weapons set to music). he looked AWESOME. and then afterwards the MC grabs the mic and says, "this man doesn't know it yet, but i'd like to announce that he just got his black belt." i SCREAMED! no one had any idea that he was going to get it. it came as a complete surprise to EVERYONE. i was so happy i almost cried. and at that point, i stopped being nervous.

i started to just feel super at home and super calm. i continued to stretch a bit as i was watching the other fights, and decided to get my hands wrapped early (because you can't help but feel a bit more bad-ass when you have those things on). the fights are all three one-minute rounds (less if called for "safety reasons"), and they just FLY by. it's time to get my shin guards on, put my mouthpiece in, and get gloved up. i have a little help putting on the robe (that reads "the littlest crews" on the back), and the second the hood came up, i just went into the zone. they walked us back to the dressing rooms we'd walk out of and i didn't look up once. head down, move around, no more smiles. and then came the fight call. "and now, for the maaaain eeeevent..."

we walked into the ring and for a second i could have sworn i would have pee'd my pants. but i started to move around a bit, they called our names, and i was ready. we bowed to the ref, then each other, and then it ROUND ONE! i didn't want to start off full force. i wanted to see what she was going to put into her hits. and so a got her lightly a few times, and i made the mistake of dropping my hands a little. she got me in the face, not too hard though, and at that point, i pretty much went on autopilot. any time i saw an opening it was straight for the face. first round she threw a kick that didn't connect and she lost her balance and fell. she got up though and we kept fighting. i kept getting her pretty good in the face/head. she went down again after a punch to the head. then back up.

ROUND TWO! we both started with kicks. she doesn't quite know how to really throw a kick though, so i just absorbed all of her kicks. to tell you the truth, none of her kicks were even memorable. and then she caught me in the face with a right to the eye. immediately i saw part of it swell. and then i got her in the head again and down she went. a few more kicks and then the round was called.

ROUND THREE! i started with a front kick and just dropped all my weight into a right. danced around a bit and just was putting everything i had into every good shot i saw. about half way through the round i threw a roundhouse kick with my left leg and when she took it, she turned her head just enough for me to come in with a ridiculous right hook to the side of her face. i put everything into that punch, and you could tell. the ref jumped in at that point and called the fight because she couldn't go on.

my running joke had been "yeah, there are no winners or losers, but if someone gets knocked to the ground, well...then you kinda know who won." and to feel like hell yes, i knocked the crap out of that girl and she couldn't go on with the fight...well, it felt good. everyone was awesome to me afterward. lots of hugs and congratulations. i was on such a high from it all. i think i still kind of am even the next night. my eye really doesn't look that bad (which as sick as it sounds, is a little disappointing). i'll take some pictures of it and try to post them soon.

i want to thank everyone who showed up. i thought i wouldn't be able to hear you guys with everything that was going on, but i did...and you all fucking rock. thank you. i don't know if i could have done it without you.
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