Post by Andy D on Jan 16, 2017 17:50:27 GMT -5
If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path. – Joseph Campbell
It started off as an idea. Probably a really bad idea, but it was one that was going to be seen through regardless.
Self-confidence had always been the enemy in his life, or the lack there of anyway. That’s what the self-help books had claimed anyway. He’d been gifted them to help with his stutter and while they didn’t clear it completely, they had helped. Now this was an extension of that, now this was the ultimate confidence builder.
Or it would crush every bone in his body as well as the last shreds of confidence.
Becoming a wrestler seemed like a ridiculous idea on paper but it wasn’t as farfetched as it looked. Part of his confidence building was about being fit and healthy, so he had been on a fitness kick for the last couple of years and was getting into really good shape (not that he had been in that bad of a shape before), and the books had encouraged him to compete in some kind of sport. Wrestling was an odd choice perhaps, but it was convenient to him. He could attend lessons a couple of evenings a week and still keep up with his studies, and there was a school a lot closer to him than a boxing gym or mixed martial arts gym.
So he joined a wrestling school and trained in the art of beating people up in a square ring. Much like every gym teacher he’s ever had, his instructor was a bit of an ass, but generally fair and a hell of a great teacher. Still it took him a while to realize that, or even like him, thanks to the ‘charming’ nickname the coach cave him… Nigel the Nervous.
“It’s not n-n-nerves. It’s a stutter.”
Stigma is a terrible thing and being teased, bullied and generally talked about in a negative way is a horrible. It’s also something Nigel has been dealing with for a very large portion of his life, and it still stings as much now as it did when he was 8. So yeah, he was less than impressed at the moniker. And almost quit and never went back. But that would achieve nothing, and the realm of no self-confidence would be his home forever. Changing to a different sport may not give him a better teacher, and in fact they could be even more of an ass. So he stuck it out.
His grapple game was average and his submission game was non-existent (except for the Rope-hung Boston crab, which is kind of illegal in a standard rules match). Still his strikes were quick and lethal, his movement and reactions were exemplary and the kid could jump on and off ropes and turnbuckles like he had springs in his shoes. Nigel ‘graduated’ wrestling school and headed into the real world of wrestling.
But the nerves, despite his insistence that he didn’t suffer from them anymore, hit Nigel pretty hard before his first real match. He was worried about the ridicule and comments he would suffer from friends or family and especially all those school bullies should any of them recognize him (and the current evil thought in the back of his mind said it was guaranteed to happen). Thankfully wearing a mask is perfectly acceptable in wrestling. So, with the absence of time being able to procure something awesome looking, Nigel grabbed a balaclava and headed to the ring.
It was his coach who had spotted it first. He was there backstage to support his student in his first match (proving that while he acted an ass he was wasn’t truly one). By some gigantic coincidence Nigel was wearing a balaclava and dressed all in black. “Whoa, a mystical ninja suddenly appears”
“N-n-ninja?” Nigel asked, not realizing his own look.
Recognizing the stutter of his student “Nigel the Nervous is now a ninja… hmm. I like the sound of that. Nigel the Nervous Ninja. Has a good ring to it.” Nigel didn’t get much chance to respond as he’s told he’s now on and got pushed through the curtain.
Nervous was definitely an accurate statement as the balaclava hid most of the “deer in the headlights” expression on Nigel’s face. He took a moment to compose himself before walking down to the ring and actually competing in his match. Nigel the Nervous Ninja was born.
And he got his ass handed to him pretty swiftly.
Still the loss didn’t hurt his confidence as much as his body and he resolved to get better, train harder and get back into it. And that’s exactly what he did for the next 3 months.
He had that day all planned out. It was match day, so he woke up for a run in the park, get his ninja outfit ready for tonight. He’d do some light tai-chi, check out the image-board posts for some random topics to jump into (because old habits of a shut-in with no self-confidence die hard), head to the arena, get changed, fight in the match, go home, eat food. Actually eat food will more be a general throughout the day occurrence. That is not something you can realistically compete in a wrestling match without doing.
Of course the best laid plans of mice and men (and ninja’s) often go awry, and the one thing Nigel hadn’t planned on was running into Kimberly Kagawa. Kimi, as she was known to her friends, went to high school with Nigel and was super excited to run into him again. She wasn’t a friend back then per say, but she wasn’t a bully and was generally nice towards Nigel, so when the quick conversation in the park moved to coffee at the local Starbucks, it wasn’t that much of a strange situation to Nigel.
Nigel actually thought it was cool to catch up, Kimi, although felt he made a mistake when he mentioned his burgeoning wrestling career. Kimi wasn’t impressed and first, and didn’t really change her opinion when Nigel explained how it was all just a part of building self-confidence. Still, she accepted his invitation to come down to his match that night and see for him in action for herself.
The match itself wasn’t much of note. Nigel got beat by some pale skin goth/vampire chick which apparently ‘Ninjas vs Vampires’ is some epic battle throughout history according to the promotional guys. Afterwards he headed out of the arena and met up with Kimi, bracing himself for the berating he was about to get.
“I know I thought this was a really bad idea” Kimi started, “ but that was… Awesome!”
Nigel had a smile on his face grow constantly as Kimi excitedly went on and on about how he was great in the ring, and how she was so proud of Nigel for doing this.
“This has been such a great day.” Kimi said to which Nigel agreed. “I think we should do this more, like hang out and stuff.” She said nonchalantly
“Oh-oh Kay.” Nigel responded. It’s difficult to portray in the written word the difference between a stutter and the reaction of a guy who has little self-confidence and thinks a girl is hot who actually wants to spend time with him. This is the latter one.
The two eventually separated and went on their own ways after arranging ways and means to communicate and meet up further. Nigel was pretty high in the clouds, even though he knew the inevitable ‘She’d never be more than a friend’ thoughts were soon to destroy his self-esteem.
Kimi on the other hand made a phone call when she was far enough away from Nigel for him to not have any kind of perception of her actions. “It’s me. I’ve made contact and I’m in. Full report to follow.”
It started off as an idea. Probably a really bad idea, but it was one that was going to be seen through regardless.
Self-confidence had always been the enemy in his life, or the lack there of anyway. That’s what the self-help books had claimed anyway. He’d been gifted them to help with his stutter and while they didn’t clear it completely, they had helped. Now this was an extension of that, now this was the ultimate confidence builder.
Or it would crush every bone in his body as well as the last shreds of confidence.
Becoming a wrestler seemed like a ridiculous idea on paper but it wasn’t as farfetched as it looked. Part of his confidence building was about being fit and healthy, so he had been on a fitness kick for the last couple of years and was getting into really good shape (not that he had been in that bad of a shape before), and the books had encouraged him to compete in some kind of sport. Wrestling was an odd choice perhaps, but it was convenient to him. He could attend lessons a couple of evenings a week and still keep up with his studies, and there was a school a lot closer to him than a boxing gym or mixed martial arts gym.
So he joined a wrestling school and trained in the art of beating people up in a square ring. Much like every gym teacher he’s ever had, his instructor was a bit of an ass, but generally fair and a hell of a great teacher. Still it took him a while to realize that, or even like him, thanks to the ‘charming’ nickname the coach cave him… Nigel the Nervous.
“It’s not n-n-nerves. It’s a stutter.”
Stigma is a terrible thing and being teased, bullied and generally talked about in a negative way is a horrible. It’s also something Nigel has been dealing with for a very large portion of his life, and it still stings as much now as it did when he was 8. So yeah, he was less than impressed at the moniker. And almost quit and never went back. But that would achieve nothing, and the realm of no self-confidence would be his home forever. Changing to a different sport may not give him a better teacher, and in fact they could be even more of an ass. So he stuck it out.
His grapple game was average and his submission game was non-existent (except for the Rope-hung Boston crab, which is kind of illegal in a standard rules match). Still his strikes were quick and lethal, his movement and reactions were exemplary and the kid could jump on and off ropes and turnbuckles like he had springs in his shoes. Nigel ‘graduated’ wrestling school and headed into the real world of wrestling.
But the nerves, despite his insistence that he didn’t suffer from them anymore, hit Nigel pretty hard before his first real match. He was worried about the ridicule and comments he would suffer from friends or family and especially all those school bullies should any of them recognize him (and the current evil thought in the back of his mind said it was guaranteed to happen). Thankfully wearing a mask is perfectly acceptable in wrestling. So, with the absence of time being able to procure something awesome looking, Nigel grabbed a balaclava and headed to the ring.
It was his coach who had spotted it first. He was there backstage to support his student in his first match (proving that while he acted an ass he was wasn’t truly one). By some gigantic coincidence Nigel was wearing a balaclava and dressed all in black. “Whoa, a mystical ninja suddenly appears”
“N-n-ninja?” Nigel asked, not realizing his own look.
Recognizing the stutter of his student “Nigel the Nervous is now a ninja… hmm. I like the sound of that. Nigel the Nervous Ninja. Has a good ring to it.” Nigel didn’t get much chance to respond as he’s told he’s now on and got pushed through the curtain.
Nervous was definitely an accurate statement as the balaclava hid most of the “deer in the headlights” expression on Nigel’s face. He took a moment to compose himself before walking down to the ring and actually competing in his match. Nigel the Nervous Ninja was born.
And he got his ass handed to him pretty swiftly.
Still the loss didn’t hurt his confidence as much as his body and he resolved to get better, train harder and get back into it. And that’s exactly what he did for the next 3 months.
He had that day all planned out. It was match day, so he woke up for a run in the park, get his ninja outfit ready for tonight. He’d do some light tai-chi, check out the image-board posts for some random topics to jump into (because old habits of a shut-in with no self-confidence die hard), head to the arena, get changed, fight in the match, go home, eat food. Actually eat food will more be a general throughout the day occurrence. That is not something you can realistically compete in a wrestling match without doing.
Of course the best laid plans of mice and men (and ninja’s) often go awry, and the one thing Nigel hadn’t planned on was running into Kimberly Kagawa. Kimi, as she was known to her friends, went to high school with Nigel and was super excited to run into him again. She wasn’t a friend back then per say, but she wasn’t a bully and was generally nice towards Nigel, so when the quick conversation in the park moved to coffee at the local Starbucks, it wasn’t that much of a strange situation to Nigel.
Nigel actually thought it was cool to catch up, Kimi, although felt he made a mistake when he mentioned his burgeoning wrestling career. Kimi wasn’t impressed and first, and didn’t really change her opinion when Nigel explained how it was all just a part of building self-confidence. Still, she accepted his invitation to come down to his match that night and see for him in action for herself.
The match itself wasn’t much of note. Nigel got beat by some pale skin goth/vampire chick which apparently ‘Ninjas vs Vampires’ is some epic battle throughout history according to the promotional guys. Afterwards he headed out of the arena and met up with Kimi, bracing himself for the berating he was about to get.
“I know I thought this was a really bad idea” Kimi started, “ but that was… Awesome!”
Nigel had a smile on his face grow constantly as Kimi excitedly went on and on about how he was great in the ring, and how she was so proud of Nigel for doing this.
“This has been such a great day.” Kimi said to which Nigel agreed. “I think we should do this more, like hang out and stuff.” She said nonchalantly
“Oh-oh Kay.” Nigel responded. It’s difficult to portray in the written word the difference between a stutter and the reaction of a guy who has little self-confidence and thinks a girl is hot who actually wants to spend time with him. This is the latter one.
The two eventually separated and went on their own ways after arranging ways and means to communicate and meet up further. Nigel was pretty high in the clouds, even though he knew the inevitable ‘She’d never be more than a friend’ thoughts were soon to destroy his self-esteem.
Kimi on the other hand made a phone call when she was far enough away from Nigel for him to not have any kind of perception of her actions. “It’s me. I’ve made contact and I’m in. Full report to follow.”
