A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment.
Aug 9, 2016 17:38:39 GMT -5
Post by Smart Style on Aug 9, 2016 17:38:39 GMT -5
With the air in Greensboro beginning to get oppressively humid, so humid that even something as mundane as attempting to walk a couple of blocks has started to become difficult due to just how thick the atmosphere has become, Shintaro Majima has decamped to air conditioned interiors of Hanes Gym – not to physically prepare for the match nor to look upon the battlefield he will soon compete on, but simply so he can replenish his energies in an atmosphere that doesn’t feel like he is wading through an invisible swamp
Correct me if I am wrong, but there is one word I have not heard people use when talking about me in recent weeks: “failure.”
It was not so long ago when so many opponents were using that word, to the point it would not surprise me if they had the word in mind before they began to speak and were simply looking for the best route to reach that destination. They thought they could tell me I was a failure and I would believe them, thinking they could use psychological warfare to gain an advantage against me.
They were wrong to believe this.
Taking a moment to experience the cool, cool air that is circulating inside the building, Majima closes his eyes to appreciate the small moment – before he slowly returns his focus towards the camera
It appears that Josh Mitchell has learned from the mistakes of others, as he is not telling me what I am or what I am not, which tells me that I have succeeded with what I set out to do. I am not being dismissed, I am not being treated lightly, I am not being questioned: I am being respected for what I have done, and feared because of what I can do.
I am sure that Mitchell knows what it is to be dismissed, to have people force doubt upon him, to see what they perceive as a weakness as they tell him he has a weakness, hoping he will listen and take it to heart. But what I see is a source of strength, something that gives Mitchell a reason to spend his every waking moment proving those who tell him they know better wrong, and that is the reason he is my rival to become the Number One Contender, because he has proven so many people wrong that he has gained the attention of the people who wish to be proven right.
Giving an ever so slight tilt of his head, Majima focuses on the match ahead
Because of this I will not tell you what you cannot do, as telling you what you cannot do would make me a hypocrite while giving you a reason to prove that you can. What I am going to do is tell you what I am going to do.
You seem well aware of what you are going to be facing, and if for whatever reason you did not I am sure several members of the Lions Den locker room will be able to inform you, either from personal experience or because they are thankful they are not in the place where you will soon be standing. They know that to set foot in the ring with me is not a test of your ability to wrestle, it is a test of your ability to endure.
Yet this is what most of my opponents face in a match where little is at stake other than the ability to say who won. With this in mind, consider what you will be facing when I have been given an incentive for victory, which the Number One Contendership does almost as much as the title itself. Consider the many times I have heard “failure” and similar words, and then realise that you have been placed in a situation where I can do more to prove each and every person who said those words to be wrong. You may have learned to endure more than most have learned to endure, yet you have not learned what it is to be face to face with a hungry wolf that is driven by hunger as it begins its charge towards you.
In that situation the best your best hope is to escape, yet this situation offers no escape: you will have to face what is coming for you and hope that it will not be as terrible as the images going through your mind in those last seconds as you await your fate. But I can tell you everything I do will not be driven by malice but by ambition, and I hope that you understand this when it is your time to warn my future opponents of what is in store for them.
Word count: 797
Correct me if I am wrong, but there is one word I have not heard people use when talking about me in recent weeks: “failure.”
It was not so long ago when so many opponents were using that word, to the point it would not surprise me if they had the word in mind before they began to speak and were simply looking for the best route to reach that destination. They thought they could tell me I was a failure and I would believe them, thinking they could use psychological warfare to gain an advantage against me.
They were wrong to believe this.
Taking a moment to experience the cool, cool air that is circulating inside the building, Majima closes his eyes to appreciate the small moment – before he slowly returns his focus towards the camera
It appears that Josh Mitchell has learned from the mistakes of others, as he is not telling me what I am or what I am not, which tells me that I have succeeded with what I set out to do. I am not being dismissed, I am not being treated lightly, I am not being questioned: I am being respected for what I have done, and feared because of what I can do.
I am sure that Mitchell knows what it is to be dismissed, to have people force doubt upon him, to see what they perceive as a weakness as they tell him he has a weakness, hoping he will listen and take it to heart. But what I see is a source of strength, something that gives Mitchell a reason to spend his every waking moment proving those who tell him they know better wrong, and that is the reason he is my rival to become the Number One Contender, because he has proven so many people wrong that he has gained the attention of the people who wish to be proven right.
Giving an ever so slight tilt of his head, Majima focuses on the match ahead
Because of this I will not tell you what you cannot do, as telling you what you cannot do would make me a hypocrite while giving you a reason to prove that you can. What I am going to do is tell you what I am going to do.
You seem well aware of what you are going to be facing, and if for whatever reason you did not I am sure several members of the Lions Den locker room will be able to inform you, either from personal experience or because they are thankful they are not in the place where you will soon be standing. They know that to set foot in the ring with me is not a test of your ability to wrestle, it is a test of your ability to endure.
Yet this is what most of my opponents face in a match where little is at stake other than the ability to say who won. With this in mind, consider what you will be facing when I have been given an incentive for victory, which the Number One Contendership does almost as much as the title itself. Consider the many times I have heard “failure” and similar words, and then realise that you have been placed in a situation where I can do more to prove each and every person who said those words to be wrong. You may have learned to endure more than most have learned to endure, yet you have not learned what it is to be face to face with a hungry wolf that is driven by hunger as it begins its charge towards you.
In that situation the best your best hope is to escape, yet this situation offers no escape: you will have to face what is coming for you and hope that it will not be as terrible as the images going through your mind in those last seconds as you await your fate. But I can tell you everything I do will not be driven by malice but by ambition, and I hope that you understand this when it is your time to warn my future opponents of what is in store for them.
Word count: 797
