Post by Nighthawk on Nov 30, 2012 19:18:17 GMT -6
“As a man sow, shall he reap. and I know that talk is cheap. But the heat of the battle is as sweet as the victory.” Bob Marley.
As Nighthawk walks by himself into a small dojo in an out-of-the-way Tokyo suburb one sees in the eyes of the “Wrestling Machine” an intensity, and frankly, an anger that is somewhat off-putting. For while the Chicago native has always been thought of as a supremely intelligent, and virtuous, technician there does burn inside him a furious and intense competitor who would love nothing more than to end this “dispute” with Caleb Lockwood.
Even though the promotional literature for this match has portrayed it as something of a grudge, the truth is different. Because while grudges, at least in the modern era of bravado-fueled professional wrestling, invariably end with brawls this denouement appears different. Rather, this will be something designed to answer an increasingly complex variant on a very simple theme: Who is better?
But as the “Man of 1000 Holds” tapes up his wrists and hands, stretching out his lower body with the grace of a panther, the door to the wrestling room yawns open and in walks the man whose training and instruction he personally requested. For while this man might not seem imposing, and more like a gnarled old tree, his is a life spent doing the same thing that his pupil has worked so hard and for so long to approach: mastery of every hold, from the simple to the arcane. And as Nighthawk’s mentor, trainer, and father figure Tomomi Tanahashi sits down next to his student we see just how deep the devotion of Nighthawk runs.
(Author’s note: This conversation took place in Japanese.)
Mr. Tanahashi, his voice and general demeanor indicating just how much respect he holds not just in Japan, but worldwide: “Tristan, I always appreciate that you take as much trouble as you do to come see me. it is a honor for an old man such as myself. But I have to ask this: What are you doing here? I know about the problems you are having with the Black Dragon, as does everyone. But whether you want to hear it or not, whether you want to believe me when I tell you this, your problems with Caleb Lockwood all flow from the same stream. You and the Black Dragon are my two greatest students, and I don’t deny this. But, for entirely different reasons, you are also the ones for whom I have to do the most teaching. Ever since you started in my dojo, at a place a lot bigger than this with a lot more tools than this, you always needed to know why everything worked as much as how it worked. This never bothered me, and in fact I relished having a student who demanded to be taught as vociferously as you have, and as you still do. But, as I have watched your career flower from a mere seedling into a great tree of cherry blossoms, I have noticed one thing. You are a warrior who chooses to start his battles by thinking instead of by attacking. But this week, when you finally get the chance to end this thing with Caleb Lockwood, you need to change the way you start this battle.”
Nighthawk: “What do you mean, sensei? I thought I was doing the right things. I thought I was acting the right way.”
Mr. Tanahashi: “And you were, Tristan, except for one small flaw. It is a flaw that I didn’t understand in you for years, and if you can correct this flaw, you will be unstoppable. All you have to do is to not think so much all the time. Don’t always try to counter your opponent’s every decision with one of your own. Attack. Push. Make him make the first decision. Do that, and you can beat anyone in front of you. But, I know you didn’t just come here to have me encourage you. you came here for a very specific purpose. I can see it in your eyes. And If I can see it, everyone else can. You need to train. You need to be pushed to your limits. That is always how you have centered yourself, and you need it now. And I am happy to provide it to you.”
And as Nighthawk stands up, bowing to his trainer as he shoos us away, we see that intensity slowly transform from the out-of-control rage it was into the quiet confidence that flows directly from the knowledge that he is finally on the right path, the path that his trainer provided him.
The next morning….
As Nighthawk sits down at his old locker at the dojo where he took his first lessons in the fine points of how to become not just a professional wrestler, but a technician of renown, we see something slowly flickering back into his eyes. For while he imagines Caleb Lockwood is taking this final match out of a need to prove not just his own gifts, but those of his trainer and mentor, the Chicago native is coming at this problem from an entirely different angle. For the entirety of his career, the “Wrestling Machine” has been something of an acquired taste, loved and adored by a subset of fans. But while that adoration has meant the world to him, and for a long time was enough, it is also clearly not enough anymore. So when he steps into the ring at Breaking Away, Nighthawk will be trying to get something that he never realized that he wanted until right now: respect and worldwide acclaim.
But as he continues to sit down, his eyes staring off into the distance as he turns over in his mind all the places and people that helped him to get to this point, his cell phone rings which draws him out of a reverie and causes a wide smile on his face. But as he flickers it on, that smile quickly dies. For on the other end is another missive from his rival, and the man who is his eternal competitor for the affections of his trainer Mr. Tanahashi, the mysterious and menacing Black Dragon.
(Author’s note: This note was written in Japanese.)
Black Dragon, the menace and rage bleeding through even in text: “Oh, precious little Nighthawk. Always trying to convince the world that you are a man of honor, a steward of right and wrong, a defender of the faith. And there was once a time, not too long ago, where I would have sworn you were all those things that you claim to be. For a man whose entire life has been about standing up for principles, and standing beside his friends, how do you reconcile that image with what you did to me? I was your best friend, your peer, and the best man at your wedding. And yet, the first time I needed you to stand up for me, you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. I know the lies you like to tell yourself, the lies you like to tell the world. But here is the truth. You couldn’t stand up for your friend.
Your entire life, Tristan, is based around being the hero. You demand it of yourself, and seek out villains around every corner, men who welcome the darkness as you do the light. But let me ask you a question: What did you do for me that was heroic? How did you stand on principles when your friend needed to be avenged? You disgust me, Tristan. I am not like all of the rest. I will not be dissuaded. But I have heard the calls of our teacher. He has asked me to leave you be, until your battle with Caleb Lockwood ends. So I will do what you couldn’t, what you can’t, and follow the instructions of our teacher. But this is not over.”
But as the “Man of 1000 Holds” clicks off his phone, we see something in his face that we have almost never seen before: doubt.
A few hours later…..
As Nighthawk sits in a chair at the departures wing of Narita International Airport, preparing to fly back to the United States, he slowly closes his eyes. Clad in a white Jumbo Tsuruta t-shirt, black leather pants with an orange sunburst pattern, and black work boots, the “Wrestling Machine” slowly opens his eyes and stares forward, a literal hailstorm of emotions crossing his face in just minutes.
Nighthawk: “When I think about what my career has been, where it’s taken me, I can’t help but reflect on all of the rivalries I've had. Maybe it’s something about me. Maybe when I was a kid, and I saw the sports teams of my youth battle and scrap for every last inch of glory, it created some primordial call in me to find athletes who would push me, who would demand of me more than I knew I could give. But as I have gone on, as I've won titles and glory, it’s given me the chance to reflect on what those rivalries made me. They made me into a machine. Those wars, all of those nights where I had to step into a ring bruised and battered and find a way to keep myself going, made me into the man who is talking right now, the man who is going to walk into the ring this week and know that he can do what needs to be done. Because make no mistake, Caleb Lockwood, this needs to end. This can’t go on anymore. And this week, whether you like it or not, I'm going to be the one to end it.
The trouble this week, Caleb, that I find myself in is that I almost don’t want to end this. Because, and I don’t say this lightly, there have been very few men who have pushed me to the limits of what I can do in the way that you have. I have relished our battles, and maybe someday we can do this again. but for right now this has to stop, Caleb, for the sake of both of our careers. I doubt very much if you, or I, for that matter can continue to do this. So one of us is going to have to win, Caleb, if we can move on. And unfortunately for you, Caleb, that man is me.
So this week I will make you tap. I will beat you. And no matter how hard you try, how hard you wish it weren’t so, you’re going to lose.
Goodnight Caleb. May sleep give you the courage to go on.”
As Nighthawk walks by himself into a small dojo in an out-of-the-way Tokyo suburb one sees in the eyes of the “Wrestling Machine” an intensity, and frankly, an anger that is somewhat off-putting. For while the Chicago native has always been thought of as a supremely intelligent, and virtuous, technician there does burn inside him a furious and intense competitor who would love nothing more than to end this “dispute” with Caleb Lockwood.
Even though the promotional literature for this match has portrayed it as something of a grudge, the truth is different. Because while grudges, at least in the modern era of bravado-fueled professional wrestling, invariably end with brawls this denouement appears different. Rather, this will be something designed to answer an increasingly complex variant on a very simple theme: Who is better?
But as the “Man of 1000 Holds” tapes up his wrists and hands, stretching out his lower body with the grace of a panther, the door to the wrestling room yawns open and in walks the man whose training and instruction he personally requested. For while this man might not seem imposing, and more like a gnarled old tree, his is a life spent doing the same thing that his pupil has worked so hard and for so long to approach: mastery of every hold, from the simple to the arcane. And as Nighthawk’s mentor, trainer, and father figure Tomomi Tanahashi sits down next to his student we see just how deep the devotion of Nighthawk runs.
(Author’s note: This conversation took place in Japanese.)
Mr. Tanahashi, his voice and general demeanor indicating just how much respect he holds not just in Japan, but worldwide: “Tristan, I always appreciate that you take as much trouble as you do to come see me. it is a honor for an old man such as myself. But I have to ask this: What are you doing here? I know about the problems you are having with the Black Dragon, as does everyone. But whether you want to hear it or not, whether you want to believe me when I tell you this, your problems with Caleb Lockwood all flow from the same stream. You and the Black Dragon are my two greatest students, and I don’t deny this. But, for entirely different reasons, you are also the ones for whom I have to do the most teaching. Ever since you started in my dojo, at a place a lot bigger than this with a lot more tools than this, you always needed to know why everything worked as much as how it worked. This never bothered me, and in fact I relished having a student who demanded to be taught as vociferously as you have, and as you still do. But, as I have watched your career flower from a mere seedling into a great tree of cherry blossoms, I have noticed one thing. You are a warrior who chooses to start his battles by thinking instead of by attacking. But this week, when you finally get the chance to end this thing with Caleb Lockwood, you need to change the way you start this battle.”
Nighthawk: “What do you mean, sensei? I thought I was doing the right things. I thought I was acting the right way.”
Mr. Tanahashi: “And you were, Tristan, except for one small flaw. It is a flaw that I didn’t understand in you for years, and if you can correct this flaw, you will be unstoppable. All you have to do is to not think so much all the time. Don’t always try to counter your opponent’s every decision with one of your own. Attack. Push. Make him make the first decision. Do that, and you can beat anyone in front of you. But, I know you didn’t just come here to have me encourage you. you came here for a very specific purpose. I can see it in your eyes. And If I can see it, everyone else can. You need to train. You need to be pushed to your limits. That is always how you have centered yourself, and you need it now. And I am happy to provide it to you.”
And as Nighthawk stands up, bowing to his trainer as he shoos us away, we see that intensity slowly transform from the out-of-control rage it was into the quiet confidence that flows directly from the knowledge that he is finally on the right path, the path that his trainer provided him.
The next morning….
As Nighthawk sits down at his old locker at the dojo where he took his first lessons in the fine points of how to become not just a professional wrestler, but a technician of renown, we see something slowly flickering back into his eyes. For while he imagines Caleb Lockwood is taking this final match out of a need to prove not just his own gifts, but those of his trainer and mentor, the Chicago native is coming at this problem from an entirely different angle. For the entirety of his career, the “Wrestling Machine” has been something of an acquired taste, loved and adored by a subset of fans. But while that adoration has meant the world to him, and for a long time was enough, it is also clearly not enough anymore. So when he steps into the ring at Breaking Away, Nighthawk will be trying to get something that he never realized that he wanted until right now: respect and worldwide acclaim.
But as he continues to sit down, his eyes staring off into the distance as he turns over in his mind all the places and people that helped him to get to this point, his cell phone rings which draws him out of a reverie and causes a wide smile on his face. But as he flickers it on, that smile quickly dies. For on the other end is another missive from his rival, and the man who is his eternal competitor for the affections of his trainer Mr. Tanahashi, the mysterious and menacing Black Dragon.
(Author’s note: This note was written in Japanese.)
Black Dragon, the menace and rage bleeding through even in text: “Oh, precious little Nighthawk. Always trying to convince the world that you are a man of honor, a steward of right and wrong, a defender of the faith. And there was once a time, not too long ago, where I would have sworn you were all those things that you claim to be. For a man whose entire life has been about standing up for principles, and standing beside his friends, how do you reconcile that image with what you did to me? I was your best friend, your peer, and the best man at your wedding. And yet, the first time I needed you to stand up for me, you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. I know the lies you like to tell yourself, the lies you like to tell the world. But here is the truth. You couldn’t stand up for your friend.
Your entire life, Tristan, is based around being the hero. You demand it of yourself, and seek out villains around every corner, men who welcome the darkness as you do the light. But let me ask you a question: What did you do for me that was heroic? How did you stand on principles when your friend needed to be avenged? You disgust me, Tristan. I am not like all of the rest. I will not be dissuaded. But I have heard the calls of our teacher. He has asked me to leave you be, until your battle with Caleb Lockwood ends. So I will do what you couldn’t, what you can’t, and follow the instructions of our teacher. But this is not over.”
But as the “Man of 1000 Holds” clicks off his phone, we see something in his face that we have almost never seen before: doubt.
A few hours later…..
As Nighthawk sits in a chair at the departures wing of Narita International Airport, preparing to fly back to the United States, he slowly closes his eyes. Clad in a white Jumbo Tsuruta t-shirt, black leather pants with an orange sunburst pattern, and black work boots, the “Wrestling Machine” slowly opens his eyes and stares forward, a literal hailstorm of emotions crossing his face in just minutes.
Nighthawk: “When I think about what my career has been, where it’s taken me, I can’t help but reflect on all of the rivalries I've had. Maybe it’s something about me. Maybe when I was a kid, and I saw the sports teams of my youth battle and scrap for every last inch of glory, it created some primordial call in me to find athletes who would push me, who would demand of me more than I knew I could give. But as I have gone on, as I've won titles and glory, it’s given me the chance to reflect on what those rivalries made me. They made me into a machine. Those wars, all of those nights where I had to step into a ring bruised and battered and find a way to keep myself going, made me into the man who is talking right now, the man who is going to walk into the ring this week and know that he can do what needs to be done. Because make no mistake, Caleb Lockwood, this needs to end. This can’t go on anymore. And this week, whether you like it or not, I'm going to be the one to end it.
The trouble this week, Caleb, that I find myself in is that I almost don’t want to end this. Because, and I don’t say this lightly, there have been very few men who have pushed me to the limits of what I can do in the way that you have. I have relished our battles, and maybe someday we can do this again. but for right now this has to stop, Caleb, for the sake of both of our careers. I doubt very much if you, or I, for that matter can continue to do this. So one of us is going to have to win, Caleb, if we can move on. And unfortunately for you, Caleb, that man is me.
So this week I will make you tap. I will beat you. And no matter how hard you try, how hard you wish it weren’t so, you’re going to lose.
Goodnight Caleb. May sleep give you the courage to go on.”
