I’m writing this blog post, quite frankly, to distract myself right now. My husband, son, and daughter just left for Buffalo and I’ve got about an hour and a half before I leave to join them. My sixteen year old son, Tallon, is fighting in his first amateur full contact kickboxing fight tonight. It’s televised, we have about 80-100 people going to watch, I’m having trouble keeping my lunch down.
Why? I know how much my son has into this fight. It’s not just another athletic event for him. Heck, we’ve watched him win and lose at everything from wrestling to hockey to track to football. He even ran cross country and played lacrosse for a while. He’s good at some, better at others and well, some are clearly for fun. But this. This is different.
My husband teaches karate, has since 1979. Not a big commercial, “pay your money, get your belt” kind of school. Only the dedicated with heart and perseverance need apply because it will take many years to achieve a black belt. In all of those years and 1000+ students, only 11 have achieved the rank of black belt. Serious stuff here. My son has taken karate from him practically since he was born. My daughter is the first and one of only two female black belts.
So the kid has something to prove tonight. To himself first. To his dad, sister and sparring partner who will be in his corner. To his relatives, friends, and teachers who will come to see a sport they may or may not understand for the first time. There’s no school recognition for the sport so he never gets to prove what he can do. Until now. I think he’s got a lot of dreams wrapped up in this fight. Let’s face it, all that’s ever on TV in my house is the UFC. He’s got to wonder what he’s made of. His dream career would be (at least at this age) climbing into–the octagon– that cage to fight. Not a mother’s dream by any stretch, but my dream definitely doesn’t have to be his dream.
So I sit here worrying about everything from ‘will the opponent show up?’, ‘will he be a chump that can’t stay with it?’ to ‘is he going to hurt my kid?’ and ‘will Tal rise to the challenge?’ AND, everyone we know will either be there or will be watching on television. No pressure.
One thing I know from experience is that the kid’s got heart, he won’t quit no matter what the other guy brings. No doubt about that. In this family, heart means more than anything, he’s heard that every day of his young life. But will he win? Will he realize his dream? Will he get to show everyone what he’s got after 12+ years of dedication, hard work and practice? Will he be proud of himself when he steps out of the ring? Will my fight to say college is his only option be even harder because he loves it that much?
He can’t wait for it to start and I can’t wait for the night to be over.
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So many people have asked me about this post that I figure I’d better post to let you know how it worked out. Tallon fought a great fight against a kid who was heavier and older, one who had a ton of heart because he never stopped. Tal knocked him down a couple of times in the first round with an eventual knock out in the second round.
It was surreal that at the end of the fight, as another mother’s son lay on the mat, we all cheered and screamed for my son. I’m delighted that Tallon had the time of his life, enjoyed every minute, but couldn’t stop thinking about the other mother.
He can’t wait to fight again in March and I’ll be hoping that he nails it so I never have to feel first hand what she did that night. And we will be starting those college visits very soon. 😉