Pages

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

"On the Hunt" by Ryan H



     “He’s nothing,” I muttered to myself. “He’s my prey. He. Is. Nothing.” Finally, the match in front of us ended, and we both walk on to the mat, ready to battle. His cold, intense gaze told me this was not going to be easy, that it was going to be more than a battle, a full-blown war. The ref assigned me as red, and my opponent Green. The referee made us shake hands, blew his whistle, and we began.
All my focus was on my opponent, analyzing his style, looking for an opening to make my attack. Suddenly, he grabbed for my head. I reflexively ducked, and circled to the side, waiting for the shot on my legs. It never came, and instead he backed off, waiting to make his own attack. We continued to circle, grabbing, feinting, waiting for the other to make a mistake to capitalize on. Suddenly, my coach’s voice rang out, “THIRTY SECONDS! DO SOMETHING!” he bellowed. I smacked the opponent in the head to make him flinch, and shot straight in, grabbing both legs. However, nothing came from it, he was good. More than good, phenomenal. I drove and drove, trying to take him down, but to no avail. Then, in the final ten seconds of the first round, he snapped me face first into the mat and got behind, getting two points and the lead to head into the second round.
To start the second period, the ref flipped a coin, one side red, the other green, for decision of position in the second round. Green won, and differed his choice, giving it to me. I chose to go bottom, knowing his best moves from that position and how to avoid them. The ref blew his whistle once more, and we began anew. I instantly stood up, but he saw that coming, and slammed me straight back to the floor. Building my way back up, I sat out to the side, but he followed me around, giving no ground. I tried to stand up once more, and then I realized my mistake. I left my head too close to my knee, and he realized it too. Instantly, he snatched it up, cross-faced me extremely hard, and put me into a cradle, straight on my back. I kicked and kicked, peeling his hand apart, but there was no breaking that hold, the hold that sealed my fate. The whistle blew once more, and I knew it was over. I had been pinned.
I shook his hand once more, and then his coach’s. I walked off the mat furious at myself, and went outside to cry, broken over the defeat. That’s when I decided this loss doesn’t matter, and pulled myself together. I would face him again somewhere soon, undoubtedly, and get my revenge.  “What is one loss? This kid better be scared, because next time, I will be on the hunt. And I will not rest until I see my spoils won.”

18 comments:

  1. I found this piece extremely interesting. My brother was on the wrestling team for a season but got injured before I ever had a chance to watch him compete. So, ever since then I've always been curious to see what a wrestling match is like. I feel like your submission not only gave me a better comprehension of a match, but also allowed me to view it from the mindset of a competitor. Well done!! I hope you beat your opponent in the future.
    -Christina Tapia

    ReplyDelete
  2. Although I have no clue how wrestling works, through your descriptive language and lively details, I can feel that this is a intense match. Even though you lost the match, you've done what all athletes should do and showed sportsmanship to your opponent. In the end, you are right; there will be a next time, and by then, you will have improved and will have a chance for a rematch. Great story!

    Hsing Chang

    ReplyDelete
  3. The entire time I was reading I was glued to the screen. The sport of wrestling has always interested me; from the techniques used to pin someone and the vigorous nature of the sport. I have only been to one wrestling match in my high school career, but that one time showcased a great match which I still remembered til this day. From my experience I could picture the entire match that you described. The use of imagery help further create a picture of the match. Although you lost in the end you showed good sportsmanship and you kept your head up, ready for the next match. Great story.

    ReplyDelete
  4. First of all I just wanted to say your an extremely great wrestler Ryan. I've seen you wrestle a couple of times when I went to some of the school's wrestling matches. You have great stamina and I can relate to your story because I did the same thing but in softball. I watch the pitcher and see her strengths and weaknesses before I go up to bat. I like the way you described what was going on because it felt like I was there watching you and your opponent wrestle.

    ReplyDelete
  5. When I hear wrestling I first think of the fake stuff that comes on TV but wrestling like this seems to be very intense and I would want to go to a wrestling match because one good thing is that these matches and are not fake so I will like it a lot better. You had a great use of imagery to create a picture of the match. Great Job.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow I have no idea what just occurred in this story because I am athletically illiterate but you really made this easy to keep up with. Even though I wasn't familiar with all the wrestling terms, I could definitely still get a sense of the emotions that you felt and the urgency of the situation. Life is one match after another and you're always the one that tells me this, but you win some you lose some!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your conclusion to your story was inspirational and slightly disturbing (in a good way!) The title was interesting to me because I initially thought the story was going to consist of a man literally hunting down an animal. I enjoyed how you embedded the expression to present the motivation and perseverance of speaker but also in the audience as well. Kudos Ryan :)
    -Hennessy Verduzco

    ReplyDelete
  8. This was entertaining all the way through, and your description of each event taking place kept me wanting to read more. You kept the audience involved in each aspect of the story through the first-person emotional response towards each move during the wrestling match. The motivational conclusion was a great way to convey the positive message of your story. Overall, great job.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The detail in your writing made it seem as if it was actually watching it. Really nice job. The small pep talk before your match and the emotions at the end of the story was easy to relate to.
    - Oscar Salazar

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dang Ryan so intense! I can actually feel the intensity. You used good imagery and good details. Good job Ryan! Beat that guy up next time! Oh and nice saying at the end!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I really like this entry. I have no idea really of how wrestling works. In this short narrative, you have managed to give me more insight than by just watching a match. The underlying message of this piece is inspirational. We cannot allow are losses to detriment our future possibilities of success. Nice job.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This was great Ryan. It dropped me right into the action. I never realized you were this much of a badass. the details in the story were great and really got my blood pumping.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Christofer guerreroApril 7, 2014 at 3:39 PM

    This work was very interesting in the fact that it was inspirational by the guy knowing that he would not give up and was determined to win the next time they battled.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I like this piece because it is very detailed and has a great lesson to never give up. It teaches the readers to keep moving forward and learn from your mistakes.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great Job Ryan! I really enjoyed reading your piece I hope its real because that would make it that much more intense. I like that as the story went on you kept building on to the frustration in the tone making the character's (or your) ambition to win stronger. If this story is real, im sure you will get a second chance at him and whatever happens I'm rooting for ya!! :D
    -Lucia Gonzalez

    ReplyDelete
  16. great that you built your confidence up and didn't give up. good job
    -Alyssa R
    period 2

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hey Ryan! It was really fun getting to read about a match you had in wrestling like you were hunting. Your descriptive details throughout the piece almost made me feel like I was an actual spectator at this event. Wonderful writing! Thank you for sharing.
    Jack McDonald
    Per. 4

    ReplyDelete
  18. I could feel the intensity of the match throughout the story and can relate to the feelings during a match or game after a tough loss. The last line truly can relate to life as losing is an extra motivation to moving forward in sports and in life. Good job.
    -Cody Molla

    ReplyDelete

Remember, make your comment positive, supportive, and specific to the piece you're commenting on. No anonymous comments! :)