Chronicles of an Underdog

Underdog, harsh and sometimes cruel word, or so it seems. If you, yourself are an underdog, in any part
of life, love, sports, job, it can be a great place, as bad as the underdog sounds as a term , it has many
positive sides to it, beeing an underdog, means majority or sometimes no one, belives you can do what
you say you will, or that you can not win in the competition or the task that is in front of you. Also,
statistics and presumptions become your greatest enemies then. And you can chose to look at it as
preassure, and let it consume you, or you can say , nobady expects me to win, how great I would be if I
did, and think about it, the ones that are expected to win, the preassure is really on them, if there is no
preassure, there is a possibility of them underestimating you, wich is another great thing about it, I’d say
underdog is just a place people underestimate and do not pay enough attention to. And that’s exactly
where your chance is. Now, in my life, many, many times, I’ve been an underdog, sometimes I did put
myself in that position with negative thinking I used to do quite a lot :D , but sometimes I was put in that
position by others. Sometimes people want to kill your light, because it outshines theirs, they say that
you are not good enough, that your singing isn’t beautiful, that your art is mediocre, that you are not
running fast enough. Sometimes, they are right, but, keep in mind, people do not always speak the
truth , and I’ve come to realize that many times. So , as always in my Ted Talks, even tho I wouldn’t
exactly call this one a Ted Talk, I will be speaking about the events of my life. There will be a few, so enjoy
the ride.
 The Bronze Medal

When I was a kid, I was a professional Taekwondo fighter, Taekwondo is a competitive and Olympic sport
aside being a martial art, so, before the first competition I went on, my coach put in a lot of effort in
making me ready, I was training two times a day for 2 hours, I was hyped, I would get up in the morning,
eat, and then, blast out of the house to train, I loved every minute of it, we did the morning training out
on the open, beside a river where I lived at the time, I always say that the place where we were training
there, is for me the most beautiful place on the world, especialy in the autmn, there is a lot of trees, and
when the leaves turn yellow and start to fall, they make an unreal picture of nature, it’s not only a great
place to train, but it’s also calming as it is motivating, it feels like you have no care in the world, and
when you are running, doing push ups, sit ups, whatever, it feels wonderfull, for me it was just a perfect
place and a perfect time. So, after a 6 months, of running, kicking, being motivated, being convinced
that I am going to go there, step on that tatami ( The kind of floor Taekwondo fights take place ) , and
win, that I am going to take the gold, be an undisputed champion. Or so I tought. When we got there, I
couldn’t wait, I was doing warm ups , running around the place, while the coach told me, relax, it’s not as
easy as it looks, you are a great fighter, but it’s your first competition, there is time, just test yourself out
there. Finaly, after the bell rang, and when I steped on that tatami sure of my victory, I saw my opponent,
he was putting his mouthpiece, and he looked angry, he looked big, he looked scary, my hands went
down and I froze, I was trying to throw a punch but my legs wouldn’t work, I was trying to get my hands
up but my hands didn’t have any strength in them, my coach was talking to me, telling me what to do,
but I couldn’t hear nothing he was saying, like a flash, the fight was over, his hands were up, his friends
cheering, I looked up at the scoreboard it was 7 : 1 for him, I looked back at my coach, and his look was
telling , it’s alright, it’s going to be ok, but I didn’t really see that. I was crushed, mentaly, I was
embarrassed to tell my friends what happened, I lost the will to train, to fight, I tought that all of that
was for nothing, so, after the competition ended, the coach comes up to me and gives me a medal, he
said,’’ this is yours’’, and I looked at him, asking, ‘’Are you joking’’ he said, ‘’no, since you are in a pretty
rare weight category there were only 4 of you, and the other guy lost more convincing then you, so they
decided to give you the bronze medal’’ … I had a blank expression on my face, I was looking at that piece
of that metal, and it was empty, it didn’t mean anything, I was holding something that wasn’t mine, that
I didn’t deserve, that I didn’t win. So, on our way back, we stoped to streach the legs and buy some
snacks so we have food until we are back in our city. I got out of the car, and my friend was there, I
looked at the medal, and I was getting ready to throw it, I was mad , disappointed, and as soon as I said
that, and getting ready to swing with it as far as I could, my coach got furious , he looked at me, he took
the medal out of my hands and looked right into my eyes, I was almost scared of that look. He opened
his mouth, and started shouting. ‘’ You think you don’t deserve it, you are mad because you lost, you
think the medal is for nothing, ok, then, why did you get up every morning before school to run, sweat,
make bruises at the training, get injured, recover then do it again, why did you win so many times on
sparring, so it was your first competition, you froze, it was a completely new experience for you. Why did
you come to train in the afternoon when you could have said I am tired and just stay home, not try
harder . This medal, this medal right here, it isn’t for nothing, it’s all those months of sweat, and blood,
and trying hard, this medal is a lot heavier and meaningfull then you give it credit for, so don’t you dare
throw it, because I will kick your ass if you do, besides, I guarantee you, sometimes , in the future, you’ll
meet the same guy, and beat him, because you are better then him’’
I didn’t really realize all those words, I was yong at the time, but it was enough for myself to give me
another chance. Training after that it wasn’t as fun, it wasn’t as hyping up, now I had that fear, I had that
face in front of me, I had option for losing, you don’t know what a fight like that is until you step on that
tatami, but I tought, if I give up, that loss will hurt me for a long time, it will stick with me, but if I try
again, it will at least bring me closure, that I can give it all. So, in the next few months, due to poor state
of the club, we didn’t go on plenty competitions, I was sad, I could have fought him, and then, finally 6
months later, the coach booked me for a competition, and then, the night before I did the sparring, and
while I was sparring with my coach, I saw the face of the kid that beat me, I saw him smiling, charging at
me, and for a second, my hands froze, stayed in place, and then I heard my coach, ‘’Hands up, don’t
freeze on me now, u have to own him tomorrow, nobady expects you to, and that’s where your chance
is’’ And in that moment, it hit me, it is me that has nothing to lose , it is me that has no preassure, it is
me, that can surprise them all, it is me that has the biggest motivation to do it, all the other clubs have
money, competitions, more coaches, but a little dude, that has just battled out asthma and lives in a
suburbs of Nis, is going to had it to them, so I did what I normaly do at that time, I went full on cringe…
Listened to the eye of the tiger the whole trip to the competition, and then, since my fight wasn’t the
first, I had time to think , so I tought of the otucomes, I tought of losing, winning, but all the time, I didn’t
feel a trace of to back out, not a chance in hell, I was ready to go there and ‘’die’’ , and when the final
bell rang, coach knew that I didn’t need to be smarter , technical, he knew that I know all that, he just
said, look at him like you want to kill him, and hands up… And so it was, when he charged at me, instead
of freezing, I clenched my fist and hit his chest as hard as I can, and he fell behind him on his ass, the
look on his face was complete surprise, the friends of his stoped cheering, but I saw something else,
somebody else other then me feeling fear, in the movie words, I realized, he bleeds, so he got up,
charged at me and I stoped him with a combination of punches, the next few minutes I dominated the
fight, and after a few minutes, the bell rang, I was still holding my guard up, looking at him, wanting to
win so fuckin bad, and then my coach grabs my shoulder, and says ‘’Hey….hey, it’s over, you won, go
there and congradulate on a great fight’’ The feeling then was amazing, relief , gratitude, proudness, as I
walked back my friends were happy, but I didn’t really feel it or realize that, I was feeling something else,
I was feeling that I can do anything, that I can bounce back, that I can win even if the odds are against
me, that a helpless , insecure kid from the suburbs, can step into that ring, and beat champions, and
gues what happened, in the next 2 fights I won, and became the national champion… The underdog,
story from a kid from Nis, it became real, and I learned to never count me or anyone who’s chances are
low out, because when you are at the bottom, in any sense or way in your life, everything u get from that
point on, you will appreciate more, because you know how hard it is to achive it. Once u achive it, you
will know how to keep it, since you know it’s unlimited worth. In the next years, and kept my title, and I
retired, I retired because of an injury, but I retired as champion. Because I never lost what I fought so
hard to get. But me being a champion isn’t the point of this story, the point is that bronze medal, it never
was for nothing, even if you lose, it wasn’t all for nothing, as long as you give it your best, and be
satisfied with what you give, and that should never be nothing shorter then all. And to be able to give all,
you have to beat the greatest enemy in life, and that is yourself. So, when u fall down remember, that’s
when u are at your stronger, bcs you have all what it takes to win. In the words of Meredith Burgess in
Rocky 5 ,’’When you are down you will hear the words whispering in your ear….GET UP YOU SON OF A
BITCH, COSE MICKEY LOVES YA’’