Breathe in and out is what is in my mind, I have to be as mentally stable as I can to beat the number two seed at this grueling tournament. Walking into the main gym where the mats are, I get an odd ambience because of all the wresters that walk past me with a serious face on them like they can't let their guard up at all times during this event. I peruse to the left corner of my eye and witness a wrestler puking his guts out after an exhausting and exhilarating match he had to bear through. I glance to my right and spot a wrestler with blood squirting out of eye panicking to stop the bleeding. It's as if time has sped up because with every whistle blown I become more and more anxious to have my name called up next to a mat and battle my way through a grueling six minute match. .
"Wechtuor Thuok is on deck on mat number four!" The awards table guy announces my name horribly as I begin to chuckle like any other wrestling event. .
"Aye, are you ready? Let's go, this is all you. It's your match," my coach says to me minutes before my first match. I look into my coaches eyes and I notice is shear confidence that I'm going to go out there and open a can of whoop butt. It's go time, this is what I've been training for in the offseason. I went into the gym and lifted for two to three hour six days a week when I didn't want to. The long nights of driving back from Minneapolis and St. Paul to find better partners to practice with was a necessity to improve my technique for my greater chance to have my hand raised after each time I step onto any wrestling. .
"Yes, I'm ready," I said. .
Walking onto the mat the whole time I'm staring down my opponent to psych him out. Wrestling is all about a mind game and those who can control themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually almost always undoubtedly win with ease. Well, to be honest if you could see through my thick masked mean mug, I was shaking from anxiety, I was thinking maybe this guy is actually way too good and I have no chance, and was praying to the man upstairs to not let me get embarrassed in front of the fans.