Merryprankster
10-14-2004, 09:06 PM
Hello to a good chunk of the forum.
Haven't posted anything substantive in a long while - since August I think - except for a couple of political threads, because it's that time of year and I can't help myself on that stuff, but anyhoo....
My shoulder is almost back to completely normal - the things we can do with surgery these days is truly incredible. People who warn you off surgery are full of it. Just find somebody good who clearly knows what they are doing, and if you need it, get it. I jumped at the chance to get cut - it was the difference between getting to do what I wanted and not getting to to what I wanted.
I'm not sure when I'll make my post surgery competition debut. I'm still focused on getting back in shape right now and refining some of the timing I've lost. It was a bummer not going to NAGA Nationals this year - I had to give up my 4-year winning streak, but thems the breaks.
You know, it's funny. I was thinking the other day about competing and what it means and I remember being on here and arguing about just what competition MEANS - what the driving forces are, etc. I used to get fairly annoyed about the garbage that was posted about how it's all just a big ego trip, etc. You can present reasoned arguments about how it isn't, but people still get their panties in a wad over it. Because even if you don't see much value in competition (and that's a legitimate stance), it is clearly not legitimate to phrase it in terms of "people just like to win medals etc," for the most part. Of course, you get isolated bullies, but they always make sure to sandbag and find lousy competition so they can feel good about themselves. These are the same jerks that find the new guy in class and go beat on him, while assiduously avoiding anybody that might beat them. They exist no matter where you go and don't need a competition to get their kicks.
THAT's ego, without a doubt, but most competitors are genuinely not like that, because after you get your ass handed to you enough, that tends to reduce your enthusiasm if it's just based on ego building.
So I thought about it a little, and then I realized that being a competitor is like being a writer. There are lots of people that can write out there, but there are very few writers by comparison. What I mean by that is that writers are almost compelled to put their pen to paper and create. Authors write way past their prime, even when they have nothing to say, because it's just who they are. Hell, they may not even be very good - I had an ex-girlfriend that couldn't write poetry for ****, but she kept doing it anyway. Filled up books of the stuff and made me listen. Ugh.
Painters paint, dancers dance, singers sing, etc. They may not have a statement to make or even a goal in mind, or even talent, it's just what they do.
So it is with competition. Competitors just compete. It's part of their make-up. It's not about ego trips or beating somebody or a shiny new medal. It's just something about competing that they like. Lots of people compete, but some people are competitors. I know I am. The idea of retiring from competition after my injury seemed pretty common sense to a lot of people I talked to, but it only ever crossed my mind for a moment, and then only in the form of "well, if I can't physically do this, then..." It's like an itch. Sometimes the urge goes away for awhile, but it always comes back. I suspect I'll be 60 and dragging my slow, crippled ass to the mat for one more go-round in the old geezer division.
Cheers all. Good luck.
Haven't posted anything substantive in a long while - since August I think - except for a couple of political threads, because it's that time of year and I can't help myself on that stuff, but anyhoo....
My shoulder is almost back to completely normal - the things we can do with surgery these days is truly incredible. People who warn you off surgery are full of it. Just find somebody good who clearly knows what they are doing, and if you need it, get it. I jumped at the chance to get cut - it was the difference between getting to do what I wanted and not getting to to what I wanted.
I'm not sure when I'll make my post surgery competition debut. I'm still focused on getting back in shape right now and refining some of the timing I've lost. It was a bummer not going to NAGA Nationals this year - I had to give up my 4-year winning streak, but thems the breaks.
You know, it's funny. I was thinking the other day about competing and what it means and I remember being on here and arguing about just what competition MEANS - what the driving forces are, etc. I used to get fairly annoyed about the garbage that was posted about how it's all just a big ego trip, etc. You can present reasoned arguments about how it isn't, but people still get their panties in a wad over it. Because even if you don't see much value in competition (and that's a legitimate stance), it is clearly not legitimate to phrase it in terms of "people just like to win medals etc," for the most part. Of course, you get isolated bullies, but they always make sure to sandbag and find lousy competition so they can feel good about themselves. These are the same jerks that find the new guy in class and go beat on him, while assiduously avoiding anybody that might beat them. They exist no matter where you go and don't need a competition to get their kicks.
THAT's ego, without a doubt, but most competitors are genuinely not like that, because after you get your ass handed to you enough, that tends to reduce your enthusiasm if it's just based on ego building.
So I thought about it a little, and then I realized that being a competitor is like being a writer. There are lots of people that can write out there, but there are very few writers by comparison. What I mean by that is that writers are almost compelled to put their pen to paper and create. Authors write way past their prime, even when they have nothing to say, because it's just who they are. Hell, they may not even be very good - I had an ex-girlfriend that couldn't write poetry for ****, but she kept doing it anyway. Filled up books of the stuff and made me listen. Ugh.
Painters paint, dancers dance, singers sing, etc. They may not have a statement to make or even a goal in mind, or even talent, it's just what they do.
So it is with competition. Competitors just compete. It's part of their make-up. It's not about ego trips or beating somebody or a shiny new medal. It's just something about competing that they like. Lots of people compete, but some people are competitors. I know I am. The idea of retiring from competition after my injury seemed pretty common sense to a lot of people I talked to, but it only ever crossed my mind for a moment, and then only in the form of "well, if I can't physically do this, then..." It's like an itch. Sometimes the urge goes away for awhile, but it always comes back. I suspect I'll be 60 and dragging my slow, crippled ass to the mat for one more go-round in the old geezer division.
Cheers all. Good luck.