Wanting to win

Everyone wants to win, and nobody wants to lose. It may seem like the same concept both ways but really, it is quite different. Playing with the attitude of wanting to win is a whole other game than playing with the attitude of not wanting to lose or being scared of loss.

The sheer desire to win has proven itself over and over again on the playing field of every sport that it gives a huge advantage for whoever expresses it more. Playing with just the desire to win, just wanting it more gives a player or team a certain aura that can be seen from a spectator’s point of view, and the opponent’s. They play without fear, they do their own thing and set their own tempo. The confidence is pouring out of their ears as they try new things or really difficult but rewarding moves or actions or plays. They celebrate hard instead of acting like it is an everyday thing to win or score. The desire to win is one of the main reasons an underdog team can upset the big guns.

Playing while not wanting to lose or scared to lose is detrimental and WILL always end up terribly. In sports, playing like this leads to playing it safe, and being dull. It is like someone took the fight out of the team or player. They play with very low intensity, and only do what they know how to do best. While sports are dynamic and require change, just doing one or two things to reach a score or stay in the lead can never work out well. These people tense up most of the time and can’t even do their main actions or plays. Plus, once their opponents get in the lead or disrupt their mental state, they lose it mentally and it just all snowballs downhill from there. Playing not to lose will almost always, from my experience playing and watching, result in loss.

My personal experience comes fro, 2016 fencing u20 World Championships in France. I felt like I can perform very well and make a good result. I put an expectation on myself when in hind sight, I should have fenced with no expectation or pressure. I got in pool rounds and I froze. I was static, and I couldn’t think about anything else except for not losing. There were fencers in my pool I beat badly before in previous tournaments. Other fencers I thought to myself have no chance in beating me when I fence normally. Unfortunately, I lost all but one bout and was eliminated before the direct elimination rounds even started. It is definitely something I will never forget, but it is also a lesson well learned. The next day in the team events, I fenced the best out of my team and scored the most amount of points while letting up the least. I led my team while I was the one who performed the worst individually.

In the round of 16 in the Champion’s league, Barcelona and PSG were playing and Barca, being heavy favorites to win virtually everything, traveled away to Paris. The Parisians, knowing the full extent of Barca’s strength, played their hearts out with nothing to lose. They won 4-0 at home. A score that in most cases seals the deal going forth into the second game at at the other stadium. When it came time to play the second game in Barcelona territory, everything changed. Barca played the game with no pressure, having being already down 4 goals. Paris saw the light at the end of the tunnel and tried playing it safe. Barcelona thrashed them 6-1 to advance with an aggregate score of 6-5 over the two games. The greatest comeback in European football (soccer) history. Just a week later, in league play, Barcelona did the same thing PSG did against them, but against a weaker Spanish team and lost 2-1.

Everybody is capable of winning, no matter what people say the odds or, or who’s a stronger player or team. The desire to win is just as important as those technical skills. It is what allows the upsets to happen, and is the main trait in consistent teams and players that look to the first place spot. I hope this post changes your perspective on sports a little and maybe helps you find closure to the money you lost betting on the Falcons to win the Superbowl after the second half.

Thanks for reading,

Mohamed

Bouncing Back

All athletes have experienced some sort of loss in their athletic careers. Some of these losses, being extremely heartbreaking, dramatic, or real huge confidence blowers. The feeling of losing something in your respective field is never a good feeling, no matter how well you played, or how close you came to winning. How does one bounce back?

Huge losses are always tough. I remember two years ago, I traveled all the way to France to compete in a Junior (U20) world cup and I lost to a frenchman 15-1. I have never lost that badly in my life since I was 13 years of age. I felt like I waste both my time, and my opponent’s time. I couldn’t look at my dad at the time because I had just performed as poorly as one could have. When I took off my fencing clothes, I looked down at my equipment and thought to myself, ” I never want to fence again.” The entire time I was packing my bag, getting ready to go back to hotel, I was doubting myself, telling myself I am not good enough to compete at this level. I was putting myself down and the worst part is that I believed everything I was telling myself.

After getting home in the States, I missed practice for a few days straight, not feeling the desire to return like I usually do after coming home from competitions. Eventually, I got over it and came back to practice, not feeling the greatest, but I knew I had to come back. I knew I had to practice and I realized it was not the end of the world. Still, the loss affected me pretty hard and it took a lot out of me to get over and it regain my confidence. To a fencer, losing your confidence is as bad as a soccer player losing a leg, there is no team to depend on, just yourself.

At the next tournament a few weeks later, a smaller tournament, something domestic here in the United States. I was shaky. The tournament in France still lurking in the back of my brain. I felt it on the strip as well. My actions were tense, as if I was trying too hard to not mess up. My reactions were basically overreactions, completely unnecessary. My childhood best friend, practically brother who started fencing with me on the same day comes up to me and tells me to “man up” but in his own vulgar way that will not be repeated. He knows me better than anyone and told me to forget what happened earlier and that it’s in the past. I was able to fence a lot better for the rest of the day and actually produced a solid result. A result that brought back some confidence in me, and I needed it.

Thanks for reading,

Mohamed.

Long Beach, California Grand Prix

This past weekend, I participated in my first ever Grand Prix. An exclusive tournament in which countries send their best 8 fencers to compete for the title. I was selected by my home country, Egypt, to represent.

The week just before this tournament, I competed in the regional qualifiers in Lafayette, PA in order to qualify for NCAA championships. I got way into my head and performed awfully to say the least. It was not the confidence booster I needed before competing against people who fence professionally, including world champions, Olympic Champions, and countless other world class fencers. Nevertheless, I was determined to do my best regardless of what happened prior to the competition.

The competition consisted of 139 fencers. The top 16 fencers are excused from preliminary pools. This means that 123 people are separated into pools of 7 fencers and they fence a round robin, 5 touch bouts with every fencer in the pool. To make it out of pools, a fencer must win at least 2 bouts, 3 to be safe to avoid elimination from the pool rounds. Then, direct elimination are fenced until only 48 fencers out of the 123 remain who get to be thrown in with the top 16 to make a complete bracket of 64 to fence the second day. Such few slots make the tournament an absolute bloodbath. Everyone is fighting. In my pool, I had a fencer from Cyprus, an American, Canadian, Guatemalan, Japanese, and Italian Olympic and World Champion, Andrea Baldini. I fenced my best and walked away with 4 victories and 2 defeats, including a victory against my idol, Baldini. I was ecstatic. This means I had to fence a direct elimination bout to 15 in order to qualify for the second day. However in this tournament, no matter how well you do in pool, every match is hard.

My draw in order to Qualify for the second round was against an Irishman. I knew of him and he is a very good fencer who fences very unorthodox. I was focused and ready to go, but I had to wait an hour for the first flight of bouts to finish before I can get on strip and fence. I was extremely nervous. The atmosphere of the competition is quite unique; cameras everywhere, important people in suits, and fencers I used to watch when I was younger, idolizing and learning from them. When it came time to fence, I got out there and put it all on the line. I ended up winning a tough match 15-8. I was one of 48 fencers to qualify for the second day. The fencer who fenced and won regionals from Princeton a week before was eliminated from pools, earning 0/6 possible victories.

At the end of the day, I checked online who I would be fencing on Saturday in the round of 64. It was a fencer from Hong Kong an Olympian, Asian Champion, and he is currently ranked 13th in the world. I don’t care much for all that because in the end, 15 touches have to be scored. Nothing is impossible.

The next day, I went through my routine and warmed up normally and got ready until I was called to the strip. All bouts were recorded on camera so I had to wait for my turn, which felt like an eternity. At last, we were called and we were escorted to the strip by our referee and the volunteers who carried our equipment for us. I felt so cool. The match started and it was very intense and I actually kept it quite close, almost always within two points. The margin of error when fencing these fencers is so small, for every mistake is capitalized upon. I was handed 2 harsh red cards, which resulted in two free points for my opponent. One of them, I actually scored and saw my point annulled and given to him. I lost 15-10, a very respectable score, giving him a run for his money in the process. I felt as if I was not far away from the victory. It gave me a boost of confidence, reassuring me that the result of regionals was not an indicator of my level. I hope to meet this fencer again because I want to beat him, because I know I can do it. I finished 52nd, having lost in the 64s, out of 139. Not bad, considering that most of these people get paid to fence.

Thanks for reading,

Mohamed

This Week’s Champions League

The Champion’s League is THE competition to win among Europe’s elite football clubs. Winning it means you are a true force to be reckoned with and brings extreme prestige to the club. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we witnessed some very exciting first leg fixtures in the round of 16 of this year’s competition.

The first game I watched was between PSG (France) and FC Barcelona (Spain). With Barca being heavy favorites to win the game and arguably the whole competition, PSG went in with nothing to lose in their home stadium. The world was shocked at the final outcome. The Parisian side went on to stun the 2014 treble winners with an embarrassing scoreline of 4-0 with stunning strikes from outside the box from Angel Di Maria, a nice near-post finish from Edinson Cavani, and a well placed weak-footed strike from newcomer Julian Draxler. PSG had a new teenage signing playing in the heart of defense who basically took Lionel Messi and Neymar, and shoved them in his pocket. He was everywhere they were and they did not keep the ball long at all around him. PSG played with great intensity throughout the entire match and deserved this win. They travel to the Nou Camp, Barca’s home stadium with a 4-0 aggregate score in their favor. Will the Parisians complete their upset, or will the Catalan giants come up with the comeback of the year?

Arsenal and Bayern Munich also played this week. Throughout the past couple years, these two teams have gone head to head so many times with the German team knocking out the English side every stinking time. This time, Bayern went up 1-0 from a fantastic shot from outside the box from Arjen Robben, but it did not last long for Alexis Sanchez equalized from a follow up from a missed penalty against Manuel Neuer, the best goalie in the world at the moment. Bayern, playing at home, with their fans cheering were able to put 4 more goals in the second half against Arsenal and walk away with a 5-1 aggregate score to take to the Emirates where the leg will be decided almost 99 percent in the German’s favor. The Gunners have yet to find their top form in the Champion’s league and this looks to be another disappointing exit for Arsene Wenger’s men.

Real Madrid, and Napoli (Italy) played an exciting game at the Spanish capital on Wednesday. Former Madrid player Jose Callejon returned to the club he used to play for the other team this time. In the 8th minute, Napoli striker, Insigne produced a clever shot to catch the Madrid goalkeeper out of position to put the Naples side up 1-0. Madrid however, were not to be stunned in their home ground with 80,000 fans watching. Maintaining possession of the ball and pressing hard when they did not have it was how Madrid controlled the rest of the game. Exquisite passing and good runs meant the chances were piling up for Madrid, all they had to do was finish. Karim Benzema did just that by heading home an absolute beauty from a cross from Dani Carvajal in the 18th minute. Later in the second half, thanks to some fancy footwork from Cristiano Ronaldo, who was able to beat his man and pass to Toni Kroos who passed the ball, not shot, into the back of the net from just outside the box, put Madrid up 2-1. Just minutes later, the ball bounced up outside the box from a deflection and Casemiro did not hesitate in smashing the volley and ripping the ball past the goalkeeper, an absolute howitzer of a shot. The stadium and myself erupted with continuous screaming and yelling. Madrid now hold a comfortable 2 goal advantage over Napoli and should not have a difficult time in my opinion closing out the leg in Italy in a matter of weeks.

 

Thanks for reading! Make sure you catch the second half of these games in a couple weeks. Also next Tuesday and Wednesday the other half of the 16s will play at 2:45pm Eastern Time.

Mohamed

REAL MADRID.

As an avid fan of football, the one actually played with the feet, I of course have a favorite team. Real Madrid. The team of superstars based in the Spanish capital. A team known for fostering some of the game’s greatest players in history and currently holds some of the world’s best players. The success of the club attracts players to try to join the team and fight for one of the 11 starting spots. My favorite player, Cristiano Ronaldo plays for Real Madrid.

Recently, Real Madrid had their record breaking 39 game unbeaten streak broken by Sevilla in the league thanks to an own goal. As sad as I was about it, I was aware that all good things come to an end. The team managed this impressive feat in the absence of Gareth Bale, the most expensive signing for Real Madrid in their entire history from Tottenham Hotspur for 100 million Euros. Also, the team missed key players like defender Pepe, midfielder Luka Modric, arguably the best in the world, and qulality fullbaks in Marcelo and Dani Carvajal. In my opinon, if these players weren’t injured and were playing, nobody would touch Real Madrid. Zidane, the team’s manager and former player, (the one with the famous headbutt in the world cup) has done a wonderful job in managing and coaching the players over the past year. He has such a difficult job, managing the egos of such talented players in the locker room and making them all play as a collective unit, and not some hot headed ball hogs.

The recent loss in the Spanish cup quarter finals meant that the team can no longer win the treble. That is winning the league in your respective country league, the the league itself, and the Champion’s League, a tournament comprised of the top 4 teams to finish in the league for the previous year. Real Madrid are currently first in the Spanish league ahead of rivals Barcelona, and are through in the 16s in the Champion’s League. They will face Napoli, a relatively easier draw in the 16s, so I am extremely optimistic. However, if Zidane starts Danilo as right back one more time, I will fly to Spain myself and head butt him myself. Back to back awful performances had the team carrying his weight, for any goal the opposition scores, comes from the right side, Danilo’s side. He was even the one to score the own goal that ended up knocking us out of the league tournament. RIP.

Cristiano Ronaldo recently turned 32 on February 5th. Yes he is getting older, and slower, but he is still performing at a level most professionals can only dream of achieving. He adapted his playstyle to fit his decreasing speed and effectiveness on the ball. Don’t get me wrong, he is still incredibly fast. Just not as fast as he used to be. On FIFA, he has over 90 speed ;). He still has the power, heading, and ability to recognize where he needs to be at the right time, which is arguably the best part of his game. He is nicknamed “the dark invader” by a commentator because somehow he always appears in the right place at the right time after losing the man marking him. Truly the #goat.

Excuse my long rant about this soccer team but I am very passionate about Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo. I have a giant poster of him in my room and I have yet to miss a game for this season. Even if it means watching in between rounds at a fencing World Cup. Talk about staying focused.

Thanks for reading, if you stuck through with it.

Mohamed.

Messi Vs. Ronaldo

Over the past 8 years or so, the debate between soccer fans regardless of what team they supported has been: who is the better player? Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Of course it all comes down to pure opinion and it is completely subjective of course. My opinion is that we all as soccer fans stop arguing and comparing stats and just be thankful that we are alive during this time to witness possibly the greatest players of all time play what is known around the world as “the beautiful game.”

Cristiano Ronaldo. You have probably heard the name before. Nike’s golden boy, the most followed athlete on social media, star striker for Real Madrid, and even the most charitable athlete on the planet. Enough of that, lets talk soccer. On the field, Ronaldo possesses many attributes that terrorizes defenders. Ronaldo is one of the world’s best skillers, doing tricks with the ball that players would only try on the training pitch. His speed on and off the ball makes defenders think twice before committing to a tackle, and his ability to take on defenders one on one is one of the best on the planet. Cristiano can hit the net in many different ways. His vertical jump is higher than the average NBA player, making him a viable threat in the air. Although he is primarily right footed, he has a rare ability of being able to use both his feet to unleash powerful and accurate shots. Not to mention his free kick or dead ball ability right outside the box. He can shoot from close, from far, and from tight angles to put the ball past the keeper. If he isn’t scoring, he is assisting. Ronaldo’s position is a winger, meaning he provides width on the field and plays on the side, where there is more space to run. He uses his speed often to get open and delivers accurate crosses in the box to assist his teammates. Ronaldo’s current market value is well over 120 million euros.

Lionel Messi. Often called, “the little man” by commentators. Messi does suffer from dwarfism that he had to take medicine for if anyone was wondering. What Messi does with the ball is breathtaking. He is considered the best dribbler in the world. However, he does lack the height, power, versatility, and the ability to use both feet like Ronaldo. So how does he even compare? Messi is a playmaker. He can single footedly run the field and control a whole game despite there being 21 other players on the field. He has incredible vision, allowing him to see runs and he has the ability to drop the ball in the correct spot with the accuracy close to dropping a pint of beer in a glass cup. On most days, he can dribble past anyone and go through on goal himself. His amazing ball control is truly unique and unlike anyone has ever seen before in the world of soccer. He, unlike Ronaldo is unselfish in the game giving more assists and passing more than he shoots, making him in my opinion a more useful player.

I have been and always will be on the Ronaldo side of the table simply because of how many different ways he can score goals. He is, proven by numbers, the greatest goalscorer of the past several generations. Nobody can do it like him. And in terms of flashy goals that capture the attention of the world and all Top 10 shows out there, he is number one. At 32 years of age, people are saying he lost his touch, he is no longer lethal like he used to be. However, he always proves them wrong, having scored at least 50 goals in the last 7 straight seasons. A feat nobody in the world in any generation has mustered up.

Thanks for reading,

Mohamed.

Ego

Richard Sherman,a defensive player for the Seattle Seahawks, believes he is the best player for his respective position. He, like some other star athletes have a huge ego. Kobe Bryant puts his heart on his sleeves, however and plays like he has a big ego, giving birth to many ball hogging memes across the internet. But the question to keep in mind is, how did these players develop that huge ego? Are they as good as they think they are?

Kobe Bryant, when he played with the #8 jersey, was an animal. He played like he had everything to prove. Compared to post-championship Kobe and all the sport center hype, he played like he made it. He played a little more conservatively. Not always going for the spectacular. Maybe not diving for the loose ball that is out of reach a bit. Richard Sherman however, still plays like he wants to prove to everyone that he is the best. He still talks about himself like Ali did when he boxed. Why? Because he makes extremely clutch and important plays. When your whole team and stadium praises you, when you know you single handedly saved a game, you feel like you are on top of the world. In sports like basketball, football, and soccer, a player having a huge ego can be annoying, but not overly detrimental to how the team performs.

In fencing, the worst thing someone can do is develop a huge ego that extends outwards and affects how they perform. Having this ego can cause you to underestimate your opponent, and not having any team mates to fall back on will always end up that all the backlash is directed to you and you only. Thinking that you will get the guaranteed victory only makes you fence with your body, because your mind is off elsewhere and not where it needs to be. Its very destructive. I know how this is because I went through a phase where I got a lot of good results so I expected myself to get the same results over and over again. I stooped down to my opponents levels by not trying as hard and that only made it easier for them to come back and beat me. I blamed it on bad luck, bad bout, missing, everything but myself. It was not until I got a really bad result that I was forced to sit there and finally accept my flaws. After that, I became more consistent, more assertive, if I knew I was better, I would fence like I wasn’t. Always keep humble, and always play like there is something on the line.

Friend or Foe

In the world of sports, it is inevitable that competitors will form friendships with each other off the competitive field (for the most part). In sports like basketball, soccer, and fencing, athletes actually hang out together and have a fun time. However, once the athletes step into the field of play, their friendships are flipped upside down.

To have friends is perfectly okay. However when competing against people you have friendships with, you must learn to move past all the nice fluffy stuff and treat them like your worst enemy, fairly. I don’t mean rash slide tackles and technical fouls all over the place, but the part of you that wants the best for your friends has to be bypassed. Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo are team mates at Real Madrid and are considered tight-knit best friends. However they play for their own separate national teams. In one match, they almost got into a fight that had to be broken up. They, as professionals understand that when it time to compete, there is no time for friendships because it makes you weaker as a competitor. freinds foes

In MMA, boxing, or any martial arts, friends in the same field can rarely be made at all. Conor Mcgregor as everyone can see, treats his opponents like dirt in and out of the octagon. This is due to the nature of MMA. In the sport, one has to basically knock out their opponent to achieve an undisputed win. This means you have to look at them as someone who wants to hurt you badly and you want hurt just as bad or even worse. You almost have to hype yourself up to hate the other person so that when you step into the ring or fighting arena, you have no speck of hope for your opponent. Conor Mcgregor terrorizes his opponents on twitter, in meetings, and his own interviews. He is so bad that he got fined 125k for throwing water bottles at his opponents in a press conference. He later tweeted, ” I get fined more than these bums get paid”. Its fantastic.

Fencing is a totally different story. Since I was 10, I have been fencing against the same people that I still compete against. We built up friendships for nine years now. We go out together, party together, and even go to different countries together for tournaments. So what happens when a national tournament comes around and I find myself on the strip against someone I have countless positive memories with? Someone I treat as a brother. The important preparation is before. I have to ignore that they exist, block my friendship. Treat them as I would treat some random other fencer or even one that I dislike. If the referee makes a mistake in my favor, I will be happy, not ashamed. If their equipment malfunctions, I will not provide mine for them to borrow. I will yell be happy for every point that I get. I will try to get in their head, make them unconformable and treat them like my enemy. However, when all is set and done, I won’t shake hands with them like the rules say to, I will embrace them as our friendship returns mutually, win or lose.

The competitive field of play to athletes is a completely different world, physically and mentally. However to make your presence felt physically to your opponents, every athlete must control and master their mental game first.

 

Momentum

If you ever sprinted as fast as you can, you know that to stop, you have to slow down first, otherwise your momentum will cause you to face plant and eat it. In sports, when a team or someone gets some momentum on their side, they are almost impossible to stop.

Real Madrid, winners of the Champions League in 2016 found themselves down 2-0 on aggregate to Wolfsburg in the round of 16. Real Madrid would need a miracle to overcome the deficit and win the game. They managed to score in the first 20 minutes, twice. After their goal, Wolfsburg couldn’t touch the ball or get a shot in goal. They can only watch in horror as wave after wave or relentless attacks came down upon them from the would be European Champions. Real Madrid would score again and win 3-2 on aggregate and move on in the tournament. Momentum on a team is a collective thing. Every player can feel it and it causes them to play much harder, sharper, and smarter. There is a sense of urgency to keep going and when a team feels like they can do it, when they feel as if they are making progress, they go harder.

Momentum in fencing is a beautiful thing to witness. I was down 12-3 once in a match and a bout goes to 15 touches. I thought to myself, “Wow its basically over, he needs only 3 more touches to my 12 to win.” My coach left me to lose to go focus on other fencers of his that were still going. I managed to grab a few consecutive consolation points that got me a little pumped up. I started to push harder and try new things that ended up working and I had a new game plan. The comeback was on. I was scoring touches everywhere in every way possible. My opponent was panicking, which only made things easier for me. I caught up to 13-13 and by then, there was no stopping me. I ended up winning the match 15-13 and my coach came back to find me victorious and we were both ecstatic. Momentum can be felt within the athlete. It is really hard to describe the feeling, but if you watch sports or play one, you know which side the momentum is on.

Just for fun. Momentum exists in video games. I SWEAR. Whenever I play FIFA online, the sense of momentum is there usually in the form of a comeback against me and I hate it. My opponent always has the ball and seems like he/she will always score. I desperately hang on to my lead some of the time but sometimes I just crumble and fall.

Thanks for reading,

PS. I love FIFA I had to throw that last paragraph in there.

Mohamed

Should’ve Could’ve Would’ve

You’ve probably had someone in your life tell you to live life with no regrets, that we make good and bad decisions and to dwell over our bad ones is counterproductive and will only cause more pain. However, in the world of sports, athletes will regret many decisions they make and that might haunt them for a long time.

In soccer, many decisions are made on the spot. When facing an attacker in the box, the defender does not pause and think about whether or not they try to contain or slide tackle the opponent. They make decisions on the go, its a very fluid system of decision making. However, if the wrong decision is made and a penalty is awarded, the defender will immediately regret their decision and feel as if they have let the team down. Same thing on the other side. If the attacker is faced with choices like to pass or to shoot, they need to make a decision. If they shoot instead of pass and miss their shot, they will be held responsible for a potential goal they could have had. This is important because these decisions will stay with the player for the rest of the game. They regret their decision and that ultimately affects how they see out the rest of the match. Maybe the defender will contain next time they are supposed to slide tackle, maybe the attacker will pass next time when they’re really supposed to shoot. It gets in their head and they lose self confidence.

In fencing, some decisions are split second, and some decisions have some time to spare for consideration. Split second decisions are made in action, obviously while other thought out decisions are made when opponents are farther away from each other or prior to the referee signaling the fencers to fence. Since fencing is an individual sport people are usually their own largest critic’s, fencers bear all the blame when it comes to bad decisions. One bad decision can alter a bout and swing the pendulum to the other side. If the score is 13-12 (bouts are to 15) and the losing fencer takes a risk, and it doesn’t work out, they not only gave their opponent their 14th point, they missed on tying the bout, gaining confidence, disturbing their opponent’s mental game, and a plethora of other aspects of a fencing bout. Then the fencer is expected to get on the line and be 2 points down and try to get their head straight and make a comeback.

Letting go of mistakes in in sports is one of the hardest things I have had to learn in my life. I learned that you must forget and let go in the moment, but afterwards, the decision will haunt you. In my most recent tournament, I chose to use a weapon that was a bit faulty, but it was my favorite one, so I took a risk. When it came to the most vital point, at 14-14, my weapon did not work and I consequently lost the match due to my weapon failure. I was devastated and in shock. I spent the rest of that week pondering my decision. Looking at what I could have achieved in the tournament by looking at who my next opponent WOULD have been. That made me think about what I COULD have and SHOULD have done, which is maybe fix the weapon, use the other weapons I had, or even borrow one from a friend. I still think about that day, I still remember vividly the moment my weapon failed and how my opponent was not only surprised, but ecstatic by my misfortune, and my friends and teammates’ faces prior to my opponent scoring the 15th point to knock me out of the tournament very early. However, I have to move on, and learn. I have to move on and get my head in the game for the next competition.

Thanks for reading,

Mohamed