DANCE WITH ME

Today I'm freaking tired of fighting.

AIM HIGH

The hardest thing, when all people around start to part from you.

RED NAILS

The only thing that won't get dirty when they're going to rip out your heart.

RAY OF LIGHT

Because often bounds are made of the subtlest matter.
Because sometimes will is the only obstacle to happiness.
Because I really hope her tiny foot will eventually cross the line.

STARTING GRID

1. Pre-season technical campus success - check
2. New awesomely smacking Nike Poomsae uniform - check
3. Innovative holistic training program - check
4. Hunger for victories - check
5. Very special supporter - check
6. Sunburnt chest that'll feel supreme wearing my (still awesomely smacking) dobok - check
7. Some serious asshole I'll be proving my mettle to - check
8. A kickass team - check
9. Plenty of tournaments ahead - check
10. Brand new camera replacing my 5 years veteran KIA Canon - coming soon!

BY FUCKING SUPERIORITY

It's been 11 years since my last fight. Preliminary round of a minor international tournament. I lost. Badly, against the guy who eventually got the Gold. That was my comeback fight after a very long stop. 3 years earlier I was supposed to bid my farewell to TKD because my back simply could not stand it anymore. So the mere fact I was treading the tatami again should feel like victory nonetheless. It didn't. Because a 5-0 defeat is defeat no matter the way you look at it. That said, I retained some pride for being still a fighter no matter what. In those days, the upper side of my head gear showed a quote I had taken the effort to paint together with my nickname from ever since I was a little boy. The quote read <<Rage, courage and tenacity against ill luck>>. I still was little more than a teenager, so I couldn't help being largely pathetic in the way I emotionally lived my sport.
Back to my tournament, the guy's victory was a sharp example of how life's promises of success can turn into the most vile lies, because a few months later he would die in a car accident. In the meantime, my long awaited comeback turned out to be a lie as well, as my joints would soon conspire to put a quick end to that illusive parenthesis. However, this marked the beginning of my career in Poomsae. Not necessarily a happy one, but at least a totally different story. Yeah stories. Not fairy tales. Painful stories; moving stories; very long stories; unbelievable stories. True sport is a huge compendium of these. And no fairy-tale is Carlo Molfetta's bio. Not everybody knows this wasn't his first Olympic participation. 8 years ago he was in Athens. He was a beast, maybe the best already. But in the preliminary round, Fate made him cross his path with a true legend in the making: Hadi Saei from Iran, then Gold Medallist in both Athens (-68Kg) and Beijing (-80Kg). Carlo underestimated his opponent and went down.
Later on, a 4 years wait would not be a sufficient punishment, as in 2008 Carlo's clinical ordeal had already begun. His knees underwent 4 distinct surgeries, keeping him far away from China. So, 3 more years had to pass before he could start a new adventure from scratch. But then again, his race to London began with a false start. He was immediately defeated 10-11 by the surprisingly on fire Gadzhi Umarov (RUS) at the first 2011 Qualification Olympic Tournament, the transparency of which was affected by the lack of electronic body protectors. Continental Qualifications told a totally different story, and Carlo easily stormed through the tournament gaining his pass for London. At the end of the day, he was wearing a T-shirt reading <<Sorry for being late>>. The rest, you already know, it's been a spectacular, breathtaking Olympic Tournament conquered in that August 11 that my Facebook status had already called "Molfetta's Day" the night before.
Since then, I've gone through the whole final match a dozen times, each time equally suffering and rejoicing. But the one thing that keeps giving me the shivers even when I'm not watching the fight, is the epic word that closed the match by judges' decision. Winner by SUPERIORITY. You see, it was no single hit; no lucky kick, not the score, not a barren digit to give him the Gold. He got it because he'd been <<superior>>. To his opponent, yeah, but the echoe of this word is too strong to be restricted to this. Carlo's been superior to every obstacle a lifelong road had put against him, triumphing only at the very end of it. So my mind cannot but going back to both my old helmet and those childish words I wrote with unsteady hand more than 15 years ago. Because what at the end of the road was but a crown of thorns to me, now it's telling the story of a true king.

(Headline photo: edited official Olympic broadcasting photogram)

FALSE START

It happens so many times. You're determined to get back in shape after Summer, and you find out your gym is still closed for vacation. You start the new season with skyrocketing goals, and you get injured on your first training session. You're out to dominate the competition, and you stumble during the very first round. You want to start off with a bang and you're out when the race has not started yet. False starts often mark the difference between expectations and reality, giving away the ephimeral fabric dreams are made of. So false, so true.

MIRROR MIRROR

Two things you definitely need if you want to excel in Poomsae, even if you're already a boss: a good trainer and a big mirror. As they see you from the outside, they both know your movements better than you do. But whereas your instructor can explain you where to improve, mirrors are very good at telling where you're wrong. You must be acknowledged that your perception of your own body is not accurate, altered as it is by your first person view and false certainties. Keep this in mind when you train, or at least before claiming you're <<the fairest of them all>>.

NOTE: in case your gym has no mirror, a compact camera and a small tripod will do the trick.

ZERO GRAVITY

Have you ever won an Olympic medal? Rohullah Nikpah (AFG) had. Once. Apparently, though, when he did it again this early August he suddenly felt remarkably lighter.

(Pre-editing photo: Reuters/Darren Staples)

¡ACÁ TORO!

-58Kg Olympic Champion Joel Gonzalez Bonilla is truly a toreador, as in the gold medal final he defeated the bullish Daehoon Lee (KOR) either dodging or blocking an incredible 40 kicks per round average. The Korean guy should have known, though; in TKD it's no use charging stubbornly, let alone when you're facing a Spanish!

(Pre-editing photo: official Olympic broadcasting photogram)

- See Edited Photogram
- See Full Match