Post by Caroline Machado on Aug 6, 2024 1:01:01 GMT
"Hi!!!"
Caroline Machado sat in front of her computer, sporting a cutesy Pikachu shirt and matching "ears" that serve as a hat. It was hot outside the Tokyo area hotel room where she stayed, but she always kept a cool personality about her.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?
When one hasn't really been seen on a card for weeks, if not months, it makes people wonder what has happened, right?! It's like...leaving a volleyball game for a while and coming back, but then realizing that you've got people asking questions and questions until your head hurts! Were you injured? Were you in counseling?
I like to think...that's what made something like Star Trek so special.
Because it often challenges you to try and figure out whether or not humanity can truly coexist as one.
Whether or not there are still opponents to be had throughout the stars.
The challenge itself, that is what makes luta livre profissional so special. Every morning you wake up, train hard, and face questions from people you don't even know half the time! When things go wrong -- and they do a lot!!! -- you're left to hear those same people criticize you for being too soft, for being too aggressive, or whatever comes to mind. The prospect of competing against men might seem a bit daunting at first, but...as I said long ago, the greatest form of retribution, the biggest way to answer the questions, is success!
Am I right, Nancy?!"
She paused, taking a sip from a small bottle of Hint flavored water.
"The truth is...not everybody gets to call themselves a former Champion or add a trophy to their collection.
Yet I've always believed that success is far greater than anything we put on a wall. In this sport Nancy, only one speed matters -- and that's warp speed!!! In the ring, you don't have time to think about what people are asking you or telling you inside your mind, because it distracts you! You have to stay focused, keep fighting, and never give up hope, yeah!!?!!
Because as the Klingons always say...the challenge lies never from without -- it is from within!"
Caroline, thinking about how TJ and Nick are going to do in their Gladiator qualifier later on, points to her heart.
"It is from within -- HERE is where the challenge lies!!"
She nodded warmly, then eked out a slight chuckle -- perhaps getting a little too much into her favorite science-fiction franchise.
"Hehehe...there's a reason why I get carried away sometimes!
It's because when I face someone like you, Nancy? I see a warrior's spirit, the kind that never, ever fades away into nothingness. In Japan, that's how the people there remember the samurai -- fierce warriors who risked everything to serve a purpose far greater than themselves. They lived their lives not by the accomplishments they had, but by how they put their lives on the line each and every week!
With honor and respect!!
The greatest thing I can tell you from this experience is to keep fighting, to keep learning! Someday, one day, your name will etched into the tales of old -- and that will be a far greater success than anything you'll ever add to a collection.
Enjoy the moment in front of you.
There will be more to come..."
Caroline Machado sat in front of her computer, sporting a cutesy Pikachu shirt and matching "ears" that serve as a hat. It was hot outside the Tokyo area hotel room where she stayed, but she always kept a cool personality about her.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?
When one hasn't really been seen on a card for weeks, if not months, it makes people wonder what has happened, right?! It's like...leaving a volleyball game for a while and coming back, but then realizing that you've got people asking questions and questions until your head hurts! Were you injured? Were you in counseling?
I like to think...that's what made something like Star Trek so special.
Because it often challenges you to try and figure out whether or not humanity can truly coexist as one.
Whether or not there are still opponents to be had throughout the stars.
The challenge itself, that is what makes luta livre profissional so special. Every morning you wake up, train hard, and face questions from people you don't even know half the time! When things go wrong -- and they do a lot!!! -- you're left to hear those same people criticize you for being too soft, for being too aggressive, or whatever comes to mind. The prospect of competing against men might seem a bit daunting at first, but...as I said long ago, the greatest form of retribution, the biggest way to answer the questions, is success!
Am I right, Nancy?!"
She paused, taking a sip from a small bottle of Hint flavored water.
"The truth is...not everybody gets to call themselves a former Champion or add a trophy to their collection.
Yet I've always believed that success is far greater than anything we put on a wall. In this sport Nancy, only one speed matters -- and that's warp speed!!! In the ring, you don't have time to think about what people are asking you or telling you inside your mind, because it distracts you! You have to stay focused, keep fighting, and never give up hope, yeah!!?!!
Because as the Klingons always say...the challenge lies never from without -- it is from within!"
Caroline, thinking about how TJ and Nick are going to do in their Gladiator qualifier later on, points to her heart.
"It is from within -- HERE is where the challenge lies!!"
She nodded warmly, then eked out a slight chuckle -- perhaps getting a little too much into her favorite science-fiction franchise.
"Hehehe...there's a reason why I get carried away sometimes!
It's because when I face someone like you, Nancy? I see a warrior's spirit, the kind that never, ever fades away into nothingness. In Japan, that's how the people there remember the samurai -- fierce warriors who risked everything to serve a purpose far greater than themselves. They lived their lives not by the accomplishments they had, but by how they put their lives on the line each and every week!
With honor and respect!!
The greatest thing I can tell you from this experience is to keep fighting, to keep learning! Someday, one day, your name will etched into the tales of old -- and that will be a far greater success than anything you'll ever add to a collection.
Enjoy the moment in front of you.
There will be more to come..."
Well howdy there pardner.