The Hallway

Since I'm still in Washington I decided to write this post in english...Ok, not a very good english, but at least one you could say ok. To my student Paula Sporleder I leave the right to correct anything she wants, just like when I correct her in her moves. =)

When we arrived in Baltimore on Sunday (24), I started to check all the hotel because my Referee Course was going to begin in the next day and I tought that will be a good idea to know where to go during the week. Then I found the same Hallway, showed below.

When I first came here in 2008 I did my last fight for TSKF on the Lei Tai, and this hallway was the access to the Preparation Area and to the Main Ballroom, where the fights occur. I cannot deny that I was scared that time and that's was one of my motivation to fight: control the fear. Even when it's mean to fight in another country, in the house of Kuo Shu.

Well, I got some injury on the neck during the first 30 seconds, but with Shifu Nelson's support I was able to put myself together and, despite of the loss in round 1, I won the match, beating up my opponent (from our friends of Yee's Hung Ga) on the rounds 2 and 3.

Three years later here I was: again in the same hallway, dealing with my fears again. These time against heavier opponent: be alone with my english, be at the Referee Course, take practical and theorical exams. This last one means written exam, with dissertative questions and about 3 hours and a half to finish it.

Step by step I started to make my way through the week and I could show my previous experience as referee and it helps a lot. Made some new friends, worked as teammate with awesome guys from New Zeland, U.S. adn Switzerland. At Friday night my new friend Angie Dominguez alerts me that the results are already avaliable, and from the Shifu Rob Simpson's hands I received my results and discovered that now I'm International Referee B.

If I stop here anyone could say that's a happy end. But in Saturday, Kimba, another friend and Shifu Nelson's student, said to me that Shifu Simpson wants to talk with me. Sure that will be bad news.

Nothing against my test results, just the opposite: Shifu Simpson said something like: "Danillo, should be interesting to test you on the Lei Tai tonight, during the elimination rounds. Be here when we start the match number 34. You will go up in the match number 37 and will leave after the match 38. Do you understand?"

"No problem, Shifu. Tou ^%dido mas no problem..." I said. With a smile, of course.

We were in the match number 28 and I got some time. I left the Main Ballroom and, once again I was looking to the same hallway, full of fighters and coaches. But this time, the hallway looks different: I feel no fear this time. I was a fighter and already was referee in Brazil. That hallway and me just finished our business this year and I won. Now it was just a hallway, filled with my memories.

With this, I started the time of giving back to a tournament who did so much for me.