Skill vs. Will

What a satisfying Sunday. Finally, my anticipation of Rocky Balboa has come to a head - as I managed to procure tickets for the show @KLCC(11am). Of course, I dragged my buddy, Bob with me. The first - and possibly the only one of the series - that I'm able to watch on the big screen. As a rabid fan of the series, I'm giving this movie a hearty thumbs-up...though I'm sure not everyone agrees with me. That's ok, as some may enjoyed other movies such as Ghost Rider (which I ended up disliking). Hey, if you liked it, then it's worth it.

Spent a while at Kinokuniya, the whole time I was fighting the urge to use my credit card to buy some mags & books. Ahh...the temptation...

After sampling Burger King's breakfast offerings, we head to the cinema. The cinema room was...almost empty - in fact there were less than 10 people. The rest of the crowd must've been watching Norbit or possibly Ghost Rider. Well, less people getting in the way of my enjoyment, then.

As for the movie: there were some nods to the past movies here and there. The movie began with a somber tone (after Dixon's fight clip)...and builds up slowly for the first half. It is rather sad watching Rocko revisit all the old landmarks of his past...it's like he was giving the audience a tour guide to the Rocky world. He was accompanied (rather unwillingly) by - who else - Paulie. Paulie is still Paulie - he got most of the funnier lines in the movie, though.

Some people may complain about the illogical premise of the movie...but I thought they pulled it off okay. Rocky, a man of 50-plus years of age, pitted against the current world champ (Dixon) in an exhibition bout. This bout was set after a sports channel staged a 'virtual computer fight' between Rocko and Dixon, of which the former apparently won. People were getting curious from the result - plus Dixon is not seen as a legit champ, accused of facing less-than-stellar contenders all the time.

The training montage & the fight itself were rather brief (compared with past editions) but well-done regardless. Did he won? You'll have to see it for yourself. A surprise cameo by someone, who taunted Dixon before the bell rings, adds to the spice.

All in all, I was wholly satisfied. It was a great closure to the series, I believe. I'll buy the dvd when it comes out. Or watch it again in the cinemas.

The Fuel

What drives you? (damn, sounds like a car/petrol ad). People are motivated by various things. As far back as I can recall, I had always been driven by anger & bitterness. Cornered and battered by stress every passing day, I dragged myself thru any task, with a sullen look on my face. Not exactly something positive to say here, but it's been that way 80% of the time for me.

80%?

There had been times, when other forces were my main source of motivation. Back in the day (around...'98 or so) during a sparring session, I was matched up with the toughest guy in our class (he's a nice guy outside training, though) so needless to say there was some trembling sensation on the knees of yours truly. No one wants to spar with him, so I got picked because I was the biggest(or fattest, to be precise). The guy dabbled in Muay Thai before, so he was well-conditioned.

To my horror, he warmed-up by kicking a metal post with his shin! I felt sorry for the metal post. Thus, I walked towards the gelanggang (ring), feeling like I'd been handed the death sentence.

The only thing I could do: calm myself. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply when suddenly...clear as day, I saw her face. And boy, that was my best sparring session, ever. Somehow, my mind was so alert, my footwork was faster & smoother...and my strikes are much sharper & heavier.

Did I win? Well...actually I was being so overzealous I kicked the guy in the mouth and he can't continue, so in official terms, I lost by DQ (Disqualification). Not exactly a fairy-tale finish there. And despite his busted lip, my sparring partner was cool about the whole thing...noting that I fought much better than usual. And we went on to spar a few more times after that, all ended in draws. Or maybe some DQs in between, hehe.

I guess, on that particular day, I fought with someone in mind. Someone I loved...though the end to this particular tale is told elsewhere already. But, by God...I felt so good that day.

Now, all of it...the training, even that loved one...all of them are in the past that I could no longer revisit. I miss them so. Nevertheless, I still seek a new path...with a new 'fuel' on the horizon, hopefully.

The twilight shall be broken. Not with a vengeance, but with a smile.