The internal battle.
Written by: Mike "Piecez" Prosserman
This weekend I proved to myself that I can achieve anything. I am on a flight home reflecting after battling at a “Bboy” competition in Winnipeg. The battle was put on by a good friend of mine Bob aka “Boob Jester” who is one of the key dancers who built up the Bboy/Bgirl scene in Winnipeg.
Excuses, excuses! Bob texted me a few weeks ago asking if I wanted to come to his battle “Believe the Hype”. At first my answer was no. I thought of tons of reasons why I was too busy. Then I realized I was making excuses and just booked my ticket. I knew I would have an amazing time hanging out with my homies and testing my skills against the upcoming Bboys in Winnipeg. As the Executive Director of UNITY Charity I want to continue to prove to myself that I am relevant on and off the dance floor. I felt it was time to hit a battle and represent.
I entered the “7 to smoke” battle. This battle has eight dancers who compete for a total of 30 minutes. The battle is judged round for round. Each round you win you get one point. The dancer with the most points by the end wins.
The battle begins. I won my first 3 rounds but started getting tired. I lost my fourth round. I was sent to the back of the line. When you lose a round in a 7 to smoke you are sent to the “back of the line” and have to wait until each dancer throws down before you get a chance to dance again.
Losing a round is the ultimate feeling of shame and regret. You have to stand in line while the other dancers gain more points and all you can do is wait and plan your next round.
Finally I got to the front of the line again. It was my turn to reclaim the winner spot so I could gain more points. My mind blanked and I did not execute strong. I lost again. The walk of shame to the back of the line.
This was the ultimate feeling of defeat. The clock continued to count down. We passed the half way mark in the battle. If I did not win my next round, I would lose the entire battle. Then I snapped.
If I make it to the front of the line again before time runs out I AM NOT LOSING. Failure was not an option in my mind.
Finally, I got to the front of the line again and with all of the energy in my being I executed 100%. I won the round. I then moved to the winner side and got my chance to gain more points. I won another round.
I WILL NOT GIVE UP. I began to get tired but remained focused. I repeated in my head “I will not give up.” I won again. And again.
At this point I was totally out of breath and got a terrible stomach cramp. Again I said it to myself “I will not give up.”With every ounce of strength in my being I threw down as hard as I could. I won AGAIN.
The clock began counting down and I threw my last round so I didn’t injure myself. I had the most points now by far at this point and time was running out. Finally the clock hit 30 minutes and I had the most points of all 8 dancers. I won. This was the ultimate battle with myself. My mind was fighting my body, my body was fighting my will. In the end, pushing through the pain led to achieving my goal. This truly made me feel like I could accomplish anything. Once I committed to my goal I would not throw in the towel. It is a true gift to have Bboying in my life to push me to new limits outside of my comfort zone. Battling in dance parallels many aspects of my life.
Winning is not about ego, it is about focus. To be honest, I’m not the best at anything. I put in work. Hard work and relentless drive is often rewarded with success. People always ask me how I continue to achieve new heights in my dancing and with UNITY Charity. The answer is simple.
When I get knocked down I get back up, alter my approach and try again. When I want something to happen I put in YEARS of sweat and effort to sharpen my tools so I can slice through roadblocks.
To truly achieve my dreams I need to push past comfort, past my physical/mental limitations and beyond all doubts. It is a fight worth fighting.
This weekend I battled myself and won.