Page 189 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

nothing else. I went into the clinch and leaned on him, let him feel my weight
and also my exhaustion. He started to edge me out of the ring, and I let hi m

take me there. He was cautious, tiny steps, no overextension. My ba ck was to
the edge, I planted my left foot an inch from the line, and expl oded , dr ove ha rd
against his right arm, screaming, put ting everythi ng I had into thi s thr ow. He
couldn’t hold on and I took him out of the ring and then went do wn ha rd on

top of him. It’s 2–1, eleven seconds left in the round. I needed a point and was
tapped out. Dan was screaming, my who le team was chan ting, Tiger, Tiger
Buma Ye, faster and faster. I need to go buck wild now, need one point, gotta let it all
hang out. The ref said “Go!” and I hit him like a truck , he gave a little, the n

held his ground, trying to hold on for the bell. I cranked and we started
spinning, my back to the edge, then his, then mine again, total cha os. I
screamed as I pulled hard and reversed hi m. He was on the edge but ha d the
underhooks, was okay, incredible root, and then all I can say is tha t I reache d

deeper than I knew I had and won the most dramatic po int of my life. With
one second left I drove him out of the ring, launching thr ough hi m and over
him, landing him on his back, my sho ul der into his and my head over hi m
straight into the ground. The bell rang, the crowd went totally wild, even the

Taiwanese; 2 –2.
I had sixty seconds and was a dead man. I lay pan ting on my back for almost
all of that time. On the video, Buf falo looks phy sically strong but ups et. Max
rubbed my shoulders, I slowed down my breathi ng, tho ught I’d be oka y by the

bell. H oped. Wasn’t so sure.
Round two. He entered the ring like an enraged beas t and the bl eache rs
erupted in chants. I remember getting to my feet and walking slowly to the
center, hoping I could reach it witho ut falling over. He attacked immedi ately

and the force went through me, into the gr ound. It felt like an electric cur rent
and I bounced him off, awake now, ready to roll. No more pain. He came at me
again and cranked hard into a throw whi le sweepi ng out my right foot, but I
felt it coming, stepped up with my left, and neutralized it whi le crimpi ng hi s

arms. I knew I had to watch that footwork, very danger ous . We went ba ck int o
the clinch. I gave him the left under ho ok and clamped do wn on the arm. He
probed for a hole and I held him off, waiting, listening; the game ha d gr own
smaller now, everything slowing do wn. He switched his weight int o hi s front

leg to attack and I caught it, fired int o a thr ow in that fl h that he was stuc k,
his foot entering the ground, no way to move, and he went do wn with me right