Finding Myself

Essay Contest Honorable Mention – Nak Alderok

I got into the sport of Belegarth roughly 2 and a half years ago. I was introduced by Luc The Dog and Mak-Truk after my cousin introduced us for DnD. It was, to put it lightly, absolutely amazing. I’ve always had an interest for more popular combat sports such as boxing, muay thai, and jiu jitsu, but none of them seemed quite as accessible as foam fighting. The realm I eventually came to call home is known as Anduril.

Due to location and other factors, Anduril practices haven’t always had the largest turnouts. This pretty much led to my introduction to fighting being less like lessons and more like bootcamp. The level of skill amongst different fighters at the field limited who me and the other new guys could fight with at a similar level as us, but when you’re forced to single blue Boomii every week you sink or swim.

“It was, to put it lightly, absolutely amazing.”

Almost immediately, the introduction to Belegarth became an impactful stress reliever. Almost every week I had somewhere I could blow off steam and joke around with friends. It also gave me something I could devote large amounts of time into as I found myself practicing footwork and shots in my free time. Sadly, a while after I first got into it I took a leg, dropped down, and messed up some tendons on a rock.

Once I got my injury, I put off the doctor for too long, as dumb teenagers seem to do, and got to the point where trying to level change in a fight, run, or even walk too fast was an issue. This is when things really changed though. My social anxiety has been a strong burden on me for a long time, and it wasn’t different in Dag and Bel. When at practices or event I would talk to four people and then stand by myself waiting to hear, “Lay on!”

Having to sit on the side line and learn to Herald however, forced me to face my fears and open up the slightest bit. This isn’t meant as a, “Oh, the sport cured my anxiety” but it genuinely helped me out. I got to where I can hold a small conversation with most people, walk around without the same 4 dudes, and pretty much finally function as something other than a mute whacky-bot 3000.

“… Belegarth became an impactful stress reliever.”

Not being able to fight in the sports with more contact also introduced me to Amtgard. Before I actually entered I was closed minded and thought it wasn’t as fun because the things I’ve heard weren’t so good. In all honesty, while not all the fighters are melee focused, the ones who are are the most fun people to fight. While Belegarth is personally my favorite of the sports, the speed of Amt challenged my cardio more than ever and improved my stick game entirely.

Beyond the sport itself, I learned I have a love for exercise. Without Bel, Dag, and Amt I probably would have never joined a gym, which has led to my quality of life raising drastically. Since I started lifting I can genuinely say I feel happier everyday, and I’m never not looking forward to it. I can say with absolute certainty that I believe it doesn’t matter what sport you play, or what activities you love, as long as you find a hobby and people in it who push you harder every time you show up, you’re never going to get tired of it.

I would just like to thank some people because a lot of others don’t get such an amazing environment right off the bat. If I hadn’t been introduced to a taught by Luc The Dog, Boomii, Red the Black, Glowstick, and Hael I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. Without the introduction I had finding myself would have been much more challenging.

See all of the Essay Contest winners here.