“Going through thick and thin to attain own objective. ” The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, a young girl named Katniss Everdeen faces her fate that was decided by herself. When her younger sister, Prime, was chosen a tribute to the hunger game, she stepped forward to become a volunteer instead of her sister. Katniss has a strong sense of responsibility because she supports her mother and sister instead of her father. She has a decency, so sometimes her temper tends to higher. However, that action was accepted to the Gamemakers and got a higher score.
She also has a good hunt skill. On the other hand, her body type was smaller than others. When she and other tributes were assembled at the first time, she was restless: “My heart sinks. Almost all of the boys and at least half of the girls are bigger than I am, even though many of the tributes have never been fed properly. You can see it in their bones, their skin, the hollow look in their eyes. I may smaller naturally, but overall my family’s resourcefulness has given me an edge in that area. Collins 94) Even if she had a handicap, she didn’t escape and give up from its fate because she knew her strength.
When I was a high school student, I belonged to Kendo club. Like Katniss, I was also inferior to others, especially the strength of the muscles. However, I believed that my spirit is stronger. To confront the fate is not easy even though it was decided by own self, like Katniss and me. However, by continuing to confront the fate, I can develop it much better, and also it is being connected to my present self.
Kendo is the martial art of Japanese fencing which trains the mind and bod. I had be At my high school days, when a painful winter came, my feeling was a sudden drop like a roller coaster because Kangeiko called terrified winter training, the training of martial arts or accomplishment conducted in mid-winter season, came. I arrived at Dojo, a place where we practice, with my bag that was cram-full of practice clothes. Usually, the place is full of bounce, but that was not. A dull air was wrapping us. We got on our club’s bus and went to the training center.
Nobody spoke anything on the bus. Its atmosphere was like a funeral. On the way of going, I could see the training center in the forest. It was not an old building because of rebuilt and based on the white color. There was no other building around it. My eyes looked like those of a dead fish. We arrived at there, and when the gates of hell were opened, my survival was started. As soon as we arrived there, we started cleaning the gymnasium and setting of a club’s flag, drum, and our protectors. Of course, the floor was cold, but we wiped the floor with a cloth by bare foots.
This was one of building up for my physique strength. I was slower than seniors but followed them. At that time, I was already anxious, but the real hell started from next day. At 5:30 am, alarms went off. We woke up and changed our clothes wordlessly. Before our coaches and people who were already graduated from came to the gymnasium, we wiped the floor with the cloth again. Unfortunately, that winter was snowing fast. When I opened the doors, I could see plains of silvery white. My feeling was deeper than I felt to be excited.
When the drum was sounded, Kangeiko started. A short time later, our coaches were coming. A main kendo club’s coach, he was not too taller than me, but his physique was massive and had a beer belly. His voice was low and thick. Every time he was wearing colored glasses of black, and the color of his Kendo uniform was cream. Its color gave me more feeling of fear. His hair style was a shaven head. When a match was coming, his hair became much shorter. It was like a Japanese gangster. His low and thick voice broke in the air.
After a short break, my real survival began. First, I put on a face uard and grasped forearms. I ran as possible as I can for getting a better turn to do individual training with him. If I could not get that opportunity, I was game over at that point. While waiting my turn, I was really nervous because I could see some situation that a person was pushed out that snow falls. Another person was that training was stopped on the way. The coach had keen senses, so he caught napping if the person was carelessness. We had to be oversensitive.
Eventually, my turn came. At the beginning, I dared him with my full effort. It was like a dead run. “Do you give up? “, he yelled me. “No, I don’t. I continue”, I responded to him. I had almost reached my limit, but my spirit was still alive. “If so, you have to move your legs and arms more and more. And your yell, voice. It’s smaller than me, isn’t it? ” “I don’t think so. I can show you how much my yell is bigger than you. ” My face filled with tears, but I didn’t stop doing it. “Don’t limit yourself. Exceed it! ” He continued to yell and push me. Yaaaaaaaaaa” My voice was bigger, but it was also desperate.
I moved my arms and legs as possible as I can, but he didn’t stop yelling and pushing me by shinai, a bamboo sword. I fell down. Still, I could hear his yelling. Although the season was winter, my sweat and tears were mixed on my face, and I pushed the floor by my hands and continued again. His shinai hit my head, arms, and legs. I should not stop. I had to confront. The individual training with him was only 5 minutes, but I could not see the end. It was the hell. I continued it by sheer force of will.
I felt that its time was more than 30 minutes. A big drum resounded. After making a bow, the training was finished. This event is still my basis of life. Before it happens, there was no situation that I exceeded my limitation. If it occurred now, I wouldn’t do it because now I don’t have any goal for doing Kendo. However, through its experience, I could be stronger and have endurance. If it weren’t occurred, I wouldn’t be who I am today. This training camp had continued for 7 days. Even though this event was more than 10 years ago, I still remember my feeling clearly.
Before I join it, I as really nervous like Katniss who had the training with all the tributes and the individual training, too. Moreover, I figured out that my strength of the muscles was lower than others. However, I couldn’t escape from its fate because I trusted my spirits and decided the fate even though my mother disagreed with. In addition, I also felt lots of pressure because I was a student of the recommendation entrance of the school. I think that to escape from the hard fate is easy. However, to be confront can develop own self and connect to next step.