Gym Bleachers, After School
"You're not bad."
Jalen sat next to Ashan after 7th period.
"I've seen you run, seen you move. You've got control now."
"You ever think about joining the wrestling team?"
Ashan blinked.
"Why?"
Jalen shrugged.
"You wanna fight, right? Then learn what it's like when someone wants to put you on your back."
"Strikers always think their feet are solid... until they get flipped."
Ashan looked at the mat in the center of the gym.
"You don't gotta win," Jalen added. "You just gotta learn how not to lose."
That stuck.
---
First Practice, That Night
The team was already halfway through drills.
Ashan was all effort.
He couldn't shoot. Couldn't sprawl.
Got rolled. Tossed. Mounted.
He didn't complain.
Just got back in line and drilled again.
And again.
And again.
Coach nodded once. That was enough.
---
3 Months Later
Ashan's body ached in places shadowboxing never touched.
Collarbone. Ribs. Hips.
He'd won 4 matches, against kids who were either underprepared, weaker, or out of gas.
He'd lost 12, decisively, sometimes embarrassingly.
One time, a pin came in less than 10 seconds.
Another, he was lifted off the mat like a dummy and slammed.
But…
In match 13, a kid shot low, and Ashan sprawled.
Hard. Hips down. Legs wide.
The takedown failed.
The match was still a loss.
But something clicked.
---
Project Dragon, Day 178
"Wrestling is war from 2 inches away."
"I'm not built for it. But it's teaching me how not to fall."
"Today, I sprawled right. He didn't take me down."
He underlined that twice.
"That matters."
---