#6: Hands
I first time I met hall of famer Andre Tippett at Gillette Stadium. The second time was on the podium at a boys’ high school where we were both speaking.
I never really got beyond the size of his hands. Who has hands that big? A kid growing up in Newark as the man of the house from the time he’s in diapers and learns karate to protect himself and train his mind? A man who takes the study of leverage and hand-to-hand combat onto the football field with devastating effect? Or a now 50-year-old athlete who has done everything there is to do in his sport, whispering to me in a gentle voice about the importance of “beginner’s mind“?
No, a guy with hands that big comes home from school chased by bullies crying to his mother who is standing in the doorway, because his dad is long since gone. She tells the kid with enormous hands and shoulders and heart to turn around.
Stop running, she says, from the bullies, from your demons, from your life.
And the man with enormous hands wipes the tears from his face, turns around and walks off that porch to face his destiny. That day and every day after.
—Photo Tomas Sobek/Flickr
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100 Acts of Goodness will run every day for 100 days:
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#4: Emails From a Friend
#5: Eyes
About Tom Matlack
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That makes me so sad. That kid with big hands needs a big hug.
that was some compressed power in this piece, nice
the shortness of the piece, gave the point of the piece more power
Very insightful stuff…I took up karate 3.5 years ago because I was suffering panic attacks from being stalked by my ex (who I left 2 decades ago)…I got over the panic attacks and got to know some incredible men in such an intimate way through learning karate…it is profound hanging out with them as they teach me and each other how to fight…somehow through facing the violence I see men at their most vulnerable and unguarded…and, yes, that’s an important thing to learn about life and about men: the way in how to face your fears and challenges….how do you respond to violence…the need to keep fighting and not to give up…
Great piece…More!
Thanks Leia. I have had the same experience working with a Russian kick boxer the last few years. And yes getting to know Andre was such a remarkable experience in contrasts, a man who had so much power and violence and also so much humility and peace.