04x05 - Brand New Swords and Formula Fords

[bunniefuu]

[male narrator] Previously on "The Real World.."

What do you want to do in London?

Fence, like the sport fencing.

How did you get into something like that, in Tacoma?

My grandfather did it.

- What do you do? - I race cars.

Oh, my God!

The whole motor engine speed type of thing

I think he really likes.

I'm ready, ready to go.

[Kat] This is the true story..

[Neil] Of seven strangers..

Seven strangers..

[Jacinda] Picked to live in a house..

[Jay] And have their lives taped..

[Lars] To find out what happens..

[Mike] When people stop being polite..

[Sharon] And start getting real.

"The Real World," London.

[Mike] As a race car driver, you always want to come over here

and go up against the best.

Now is my chance to do it.

You know I-I have the opportunity, I'm here.

Minister International is the prep team

of the race car I'll be driving.

I'm gonna go down and see the shop.

Talk to Grahm Fuller, who's, who's the big dog.

That's what they call aCaterham.

All inline fours?

We dominated the championship in '.

[Grahm] 'We came in first and second.'

Very impressive.

So if I lose it's my fault then, right?

[Grahm] 'Something like that, yeah.'

Do you want to just have a sit-in?

Sure.

[Mike] That car will probably

go , maybe, miles an hour

but that's in a straight line.

And at and your head's going like this

and your arms are going, and you're shaking like that.

But it's, but you're not scared.

It's when you hit the brakes, downshift

and you're going in a corner

over a hill where you can't see anything

with walls all around you.

That's when you're like, "Oh God, this is going to hurt."

Wow, I like this.

What's, what are your next moves then?

If I had the whole thing right now

what would you want to do?

What we don't want is drivers who have..

'they're not here on holiday.'

It's very, very competitive in England and in Europe.

So every advantage is gonna be needed.

We expect our drivers to work.

And they don't go to have a good time

they go to kick a*s.

You've driven a couple of races this year, haven't you?

'Yes, I finished th and rd.'

The th wasn't my fault completely.

I had no testing, nothing.

My first time in that car too, so..

Well, you must have used up about

three pages of race driver excuses in that..

Cross those off for the rest of the year.

'I've heard 'em, I've heard 'em.'

[Mike] 'Uh, he was gonna make a race car driver out of me'

whether I like it or not, you know.

I mean, I'm looking on the wall of all their past champions

you know, and it'sSenna, Mansell..

So you're gonna be next?

[Mike] 'Uh, I hope so.'

This is my chance to say

to give it the full commitment

and to, and to just be completely focused on it.

And I'm really looking forward to it.

They don't ever go to a race to finish second, you know.

So it's kind of a lot of pressure.

But these guys run, run a very

very professional shop.

[Mike's dad] 'Are you saying I don't?'

Oh, no, not at all.

I really don't know what my father thinks.

He was against me coming here from the very beginning.

He's been racing for seven years

and he just finally put this

full team together of racing in the states.

And we were going to do this and this

together and then, all of a sudden

"Dad, I've got this great opportunity to race in England."

Whenever am I going to have a chance

to move to England and race cars?

You know, this is my only chance.

And my dad took me to the airport.

- Think smart. - Okay.

- Be safe. - Okay.

His advice was "Have fun, be safe."

More than not, all he ever said was

I could be racing for him

"So I'm not gonna help you, I'm not gonna do anything.

Have a nice time."

Kinda made me feel very guilty for leaving.

'Do you know that somebody put a big dent in the NSX?'

Oh, no.

[Mike's dad] 'Yeah, and we think it's you.'

- Seriously? - 'Uh-huh.'

[Mike's dad] 'About dollars.'

- Oh, man! - 'Yeah.'

I would, I mean I would tell you if I did it.

But I, I really don't think I did.

[Mike] It's so weird, every time I talk to my father

I always feel, he always makes me feel guilty for something.

[Kat] Mike has a lot of resentment about it

but at the same time he'll sit back and be like

"Yeah, my dad does a lot for me."

[phone ringing]

- 'Ogden residence.' - Hi, mom.

I-I was just gonna leave a message.

You didn't have to wake up.

[Kat's mom] 'Oh, what's up?'

Well, I'm always kind of a little bit homesick.

[Kat's mom] 'Okay.'

Do you have to get off the phone right now?

'Yeah, you need to, need to get, uh'

'get some stamps and start writing.'

Uh, it's, I'm trying hard to remember that

but it's hard 'cause, like, I get homesick

and I want to talk to you.

I want to talk to Giles or something.

I'll let you go and you guys can call me anytime.

Anybody can call me.

[Kat] My mom has a pretty good instinct about me.

And sometimes she knows when I'm..

I'll, I'll get in a funk or I'll be in a mood

and I'm not sure quite sure how to get out of it.

[Kat's mom] 'Have you found a place to fence yet?'

Umm, no, I haven't, I'm doing my phone calls this morning.

[Kat's mom] 'Well, get busy on finding'

'getting a school for your fencing.'

Okay.

My priority in London

is fencing and school.

My mom was getting

a little discouraged with me

because I had a good season last year

and I had a rough season this year.

I didn't feel like I was going up to my potential.

My self-discipline started slipping.

My fencing started slipping

and I just spiraled down.

It's frustrating. It's like part of me is just, like

"I can't do it, I can't do it.

I don't have it anymore. I don't have the drive anymore."

And the other part of me is just like

"If I can get it started, I think I would."

[instrumental music]

[Kat] Finding fencing in London was hard at first

but luckily it was the right place to call.

[male #] 'Small but pleasant.'

It's bigger than my salle at home.

Uh, smells, smells like a fencing salle.

- Fencing salle. - Just smell that.

Smells like the inside of a mask.

Yeah, exactly.

[Kat] Maybe that's what I was looking for when I came to London.

Was thinking "Okay, I'm gonna go there

I'm gonna fence and it's going to help me refocus."

- How good are you? - How good?

I'm middle ground.

I mean, I-I have good competition experience

and I-I had a really good season last year, but..

So junior Olympic level we're talking.

[Kat] The junior Olympics are a national tournament

and this year they're in San Jose.

This is my last year to compete because I'm .

How many competitors are there?

I'm guessing about ?

Do you know if it's all-American?

[Sharon] 'This is huge!'

Yeah, I couldn't believe it.

This is the first year I think I'm going

where I'm truly serious about what I'm doing.

Your mother called, said that your tickets

will be left at the ticket counter.

[Jacinda] It sounds so real, doesn't it?

Whenever you hear the tickets, you know it's real.

I wanna fence well

and maybe that's why I'm trying to like pull it together up here

like, mentally.

I think fencing provides Kat's release.

She's, umm, a person who has a lotof emotions

and they're brimming quite often.

I've been really discouraged, mom.

[Kat's mom] 'You have to get a mindset that youarea good fencer.'

'That you're a fencer to contend with'

'even if you need somebody to push you.'

'Because you're a lazy little butt.'

My mom kicks my a*s when I need it

and I needed it.

Mom, it's hard, it's really hard.

[Kat's mom] 'I know, but then, you're a big girl now.'

'This, this tournament's the last thing'

'I'm gonna shepherd you through, I warn ya.'

'After this you're gonna have to kinda'

'jump in there and swim, okay?'

What if I don't, what if I sink?

[Kat's mom] 'Hey, you've had a bad year.'

'Yet you placed first in the qualifiers'

'for the junior Olympics.'

'You're the NYU athlete of the month.'

- Yeah. - 'Don't do this.'

'It's self-destructive, and it's stupid.'

Okay.

[Kat] I don't feel confident anymore.

And it's really hard, it's like..

I'm re-establishing what I am to my myself.

[Jay] 'When's your next "Minister" meeting?'

Not until, uh, the money thing's all set.

Hopefully any day.

Well, racing is just so expensive.

You find a sponsor

and the sponsor puts their name all over the car

because everybody sees it.

There's no way anybody could afford to do it otherwise.

Michael Doggie-Dog.

[Mike] Sean's the guy

who's helping me find

the sponsorship money for this.

So you still haven't called any big dogs yet?

[Sean] 'No, I tried calling Terry today.'

Yeah.

And we're only asking , thousand

and I mean, of course, that's a ton of money.

But, who did you talk to at"Life?"

[Sean] 'Uh, the publisher, the big dog.'

Really?

We just need some primary sponsor

to just say "Yes."

And it's just gonna take that first one

and then, to get the ball rolling.

I'm ready, babe.

[Sean] 'We're, like, pulling out of the driveway.'

Yeah, no, there's no pressure or anything.

We're all just sittin' around waitin' on you.

[Mike] Grahm and I went to an auto show.

And he knows what he's talking about.

He's driven, he's built engines

for the best drivers in the world.

- This is Grahm. - Nice to meet you.

- Hello. - Nice to meet you.

So what do you think of our little novice here?

[Grahm] 'I haven't seen him drive. I haven't even seen..'

[Sharon] 'You haven't even seen him drive yet?'

No, I haven't seen him ride a bike yet.

But, uh, he keeps telling me how good he is.

[laughs] Oh, yeah.

I'm sure that if he puts his mind to it in certain ways

like we've tried to get him to do, he'd be fine.

What is so tough here?

Are they, are they more aggressive here or what is it?

Yeah, a lot of people come over to Britain

to, to learn their trade.

'So he races against the world's best here.'

[Sharon] 'No more late nights for you, young man.'

And, and training and eating properly.

All those kinda things.

♪ Here we go ♪♪

I need to buy a whole lot of equipment.

[Kat] I need a jacket, I need knickers.

I need shoes, I need two F-As.

I need body guards, I need a bag.

So here's a jacket.

And then you want the breeches as well?

'How is that for size?'

- Oh, it feels good. - Yeah.

How much would these be together?

It's beautiful.

What kind of blade is this?

Oh, thank you.

Oh, my God, I love new weapons!

En garde,ready?

[Kat] I'm just gonna go in and say..

"Hi, my name is Kat Ogden, I'm from the US.

And somebody help me, I need to fence."

You have a reel at each end

and you hook into the reel.

The light goes off on the box when you get a touch.

[bell rings]

♪ Oh! Oh! ♪♪

Fence!

I jumped right into it

because I haven't fenced.

I knew that I had to just get in there

and just start doing it.

There were a lot of good fencers there.

And I was having difficulty against them.

But it wasn't insurmountable.

I know that if I fence here, I'm going to get better.

And I'm going to do better against those people.

[Mike] I wake up at :, get somethin' to eat

sit around and fart

and do nothing until late at night.

I mean, I have nothing to do, you know.

♪ Scrubbing the dishes ♪

♪ Is my favorite thing to do ♪♪

[Sean] 'You're not, like, getting nervous or anything are you?'

I just feel helpless, you know?

This was Sean's week off school

and his total job was to get sponsors

and we'd figured everything

at the end of the week was going to be really good.

It is now Thursday night

and we have absolutely nothing.

[Mike] Any callbacks from anyone else?

[Sean] 'God, it's so, it's frustrating when they don't call me back.'

So I take it I won't be seein' you

this weekend with the big check.

[Sean] 'No, no, no, no.'

It's getting so * * * close now.

[Sean] 'Nobody's called me back.'

When am I gonna get good news?

[Sean] 'Well, that's where we stand.'

We need to stand on some bucks.

I mean, like, it's getting close.

[Sean] 'It kind of pisses me off'

'the way these people operate sometimes.'

Oh well, I know you're doing your best.

It's just, I feel so helpless.

All I ask is for, like, Sean to call me up

and just Monday morning be like

"Ah, Mike, it's done, it's settled.

Everything is going."

Hey, what-what did my dad say he was gonna do?

- 'Your dad?' - Yeah.

[Sean] 'I only want to use Duke as a last resort.'

Racing is very.. It's-it's kinda who, you know..

And my father has all the connections in the world.

I would like him to help me

and I don't, uh, I don't know if he will.

A part of me wants to ask that

but the other part of me is just

you know, scared to death.

I mean, he could help me right now.

Even if he didn't want to pay for it

he could, you know, at least help me.

He could give me phone numbers, he could do something.

I mean, he has more connections than God does.

Doesn't that piss you off?

Or is that just kinda how it is?

[Mike] 'It really pisses me off.'

'While I'm sitting here eating peanut butter'

'there's some kid'

getting all excited 'cause he has this big race

this weekend, you know.

'Which is what I should be doing.'

I haven't been asking about your racing and stuff

'cause I know that when I'm frustrated about something

I'm just like, it's the last thing I want to talk about

but then I-I wanted

to know what's going on, but..

[Mike] 'Put it in fencing terms.'

England is the Olympics, you know.

You got your sword, you're the number one seed

and you can sit on the bench and watch, you know.

I feel a lot better

and mom my fencing is gonna be..

even if, I won't get first-rounded in JOs

I won't.

[Kat's mom] 'Don't set yourself up for failures.'

'Just say, "I am going to be the best fencer I can be."'

Okay.

You're going back to "The home of the free" tomorrow

"Land of the brave."

I'm going back there to fence.

[Kat] I have the JOs coming up so fast.

Whether or not I go in there and get first-rounded

and just get dumped on my butt

or I make it up to the top .

This is what I need to do to get myself back in order.

Excuse me.

- Thank you. - Alright then.

- I'm scared * * * less. - Hmm?

I'm scared * * * less.

Don't be.

♪ Believe ♪

♪ On the leader risin' ♪♪

[Kat] When I get to the junior Olympics

I have to get up there and fence.

And it's just like at one time, that wouldn't have

frightened me and now because

I've felt the big difference between

what it's like to win and what it's like to lose

it's hard.

[Kat] It's, like, a strange relief of very familiar surroundings

to come back to the US.

I haven't been at, at like

a competition this big in so long.

Uh-huh, and this is the big one right?

Yeah, this istheone.

[Kat] My coach right now is from NYU.

He's a very calm person.

He does get excited, he does want you to win.

But he's not going to yell at you about losing.

I'm so excited!

[Kat] A lot of my friends are here.

People I haven't seen in a while.

We're going to kick some butt today, right?

Yeah.

Your first bout's going to be here, you're the rd bout up.

[Kat] Mentally, I'm starting to come together.

I'm just going to have to get in there and compete.

- 'Grahm.' - 'Yeah.'

- 'Hello, this is Mike Johnson.' - 'Hello, there.'

Anything new and exciting going on?

[Grahm] 'No, no, hang on just a moment please.'

I know Grahm is frustrated, because I know he wants to, uh..

get something rolling.

'Cause he, he, he's not even gonna bring the cars

into the country now until the money's here.

I'm curious to know how long it takes between..

The "Yes" from me that we're going

the money, checks in the mail

to, to, uh, to the cars being ready.

[Grahm] 'If the circumstances are right for us to work together'

'then you can bet your bottom dollar'

'that I will make sure that all the various things'

'are in, are in place.'

Alrighty.

[Grahm] 'But obviously the time is'

'ticking by for us both.'

[Mike] Okay, well, I'm-I'm just.. Sean's, you know, real busy.

And he told me to-to talk to you for a while

and to not give up hope on us yet.

[Grahm] 'Uh, it's fair enough, Mike.'

'But I mean, I mean everyday or week that goes by'

'it gets more difficult, simple as that.'

I might not be able to get much testing in now

before the first race, and it's just frustrating.

What's the bare minimum to get the cars in this country

and get some tires on it?

[Sean] 'Uh, , thousand.'

[Mike] ''Cause it's a..'

Well, it's a month away now.

[Sean] 'I haven't called your dad about this yet.'

'But what if your dad would, like'

'float the loan out of'

'Duke Manufacturing for that little bit.'

'You think he'd go for that?'

Hmm, you might be able to.

I don't know, see I'd, yeah.

I'd-I'd talk to Duke first.

I don't know if Duke's gonna say

"Yeah, Sean, here's-here's the account number.

Just send it over."

There's a part of me that says

"You know, Mike, you gotta do it on your own.

"You and Sean just have to do it and get it over with

"and take care of it yourself

"and not have, and not have

"to rely on your father anymore

and just go out and do it."

The other part of me says that

"No one really gets anywhere without someone helping them."

[Kat] My family doesn't watch me fence anymore.

The reason why..

"Kat's a b*tch when she fences."

[instrumental music]

- Yeah. Yeah. - Totally in control.

You had control the entire time.

You looked so good!

Give me five.

Fence!

[Kat] Do I get pissed off when I lose? Yes.

It's alright. It's alright.

[Kat] I try to be a good sport, I try to be a good loser.

But when you're so emotional and you're so into it

you get pissed off.

Forget about this bout, just concentrate.

One touch at a time, zero, zero every time.

[Kat] You go to five touches, unless you're in direct elimination

in which case, you go to touches.

[beep]

[beep]

[beep]

[beep]

[beep]

[beep]

[beep]

Double touch, fifteen and bow.

[Kat] You agreed when you got up on the strip

that one of you was going to win or lose

and you can't say, "Well, I'm only gonna fence

"if I'm only gonna win.

You fenced, she won."

I don't want to get off the strip and cry.

- You okay? - Yeah, I'm okay.

You know, when you know you could've had it

and you feel yourself doing the wrong thing every..

Oh, you know..

So now we're going to go for the senior circuit, huh?

That's right. That's okay.

Hey, you're going to be back soon. Hey, I wish..

♪ I don't feel the sun's comin' out today ♪

♪ Stayin' in ♪

♪ It's gonna find another place ♪

♪ Life is hard ♪

♪ When you have to change ♪

♪ Now it's hard ♪

♪ You have to change ♪♪

[Mike's dad] 'Well, I had a long talk with Sean last night.'

[Mike] What did he say?

[Mike's dad] 'Well, he just called up to tell me'

'what he was doing and how frustrated he was'

'and how he hadn't really gotten any money yet.'

'You know he doesn't really have any great leads.'

'He said that they'd like to find a way'

'that they can borrow against the future commitment.'

Uh-huh.

- 'Think that's why he called.' - Oh, okay.

[Mike's dad] 'I told him that I just purchased a new house.'

'I-I couldn't go to a bank and borrow another ,'

'based on future commitments.'

That makes sense.

And now I don't even know what my options are anymore.

Did you have any help to advise him or anything or..

[Mike's dad] 'No, I told him that really'

'what he needed was you out peddling for sponsors.'

'You know, that if-if you were really wanting to do it'

'that you were the guy that should be out'

'trying to sell yourself.'

Yeah.

'But it looks like it's almost too late'

'for getting a ride.'

Well, you know, it's getting close, that's for sure.

'Well, I hope that he's wrong.'

'I hope you find a way to do it.'

I don't know if he's mad at me or if he's just..

I don't know, I think that if he wanted to do it

he knows he can do it, he knows what I want

he would do it.

Well, I don't want to go six months

without being in a car though.

[Mike's dad] 'Well, I got a full ride here for ya.'

Right.

'Well, I hope it works.'

Me too.

It's like he'd already..

Before he'd even picked up the phone

had already decided I was a failure.

Another thriller with my father.

He told me that he's got a full ride for me

waiting in Saint Louis.

So all I have to do is go home and drive the race car.

[Lars] 'What's a full ride?'

"Full ride" means all paid for.

You see, he'll pay for everything back at home

but he won't help me here

'because he didn't want me to do this.'

[Lars] 'So is worried about the fact'

'that you don't have big sponsors yet?'

I think he's laughing about it, personally.

'I think he just opened up'

another bottle of champagne when I told him..

[Lars] 'He, he just thinks it's really cool'

'that he's got the big bucks and you're a damn loser?'

You know, maybe I'm supposed to learn

from this whole experience of failing.

But I don't, I don't like see it from

learning from the experience of failing.

I-I see it from a..

That I think my father wants me to fail.

I just don't understand it.

[Kat] The junior Olympics affected my attitude.

It was a measuring stick to see how much progress I made.

And yes, I didn't place very highly

but to me I fenced better at that junior Olympics

than I have at any of the others.

And I saw a whole bunch of my friends

that I haven't seen for about a year

because I've been off the fencing circuit for a while.

And it was really nice.

Whether she had a good match or a bad match

she always comes back

more vibrant than when she left.

She was, like, really happy with herself

you can see that she'd sort of, like

got a lot of stuff out and had a really good time

and felt she'd accomplished something.

Okay, honestly, teach me, teach me something.

Think like a guy, only women stand like this.

- Relax this. - Don't do that.

Spread your knees.

She likes being quite aggressive actually.

This is quite a scene.

- Lunge. - Oh!

Advance, retreat.

[Sharon] She was sort of teaching me the moves

of how to relax and how to..

[gasp]

- Advance. Lunge! - Oh!

She might not have placed well, but she fenced really well

so that made her happy.

And I think that's the most important thing.

[Kat] It's great when you're doing something that you love

and you're finally getting back on to it.

Like, I'm finally getting back on to fencing.

Like, I have a better idea of what I need to do

in my fencing and my mental preparation.

It's like, "Okay, I have it now, I know what I need to do."

[Mike] My job over here is to race a damn car.

It's just too damn close

and I'm just too damn worried.

And I'm just too damn bothered by it

and I-I don't know what to do anymore.

[male narrator] On the next "Real World.."

[Jacinda] The night crew are people

who stay up really late into the night.

Oh, my God!

Well then, shut up!

[male photographer] 'Yes, that's good, that's good.'

Brilliant, beautiful. Yeah, excellent.

'Stay like that. That's beautiful.'

[Jacinda] More and more, doing modeling

isn't really what I love to do.

[Kat] God, fencing makes me feel sogood.

Fencing feels better than chocolate or sex or food

or anything else that you could possibly do with your body.

- Fencing is better than sex? - Yes.

Infinitely better.

For one thing

you get a hell of a lot more results

and secondly

I mean, you still get sweaty and gross

and still have to take a shower afterwards

but it's constructive and you learn something new

every single time.

And you never fall asleep.

[Mike] Whoa, Kat.