A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had
lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. The boy began lessons
with
an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't
understand why, after three months of training the master had taught
him
only one
move.
"Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"
"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever
need
to know," the sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in
his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament.
Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The
third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his
opponent
became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win
the
match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This
time,
his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while,
the
boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt,
the
referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the
sensei intervened.
"No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue." Soon after the match
resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard.
Instantly,
the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the
tournament.
He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed
every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage
to
ask
what was really on his mind. "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with
only one move?" "You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First,
you've
almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And
second,
the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your
left arm." The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
"Sometimes we feel that we have certain weaknesses and we blame god,
the circumstances and our self for it but we never know that our
weakness
can become our strength one day. Each of us is special and important,
so
never think you have any weakness, never think of pride or pain, just
live
your life to its fullest and extract the best out of it!"
