This is a story of one 10-year-old boy who 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.
Moral of the story: We sometimes allow our weaknesses to be our
downfall rather than using them to our advantage. We tell ourselves we
cannot do something because we do not feel it is our strength. But, if
we didn't dwell on our weaknesses, we may find that we could succeed.
