The boy judoka

Once a boy decided to study judo, nothing unusual about this except that he had lost his left arm in a terrible car accident when he was a toddler.

The boy took lessons from an old judo sensei. He was bright and conscientious, and despite his disability soon showed great promise. However, he was puzzled why the sensei had taught him only one move even after months of training.

“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”. “Master this, and it will be the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the sensei replied.

Several months later, the boy participated in his first tournament. To his surprise, he easily won his first two matches, and got into the finals. This time his opponent was bigger, stronger and more experienced. For a while it appeared that the boy was outmatched. Then his opponent made a critical mistake; he dropped his guard and instantly the boy used his move to pin him.

The boy won the match and became the champion.

On the way home, the boy and his sensei reviewed the matches. “Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?” “You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defence for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

With wisdom, diligence and perseverance, the boy’s weakness became his winning strength.