All Is Not Lost!
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!
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