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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 hat 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!"