Overcoming Adversity: The Judo Champion Without a Left Arm

THE JUDO CHAMPION WITHOUT LEFT ARM

A girl decided to study judo despite the fact that she had lost her left arm in a car accident.

The girl began lessons with an old Japanese judo instructor. The girl was doing well. But she couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the instructor had taught her only one move.

“Instructor,” the girl 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 instructor replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in her teacher, the girl kept training.

Several months later, the instructor took the girl to her first tournament . Surprising herself, the girl easily won her first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, her opponent became impatient and charged . The girl deftly used her one move to win the match. Still amazed by her success, the girl was now in the finals.

This time, her opponent was bigger, stronger and more experienced. For a while, the girl appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the girl might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. She was about to stop the match when the instructor intervened.

“No,” the instructor insisted. “Let her continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, her opponent made a critical mistake: she dropped her guard. Instantly, the girl used her move to pin her opponent. The girl had won the match and the tournament. She was the champion.

On the way home, the girl and her teacher reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the girl summoned the courage to ask what was really on her mind.

“Instructor, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the teacher answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is your opponent to grab your left arm.”

A girl lost her left arm in a car accident but decided to learn judo anyway.

She began taking lessons with an older Japanese judo instructor. The girl learned well, but she just didn’t understand why the coach only taught her one move after three months of training.

“Coach,” the girl finally asked, “won’t you teach me a few more tricks?”

“You only learned one trick, but you only need to learn this one trick.” The coach replied.

She didn’t quite understand it, but she believed in the coach’s words and continued training.

A few months later, the coach took the girl to her first tournament. She won the first two games easily, surprising even herself. The third game was more difficult, but after a while, the opponent became impatient and nervous. The girl expertly used that move to win the game. She made it to the finals, a victory that felt incredible to her.

This time, the opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. After competing for a while, the girl was about to lose. The referee was worried about her injury and called a timeout. She was about to give up the game when the coach came forward.

“No,” the coach insisted, “let her keep competing.”

Shortly after the game restarted, her opponent made a fatal mistake: she let her guard down. In an instant, the girl used that move to suppress her opponent. She won this match and the entire tournament and became the champion.

On the way back, the girl and the teacher reviewed every move in each game, and she mustered up the courage to ask the question that had been lingering in her mind:

“Coach, how could I win the entire tournament with this move?”

“Two reasons.” The teacher said, “First, you have basically mastered the most difficult throw in judo; second, to guard against your move, people only know one way, and that is for your opponent to catch you. ‘s left arm.

-judo [ˈdʒuːdəʊ] n.judo

-tournament [ˈtʊənəmənt] n. tournament

-charged [tʃɑːdʒd] adj. nervous

-deftly [deftlɪ] adv. deftly

Weaknesses, if exploited well, can also be turned into unique strengths.

2024-04-16 01:26:15
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