The One-Armed
Judo Champion
A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo even
though 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,” (Teacher
in Japanese) 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 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 the
judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to
grab your left arm.”
The Sensei adapted to the situation. He used the
boy’s ability to his advantage. A good manager adapts to a situation and builds
on it!
If you are curious on how
you can improve competencies such as adaptability, click here.
*Story adapted from a
Japanese Folklore.
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