男孩的弱点

张祖平

A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo1 despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well， but he couldn’t understand why the master taught him only one move after three months of training.

“Master，” the boy finally asked， “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 master replied.

Not quite understanding， but believing in his master， the boy kept training. Several months later， the master took the boy to his first tournament2. Surprising himself， the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult， but after some time， his opponent3 became impatient， the boy deftly4 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 taller， stronger， and more experienced. For a while， the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt， the referee5 wanted to call a time-out. When the referee was about to pause the match， the master stopped him. “No，” the master insisted， “Let him continue.” Soon after the boy’s opponent made a big mistake： He dropped his guard. Instantly6， the boy used his move to beat him down. The boy had won the tournament.

He was the champion. On the way home， the boy and the master reviewed7 every move in every match. Then the boy get up the courage to ask what was really on his mind， “Master， how did I win the tournament with only one move？”

“You won for two reasons，” the master answered. “First， you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second， the only defense8 for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

一個十岁的男孩决定去学习柔道，尽管他在一次车祸中失去了左臂。

男孩开始向一位年长的日本柔道大师学习。男孩学得很认真，他不明白，为什么经过三个月的训练，大师还是只教了他一个招数。

男孩最后问：“师傅，难道我不应该再学点别的招数吗？”

大师答道：“这是你唯一知道的招数，但这也是你唯一需要知道的招数。”

男孩并不是很明白，但是他相信他的师傅。男孩继续训练。几个月以后，大师带他去参加首届锦标赛。男孩自己都感到很惊讶，他轻轻松松就赢得了前两场比赛。第三场比赛有点难，但是过了一会儿，对手失去了耐心，男孩熟练地使用他的一招赢得了比赛。男孩仍然很惊讶，而现在他已经进入了总决赛。

这次，他的对手更高、更壮、更有经验。好一会儿，男孩处于劣势。裁判担心男孩可能会受伤，想暂停比赛。正当裁判要终止比赛的时候，男孩的师傅阻止他，坚持说：“不，让他打下去。”很快男孩的对手就犯了一个重大的错误：他放松了警惕。随即男孩一招致胜，赢得了此次锦标赛。

他成为了冠军。在回家的路上，男孩和他的师傅回顾了每场比赛的每一招。然后男孩鼓起勇气说出了他脑海中的疑问：“师傅，我何以一招致胜赢比赛？”

“你能赢，有两个原因，”大师答道，“首先，你已经精通了柔道中最厉害的摔法。第二，唯一能防御你那一招的是让你的对手抓住你的左臂。”

男孩最大的弱点成为了他最大的优势。