004: Judo Boy

This was drawn by A. Kelly. Check out all the beautiful art on his site.

This comic is based on a pretty widespread urban legend, with the author being unknown. There are a few different versions, but I chose a simple one that still captures the essence of the story.  You can read the full story at Soup-Heart. Also, this story usually comes with a header that says: “Turn your weaknesses into strengths”. I wanted to present this idea, but in a more subtle way.

This tale is probably fiction. The purpose of the story is to take the its lesson and apply it to other areas of life. However, after some research, I found its principle and premise to be true. There is no particular judo move that only requires grabbing a left arm. There are also many ways to counter any given move. Yet, the lack of a limb presents a totally new and unknown challenge to the opponent; “How do you grapple someone when there is no limb to grab?”

If you still can’t picture it, then let me introduce you to Kyle Maynard, the real life counterpart to the Judo Boy in this story. Kyle is an award winning wrestler and mixed-martial arts (MMA) fighter who also so happens to be a quadruple amputee (no hands or feet). Kyle doesn’t do judo, and his opponents had all their limbs. After watching some videos of his fights, I realised that his ‘weakness’ gives him two advantages instead of one. Firstly, opponents find it hard to grapple or ‘lock’ his lack of limbs, which is similar to the Judo Boy story. Secondly, Kyle is always close to the ground while fighting, which forces his opponents to go low to attack him. This position is both unfamiliar and disadvantageous to the opponent. If you want to know about Kyle, you can google him. He even has a few documentaries made after him.

Here are a few more points to note:

Although he is very charismatic, Nick Vujicic isn’t the only person with no arms or legs, and I am well aware of how many disabled people are used as ‘inspirational porn’. The purpose of this comic is not to objectify these people, but rather, to tell it like it is. And in the comic’s story, there really is a practical purpose in literally turning a ‘disability’ into an advantage.

If you can gain inspiration from an authentic story, then good for you.

And if you know of any other lesser known urban legends, please share them in the comments below.