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From “Losers Do Useless Practice” by Olympic gold medalist Jun Mizutani
In 2002, the Japanese men’s team, which had been in a slump until then, began its reform.
Two promising young players, Ryosuke Sakamoto and Seiya Kishikawa, were sent to Borussia Düsseldorf in Germany to train under Mario Amizic. One year later, Jun Mizutani followed them to Düsseldorf.
Chapter 3: The Abnormality of Champions
The personality of winners is different from everyone else’s. It is precisely because they have a winning personality—an abnormality—that they can become champions.
What is the abnormality champions possess? It is a “personality for winning”—that is the “abnormality”
Strong people, champions, are “abnormal people.” It’s a provocative way to put it, but you could also say they are people with an abnormality. That doesn’t mean it in a bad sense. In English too, people sometimes say, “That guy is crazy,” and it doesn’t always mean something negative; it can describe someone whose way of thinking and acting is different from others, someone with strong fixation and obsession. Or it can be used to describe someone with an exceptional kind of craziness.
People who are aware of their own abnormality are strong. Unless a player reaches that level, they may not be able to stand at the top of Japan or the world. To win on the big stage, you have to do things differently from everyone else, and that involves risk. I think what separates you from others is whether you can be abnormally fixated on Point.
If you go against the coach’s opinion, state a different opinion, and walk a different path from others, you become a minority, so it’s uncomfortable and you’re more likely to be criticized. In Japan, as the saying goes, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. But champions are the nails that stick out. Maybe they become champions because, no matter how many times they’re hammered, they keep sticking out.
In a good sense, “abnormality” can be replaced by the word “personality.” Everyone has a personality, but the personality of winners is different from everyone else’s. It is precisely because they have a personality for winning—an abnormality—that they can become champions.
I don’t think I was born with a winning abnormality. I believe I developed “abnormality” in order to win. If you don’t become abnormal, you can’t reach the world’s top or the very peak in Japan.
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