STAMP

This story begins with a scenario you’ve seen in a classic movie franchise and in the hit Netflix series it spawned: A mild-mannered youth gets bullied at school day after day. The kid comes under the guidance of a wise martial arts teacher, who imparts the ways of combat. When the kid decides that enough is enough on the schoolyard, you know the end is near. Using skills learned from the sensei, the kid vanquishes the bullies — and even wins a local tournament. Before you stop reading so you can go catch up on Cobra Kai, know that this particular story has more twists than a double spinning back kick.

In order to continue this real-life version of the “wax on, wax off” saga, we have to talk math. Why? Well, because later on in this story, the world’s toughest math teacher is going to show up. And, believe me, you don’t want to fail his pop quiz!

Statistically, it’s about a million-to-one shot that a person can become a pro athlete in the NFL, MLB or NBA. The odds are stacked even higher against a person who sets out to become a world champion in a combat sport. To become the best on the planet at two different combat sports, the odds can be calculated only by