[quote]Magarhe wrote:
the.israeli wrote:
Magarhe wrote:
Genetics make a HUGE difference at an elite level in ALL disciplines
Lifelong training, sometimes starting at AGE THREE, makes a HUGE difference at elite level, in all disciplines
Please show me examples of people who have achieved phenomenal results at an elite level but a) started really late in life and / or b) were average in their teens and / or c) have average or just good genetics
More common in the martial arts world. Many known masters are known to have started between 20-30 with some minus-average genetics. Ma Hong, a teacher of Chen Tai Chi, started when he was 40 years old.
Here he is age 76:
Just proof there exist some physical disciplines that can contradict this claim.
Generally in that side of the MA world, rising up ranks of teaching, is a lot different to competitive fighting. Many are never really tested in their skills, not against other disciplines or even within their own discipline against others, not tested in a way that is highly competitive.
Unless there is a lot of money involved, and the sport is very popular and well known, and then you give people decades to prepare, you are not getting the best of the best.
Or to put it another way, let’s say the top master of Chen Tai Chi was paid tens of millions of dollars per year, and it was one of the top 5 sports in the USA, up there with baseball for the next 40 years. How do you think Ma Hong would compare to those who would come through the ranks over the next 40 years? People with gifted genetics, training from age 3, driven by obsessed parents and lusting after the massive cash?
No disprespect to Ma Hong and as I said before I have a lot of respect for that discipline especially when the money and fame are not involved.
And highly skilled practices do take decades of refinement of skill.
And there are quite a few sports that are not highly paid, not as popular and not as competitive, which offer an opportunity to someone not as gifted or disciplined.
As an example … Arild “Hulk” Haugen (from Wiki)
Arild is 1.89 metres tall and weighs approximately 142 kg. He is capable of squatting 370 kg, a deadlift of 400 kg, and a bench press of 250 kg.
It has been suggested that Haugen has much potential, and in future Strongman competitions, will rival the impressive records set by Mariusz Pudzianowski.
In October 2008 Haugen officially retired from strongman to focus on a career in boxing. His decision was caused by the lack of prize money in strongmen competitons.
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I concur, although some Tai Chi masters in the pre-video past were known to have started ages 3-5 and brutally instructed (to the point that Yang Cheng Fu, another well known masters, tried to commit suicide AS A CHILD to escape the harsh regime). Anyway, sure if money was heavily involved specifically into Tai Chi, it could have gone a lot farther, as with every other thing you can think of.
