[Arratherimi]

I think the Olympic ideal is great too, but how it works in practice is another thing altogether. And also I think the motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger" leads to the worship of youth. That's the other great thing about kendo: it's not obssessed with that pseudo-classical ideal of the youthful body and what it can do, but rather the totality of the human 'body-mind', which includes the experience of age.

Elite athletes by definition have to be indulged to an incredible degree. Their families have to make sacrifices, both emotional and financial. Imagine growing up the sibling of an Olympian, it would be like seeing your parents admit every day that they have a favourite and it's not you. And frequently in order to excel at this one thing, athletes sacrifice the kind of balanced emotional development that the rest of us take for granted. They are frequently self-centred, arrogant and out of touch with anyone around them that cannot cater to their needs. Later on, when they retire, they realise that they don't know much. I think it was Susie O'Neill, the Australian swimmer who lamented (something like): "when I retired in my mid twenties I found that all of my friends from school were becoming doctors, lawyers, plumbers, parents. They all had skills and careers. All I knew was how to swim fast."

So yes, toddlers indeed. I think it is what the Olympics demand.

b