AGE, THE PREREQUISITE ?
By Soke Daniel Verkerke

Some people think age is a prerequisite needed in order to gain experience, knowledge, and wisdom. It is not a matter of how many years you live that makes the difference, it's a matter of what you do with each year you live. I have met quite a few retired people who have spent 30 to 40 years of their lives working the same job day in and day out, never changing or developing. On the other hand there are individuals that have accomplished a lifetime of achievements while still in their twenties. Everyone automatically thinks of Bruce Lee when one mentions a young master. If you would investigate many of the founding Masters you would find that Bruce Lee is only one of many masters that formed their own martial art at a young age.
What would you think if I said, "I know of a guy who started training in Jujitsu when he was 17 years old. His instructor thought he was too young for serious training and only gave him a few formal exercises to practice. At age 18 this guy found a new instructor named Fukuda, but Fukuda died when this guy was 19 years old. This guy continued practicing what he had learned and by age 21 he was a master in Jujitsu. When he was 22 years old, he took nine students and set up his own dojo. Two years later at 24 years of age the first by-laws were drawn and he opened the Kodokan? His name was Jigoro Kano.
It is much easier to judge someone by age, rather then spending the time to get to know them, who they are, their experiences and accomplishments. It is ridiculous that in order for a young Master to be accepted by his peers he has to either appear in movies, become famous or die.
If someone starts training at age 55 and earns their black belt by age 58. Then continues training until age 65. Should they be accepted as a Master? If so, then a person who starts training at age 20 and earns a black belt by age 23 should be accepted as a Master at age 30. Both these examples are wrong as age has nothing to do with becoming a Master. It would be easy if all mankind grew, experienced and developed at the same age in life, then age would be a major factor. Unfortunately this is not the case. Everyone does not grow, experience and develope at the same age in life. Some people grow up quickly while others may never grow up and how we grow from what we experience makes a big difference. It may take one person 20 years of living to develope an understanding of wisdom, while another person may take 50 years, and some may never attain it.
Unless you have a closed mind, "Please"; before Prejudging and discriminating against people, find out their accomplishments and who they really are. You have nothing to lose.

By Soke Daniel Verkerke
Seicho Jutsu