I find the statement "genetically gifted" kind of a scientific misnomer, as it screams of religious sentimentality.
Really? Gifted? From whom? How? It almost seems like one is alluding to miracles.
Are you inferring anybody could win an Olympic gold or be an elite professional athlete...or even a college scholarship athlete no matter the genetics they were born with?
No, what I am inferring is that it could be ANYTHING that endows them with that ability.
Why not presume it is commitment? Why not Magic? Why not Luck?
I think these words make as much sense currently as 'genetics' when making these correlations.
As in no proof for any of it.
There is no Atlas on genetics that proves any mysterious genetic attributes are the primary contributor to any of it. If so I would like someone to show me.
Sure to win gold requires extreme commitment but the luck part comes in the form of what you were born with...which is the genetics passed on by your parents. That is changing though because the next generation of performance enhancers is gene doping and it's already began. If you don't like the genes you were born with, we'll just change the expressions. The next step will be designer babies and it's not far off.
Of course, my luck was in witnessing genetics at a very young age having been raised on a ranch. Generations of my family were involved in breeding prized purebreed registered Angus...and bloodlines (genetics) are everything in that game for a reason...because it's practically the only thing that matters. And that was how artificial insemination began....you could make more money selling seamen than selling bulls....it's like selling the same bull over and over. But it's all about genetics and the paper proving those bloodlines...because it's been proven over and over again through performance tracking. This has been documented for centuries. But without the genetic bloodlines, that seamen is worthless.
Another classic example is race horses. Try and buy a winning race horse and the price will be based on the bloodlines of the colt which is based off the performance of the sire (especially) and the dam...and any famous genetics further up the bloodline. You can't make a racehorse out of any old plug no matter how hard you try (Disney movies excluded).
The same is true in all the animal kingdom and humans are no different. You may want to read up on the latest genetic research. It's fascinating. Any just like with the racehorses, big money talks. And big money is being spent at high level sports to leverage genetic research into individually designed training and diets. It's not surprising that genetic research has revealed the basis for one size doesn't fit all.
And as far as performance enhancers, people are naive if they don't think it's pervasive at all levels right down to high school. Because once again, money talks...and big money is involved...starting with college scholarships and ending with Olympic gold or a professional contract...and we're talking millions of dollars....huge incentive to succeed...at any cost. And they work. But often it still is not enough to exceed the next talented guy with better genetics...who just might be using performance enhancers also.
And we've haven't even began to talk about the recreational athletes that simply want to look good in the gym or impress the girls or win a local contest. Performance enhancers are readily available and very commonly used/abused. Apparently many are still naive to the truth.
Some of the guys I train Judo with are winning world championships, some of them are on their way to the olympics.
Do they possess extreme muscularity? No, and as a matter of fact some of them have high body fat.
Judo is a very competitive sport when taken up to the extreme level.
So whatever 'genetics' is required for "physical fitness" apparently eludes these quite amazing Judo players.
For all intents and purposes muscle memory is a huge aspect of martial arts, and ANYBODY is capable of that.
Similarly, muscle memory is a part of body building. And ANYBODY is capable of that.
Saying there is a reason why some guys are 6'2 while other's are 5'8 is like saying, "gee, you know I exist, you exist and the world exists, and how do you like that?"
It's superfluous. Diversity exists. Call it genetics, luck, what have you but it does not make one person superior than another from the outset. This stupid, elitist mind set is the reason why so many people are discouraged from participation in sports and such. I use to let that get to me till I realized the difference between me and the next guy is incidental. Nothing more.
In Judo there are weight classes because people are different, that goes without saying. But training Randori and Ne waza? Sometimes the small guy owns the larger guy, regardless of rank or muscularity or any of that.
