Re: What's wrong with Musashimaru? [athletic pressures]

[IMZen@aol.com]

Thanks for the clarification Steve.  Your original post was a bit 
too bold and cutting for me.... I had to reply.  I was a bit 
amazed at your generalizations & speculations.  

As for being under pressure, it stresses people very individually.  
When an athlete has achieved the upper echelons of one's sport, 
they have learned how to deal with the tremendous pressures 
that can accompany them.  These pressures do not just appear 
at the top levels of the sport.  They are there from the very beginning.  
Day one.  A student new to a sport feels a stress just as the athlete 
that is going for a gold medal.  The only differences are the levels 
of stress and the ability to deal with them effectively.  The oddest 
situation is an athlete that is at the top level that is unable to contend
with the stress and then habitually folds under it.  These athletes do 
not stay in the top ranks for long, IF AT ALL.  If they have not 
learned how to deal with pressure by this time it is an oddity.  
It is even more rare that they are still in the upper levels of 
competition if they fold under pressure.  Many an athlete does 
occasionally succumb to pressure but more often than not, it 
creates an opportunity for them to do personal bests, break 
world records, etc...  In short, do their very best under the pressure.   
Let's face it, if you cannot overcome pressures & stress 
you will not be the best nor do you deserve to be.  

Respectfully,

     Zen