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Interesting, KaVir. I'll take a look at it later.
From what I've seen, understood, and experienced, any art that accepts people earlier then the early to mid teens tends to be a wee bit "soft", to be blunt.
Iaijutsu (Not Iaido. Significant difference.) tends to be a good example of this - Look at the philosophy. I _know_ I would _not_ want any of my small cousins, nephews, or relations that are not at least in their mid teens following Iaijutsu. While there are exceptions to the rule, not many young people that I know are mature enough _and have the strength of will_ to understand the core of what is being taught.
Let me rephrase - how many 6 year olds do you see being taught to kill? While some young folk may be mature enough to understand what is being taught, many do not yet understand _why_ it is being taught. And this is a hard topic to express - it is something understood at an almost unconscious level even by my own Sensei. He explained it fairly well, but I managed to only remember the geist of what he said. Yes, there is a definite sort of ageism - and I am the first to admit, there are definitely 14 year olds that should not be learning martial arts. (In fact, we have a teenager on these boards that should be held back at least 20 miles from the nearest Sensei, imo.) However, age is as close as anyone can come to a generic "maturity indicator". And even then - it sucks as an indicator.
As a personal sidenote to KaVir: I am personally surprised you have heard of Iaijutsu. Any prior martial arts training? Or just a casual interest? When I say 'Iaijutsu' ('net or RL), most people look at me odd, and proclaim me an idiot who has never trained in his life.
-D
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