To late?

[bushido_man96]

i might of won something and be recognized by that victory.

You might still! There is no time limit on greatness. Nothing worth doing should or can be rushed. You have not achieved your "victory" by now because you were not meant to do so. Accept that and you will be better off. Besides...when your 40, you don't want to have to be the guy who needs to bring up the past when he speaks of acomplishments. When your 15, 18, 22, 35, and older; you want to be able to say, "This is what I did today!"

Martial Arts is a life long process. Every physical skill you learn between now and death is ultimately superfluous.

Good point, ps1. Jaert3, it sounds to me like you need to let your ego go.

[cathal]

and thats exactly whats bugging me , did i miss out on any chance i ever had to be at their level?

Absolutely not. You only get out of it what you put in. If those kids have been doing it since they were four years old, it doesn't make a lick of difference. I've seen them perform in kata, kumite, tournaments, whatever. Nothing changes it all boils down to the individual, how much effort they put into it, and how hard they're working.