You can appreciate that this senior gave you his honest opinion (right or wrong) and not just a pep talk.
I totally agree that you do not need a huge range to be effective, but it's important that you work on ways to cancel an opponents range and flexability.
Just so you know where I'm coming from, I'm 42 years old and not very flexable.
"It's not the amount of weapons you have, it's how you use them."
I would respect this senior for giving his honest opinion (right or wrong) and use him in the future for advice.
In addition, when measuring your progress (flexability, etc...), measure against yourself,
when measuring skill (techniques, sparring), measure against an opponent.
Good Luck Karateka
