Elderly martial arts master Elderly martial arts master The elderly martial arts master is a mentor/teacher stock character in fiction, especially "Wuxia", "Chanbara", and other martial arts films. Typically an East Asian male, he is a near-invincible master of the martial arts, despite being advanced in age and presumably having a decrease in physical strength. Often he possesses the rank of Sensei (or teacher) and is referred to as such by his student. The elderly master most often teaches either generic kung fu or an exotic style specific to the fictional period (see List of fictional martial arts). During the films, the master often
Japanese martial arts include marine skills such as swimming and river-fording ("suijutsu"), equestrianism ("bajutsu"), arson and demolition ("kajutsu"). , literally meaning "modern martial way", usually applies to arts founded after the beginning of the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Aikido and judo are examples of "gendai budō" that were founded in the modern era, while "iaidō" represents the modernization of a practice that has existed for centuries. The core difference is, as was explained under ""koryū"", above, that "koryū" arts are practiced as they were when their primary utility was for use in warfare, while the primary purpose of "gendai budō" is for self-improvement,