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
Grandmaster (martial arts) arts culture as marketing tactics to the extent that the titles are aligned to the 'elderly martial arts master' stock character. In Asian countries, such titles are more commonly reserved for religious leaders and saints. The use of "master," "grandmaster," etc. is decided within an individual art or organization. The use may be self assigned; for example having promoted a student to 'teacher' level, or may be assigned by a governing body in arts with a more formalised structure, and some do not use it at all, for historic reasons or to avoid the 'elderly master' stereotype. The modern use