My first shifu (from . Some of his students started calling him master. He did not look at all comfortable with the title. Then one day he asked them to stop, and told them there are mo masters under 60. He was in his 50s at the time and started training when he was 5.
I prefer Lord High Omnipotant Grand Master Ruler of all I survey......
I prefer Lord High Omnipotant Grand Master Ruler of all I survey......
That’s all true for arts subjects like English.
I fully agree with this. Even though most of my MA's experience has been in and around full blooded Korean 'Master' instructors, it never really moved my meter to be called a 'Master', even though I hold more than enough rank. It is too easily misunderstood and sounds rather arrogant to me. But I am from the south so I know opinions vary.
Andy, I think this argument over the years typically required to attain university degrees comes from a basic misunderstanding. You are posting from the UK and many other forum members are coming from the States. We have slightly different educational structures.
I strongly support giving students a broader education before they specialize or declare a "major", or basically what we used to call a "liberal arts education". It's a term that is now associated with lazy kids who want to hang out in school for years, partying and putting off commitment to a job and "pulling their weight" in the "real world".
AikidoI wonder how this philosophy would work if applied to the martial arts? What would a generalized, "liberal arts" approach to MA instruction look like?
Just aikido? No you would need a more diverse curriculum!Aikido
They do swords and striking and throws and locks. Other than grappling, what else is there?
...er, Martial Farts??? ...Hey, don't ask me. I didn't have the benefits of a liberal arts education in the martial arts, so I didn't know that Aikido had all that.
Great post.Andy, I think this argument over the years typically required to attain university degrees comes from a basic misunderstanding. You are posting from the UK and many other forum members are coming from the States. We have slightly different educational structures.
Secondary or high school students in the States complete 12 years of elementary and secondary education combined and and are typically 17 (or just barely turned 18) years of age when they "graduate". This is the norm, whether students are university bound or heading into the workforce.
Therefore, the standard bachelor's program here is four years, and often takes five these days. To graduate in less than four years in the US would require special permission in many institutions, especially traditional "four-year residency colleges" and universities like the one I attended. Graduation in less time can happen, but it's highly unusual.
It's my understanding that in the UK (and optionally in Canada), university bound students take a 13th year (sixth form) of secondary school before proceeding to study at (the) university. So students on your side of the pond, essentially enter (the) university with a year under their belt while Americans are typically required to take a full year of "general education requirements" before entering their individual field of study or "major". BTW, most Americans, even those in education fields, are unaware of this difference, so that may be the issue here.
I am a secondary school teacher in the States, but I know of these systemic differences only because my older brother completed a fellowship at Oxford that translated to a "master's degree" in the American system and I guess he learned a bit about your system from his schoolmates over there. Otherwise, we Yanks are a pretty provincial lot and don't travel much out of our own continent. For one thing, it's expensive. And, then there are also those of us here who just don't care much about the world at large.
Personally, I like to think that we martial artists should be a little less benighted. Either way, if I didn't yet the details right, sorry. I'd be glad to have you put me straight on this!
BTW here's my source for comparing our systems and what in the US has traditionally been called a "Four year Bachelors degree" vs. that which in the UK is apparently referred to as a "Three year Bachelors degree":
Education in England - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
You see different individuals calling themselves master, at what stage is it acceptable and does that affect their own Ego. You come across the arrogance then stumble across a Web page and get astonished by how some overvalue themselves. If you fancy a seminar with one for example, take out your bank loan and do it. This guy I heard say women can't do wing chun as they are not strong enough? So just let them join in for fun. Wow
Sensei is a perfectly acceptable title to be used in our dojo when addressing the teacher. Yes, some of them have higher honorific titles but they are fine with Sensei. In my old Aikido dojo, the head of the school was called Soke. I don't hear that one too often.
