Elderly martial arts master
Encyclopedia
The elderly martial arts master is a stock character
in fiction
, especially martial arts films. Typically East Asian, he is a near-invincible master of the martial arts
, despite his age and presumed decrease in physical strength. Most often he teaches either generic Kung Fu, or an exotic style specific to the movie (see List of fictional martial arts). During the films, the master often becomes close with his student, with the master becoming a father figure to his trainee, who is, in turn, looked upon as a son. Usually, when the master is captured or killed, or an iconic portrait of the deceased master has been desecrated by some villains, the hero will take it upon himself to rescue or avenge his master.
The master is typically a serene, calm, sober and reserved old man. He represents the maturity and self-contentment that comes with age, along with the quiet confidence that comes with experience—both of life in general and of the skills and also the ideals and values that he has inherited from the martial arts. To him, his martial art is not just a way to beat people up or to act tough, it is—in keeping with the values and ideals generally attached to and associated with the martial arts by the Oriental societies—more a means to positively developing one's personality, way of living, to cultivate values such as respect, patience, self-control, discipline and the whole lot. The master is polite towards everyone, even the mischief makers who would misbehave with him sometime in the course of the movie. He always tries to verbally prevent mischief makers or the rival martial artist (who is often young and arrogant and sees the martial arts only as a means to act tough and bully people) for as long as he can, and that too politely. Only when he is forced to use his skills and left with no option, he shows how the mischief makers are no match for him—thereby demonstrating how politeness should not be mistaken for weakness. These are shown, for example, by Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid series, or the Janitor in the new Karate Kid 2010, or Yoda
of Star Wars
.
His speech is also full of philosophical observations, anecdotes, short parables or insights, that are mostly intended to constantly improve the insight and knowledge of the disciple in the martial arts, but also at times to improve his personality, behavior, moral values, and way of life. In the martial arts epic Enter The Dragon
, the old master at the beginning of the film is seen taking a walk with the hero played by Bruce Lee
, where he tells his best disciple how the latter has succeeded in acquiring an intuitive skill in the art that has gone beyond the mere physical, and how it is his duty now to use that wisely and prudently in life.
The master's dialogues with the protege would often carry short recollection of his own earlier life, his fighting or career experiences, or how he had come upon a particular knowledge or insight.
In the movie Bloodsport the teenage Frank Dux
is treated by the Japanese master Shitoshi Tanaka in a very fatherly and affectionate manner in general, but the training in rigorous and harsh, and the master never gives any relief or comfort zone to Frank Dux. In the movie Kickboxer the hero played by Jean Claude Van Damme is made to kick the palm tree trunk with his bare shins, until he fractures his shin and drops to the ground in agony.
In Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi makes Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio
) paint the fences and walls, and wipe the floors and the cars, with two specific arm-movements day after day, and only when Mr. Miyagi tests (by mock attacks) and finds that those movements have become spontaneous and unconscious reactions from Daniel, does he give the boy respite from that toil. It was then that Daniel too realizes, why after all his master had made him do that for days—in spite of him becoming tired, aching and fed-up—for those are actually blocking and parrying techniques, which his master by his experience, had ingrained into him without his being aware of it.
In many movies, the hero, after being wronged in some way by the rival gang or fighter, or after having his martial artist brother, or friend, maimed for life (or even killed) by the formidable and vicious fighter, seeks the master out himself with a resolution to take revenge. In such cases, the master is often unwilling at first, and may appear to be so just to test the seriousness and commitment of the protege. But finally after a few days, he agrees to start training, after he feels the protege has passed his test. The training imparted is typically harsh and rigorous right from day-one, and the master does not care if the hero has bruised and bloodied himself all over. He often administers medicine and pain-relief techniques, which are in many cases seen to be complimentary and associated skills that such masters possess along with fighting techniques—since oriental martial arts are also closely related and complimentary to traditional physio-therapy and healing systems.
Yet, in other movies, the protege does not really have to persuade or coax the master. The master is seen right from the beginning. He and the protege get to know each other often by a random event.
In Bloodsport the teenage Frank Dux sees a Katana
sword through the window of Shitoshi Tanaka's house, and in his teenage immaturity, decides to steal it with two of his friends. He is caught in the act, by the master and his son who was of the same age as Frank. But the master in gentle and kind to Frank, and instead of seeing that Frank is punished, decides to teach him a long term moral lesson—that such a sword can only be earned through merit, one cannot be a fighter by stealing it. He talks to Frank's parents about the benefits of martial training and expresses and wish to make Frank his student. That became the beginning of a lasting and close father-son like relationship between Frank and Tanaka, and when Tanaka's son died as an young adult, it was Frank—by then grown into a mature young man, a soldier in the army and a worthy disciple—whom Tanaka saw as his deserving successor and inheritor of his martial legacy. The training phase of the movie thus ended with a quite ceremony in which tanaka was seen handing over his katana
to Frank, signifying Frank's success in earning that sword, which he had tried to steal as a young boy, by merit and qualification. Frank, too shows the place his master occupies in his life by dedicating his victory in the underground Kumite
to him.
In the second Karate Kid movie, there is a touching scene where Daniel Larusso is seen coming up to the bereaved and tearful Mr. Miyagi who was sitting alone facing the sea and grieving for his father who had just died. Daniel sits besides him and comforts the old Mr. Miyagi both with words and an arm on his shoulder.
In some movies, the ability of the master to make his protege rise above the thought of "revenge", and to acquire the moral strength and fortitude to hold himself back from doing to the rival/ villain the same thing that the latter once had done to his brother or friend, even in the face of the strongest provocation, is shown very movingly and dramatically. In the Taekwondo
classic Best of the Best
, featuring some world-renowned martial-artists and a renowned martial arts grandmaster (Hee Il Cho
, the coach of the American team Frank Couzo (James Earl Jones
, prevents the American fighter in the last face-off of the competition, Tommy Lee Philip Rhee, to deal a fatal blow to his Korean opponent Dae Han Park (played by Philip's real-life brother Simon Rhee). Tommy had maimed his opponent and rendered him helpless by disabling his arms and legs, and the Korean could barely keep standing and taking a fighting stance. This was the same man who had cruelly killed his brother in sport combat years ago with excessive brutality. All Tommy had to do was to deal the final maiming or death blow with a powerful kich he had already braced himself for, as the scene of his brother's death flashed through his mind. But Coach Couzo's gentle but strong "No!" "No!" call from the sidelines helped Tommy avoid repeating the same crime for the sake of revenge and come down to the level of Dae Han. By doing so, he own over Dae Han with moral strength instead of and eye-for-an-eye revenge, which made Dae Han repent and approach Tommy to hail him and give him his own medal after the fight was over.
starring Jackie Chan
are probably the most mentionable as containing the most instances of master-disciple fun and frolic. In Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi shows a subtle sense of humor by pretending to deal a final "death blow" to the last standing member of the gang of mischief-makers that tries to assault him at night, but brings down his hand and at the last moment just "screws" the guy's nose and drops him. In another instance, when the arrogant and disrespectful rival fighter misbehaves and provokes Miyagi and Daniel, Mr. Miyagi tells him a story about his younger days in his native Okinawa, when there was a bull in the village that terrorized everyone, but one fine day, when there was a festival and a fest held, everyone was very happy and scared no more. Why so? because on that day, replies Mr. Miyagi as the punch-line, the angry and scary bull became very tasty soup.
The Master also keeps an eye on his protege's less martial and more "romantic" activities. He views them in an indulgent manner, as Mr. Miyagi does in the case of Daniel, as something that is but normal for the protege's age. But he also takes care, directly or indirectly, to make the disciple remember that the "girl" should not be interfering with and hampering his martial arts training or lessening his seriousness and commitment when it comes to training hard. Mr. Miyagi also displays humor in his rustic practicality when he explains to Daniel the importance of belts in martial arts. He says "belt hold up pants."
n societies like China, Japan, India, Thailand etc, which are the birth-places of most world-wide practiced martial arts. It is the image of an individual who has acquired experience, time-tested wisdom, insights, values and skills—not only in the sphere of his art but also in life in general, and his always ready and willing to gift or impart what he has to a deserving young individual, whom he recognizes as potentially deserving and fit to be groomed and helped to reach his innate potential. The values and qualities that are associated with such an archetype, and always found to be intended for the audience to recognize in him through the eyes of the protege, are wisdom, patience, dedication, discipline, self-control, strength of character, respect towards others and the art, and the ability to hold one's ground and to desist from using the art/skill unless forced to and unless left with no other option—which is an all-time outlook or attitude associated with martial-arts culture from the beginning. Though at times appearing as cliched, over-repeated and too simplistic or uni-dimensional, it is definitely one of the most positive, straightforward, uncomplicated and clean among the fictional stock characters.
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
in fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
, especially martial arts films. Typically East Asian, he is a near-invincible master of the martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, despite his age and presumed decrease in physical strength. Most often he teaches either generic Kung Fu, or an exotic style specific to the movie (see List of fictional martial arts). During the films, the master often becomes close with his student, with the master becoming a father figure to his trainee, who is, in turn, looked upon as a son. Usually, when the master is captured or killed, or an iconic portrait of the deceased master has been desecrated by some villains, the hero will take it upon himself to rescue or avenge his master.
Personality traits and mannerisms
Yoda
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...
of Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
.
Speech
The master always speaks in a very calm and composed manner. In case of the master being east-Asian, as is almost always in such films, he is invariably given the accent of an Oriental (Chinese or Japanese, or Thai) who is not used to speaking in English and can only speak it without much fluency and speed. His way of speaking takes on a particularly benevolent, patient, affectionate and friend-philosopher-guide tone when he speaks with his disciple. He typically reprimands and/or castigates the protege in his more "raw" and "immature" stage, but always in a fatherly manner. In most films of this genre, he often controls or restrains his protege, from getting provoked and retaliating at the "bad boy(s)", and makes the protege realize that everything has the "right time and place" and that losing control of oneself or giving in to the provocations of the rival or enemy is not like the true martial artist he wants his disciple to become.His speech is also full of philosophical observations, anecdotes, short parables or insights, that are mostly intended to constantly improve the insight and knowledge of the disciple in the martial arts, but also at times to improve his personality, behavior, moral values, and way of life. In the martial arts epic Enter The Dragon
Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...
, the old master at the beginning of the film is seen taking a walk with the hero played by Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
, where he tells his best disciple how the latter has succeeded in acquiring an intuitive skill in the art that has gone beyond the mere physical, and how it is his duty now to use that wisely and prudently in life.
The master's dialogues with the protege would often carry short recollection of his own earlier life, his fighting or career experiences, or how he had come upon a particular knowledge or insight.
Relationship with the protege
Though the master is always the benevolent father-figure, he can be very strict when it comes to the training. He does not give any false hope to the protege when it comes to training. He makes it very clear that in order to trained by him, the young man has to be unquestioningly obedient and be ready to bear the pain.In the movie Bloodsport the teenage Frank Dux
Frank Dux
Frank W. Dux is an American martial artist and fight choreographer. Dux established his own school of Ninjutsu in 1975, called "Dux Ryu Ninjutsu".He was the inspiration for the 1988 film Bloodsport starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.-Martial arts career:...
is treated by the Japanese master Shitoshi Tanaka in a very fatherly and affectionate manner in general, but the training in rigorous and harsh, and the master never gives any relief or comfort zone to Frank Dux. In the movie Kickboxer the hero played by Jean Claude Van Damme is made to kick the palm tree trunk with his bare shins, until he fractures his shin and drops to the ground in agony.
In Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi makes Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio
Ralph Macchio
Ralph George Macchio is an American actor, best known for his roles as Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid series, Bill Gambini in My Cousin Vinny, and Johnny Cade in The Outsiders. He is also known to American television audiences for his season five recurring role as Jeremy Andretti on the...
) paint the fences and walls, and wipe the floors and the cars, with two specific arm-movements day after day, and only when Mr. Miyagi tests (by mock attacks) and finds that those movements have become spontaneous and unconscious reactions from Daniel, does he give the boy respite from that toil. It was then that Daniel too realizes, why after all his master had made him do that for days—in spite of him becoming tired, aching and fed-up—for those are actually blocking and parrying techniques, which his master by his experience, had ingrained into him without his being aware of it.
In many movies, the hero, after being wronged in some way by the rival gang or fighter, or after having his martial artist brother, or friend, maimed for life (or even killed) by the formidable and vicious fighter, seeks the master out himself with a resolution to take revenge. In such cases, the master is often unwilling at first, and may appear to be so just to test the seriousness and commitment of the protege. But finally after a few days, he agrees to start training, after he feels the protege has passed his test. The training imparted is typically harsh and rigorous right from day-one, and the master does not care if the hero has bruised and bloodied himself all over. He often administers medicine and pain-relief techniques, which are in many cases seen to be complimentary and associated skills that such masters possess along with fighting techniques—since oriental martial arts are also closely related and complimentary to traditional physio-therapy and healing systems.
Yet, in other movies, the protege does not really have to persuade or coax the master. The master is seen right from the beginning. He and the protege get to know each other often by a random event.
In Bloodsport the teenage Frank Dux sees a Katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
sword through the window of Shitoshi Tanaka's house, and in his teenage immaturity, decides to steal it with two of his friends. He is caught in the act, by the master and his son who was of the same age as Frank. But the master in gentle and kind to Frank, and instead of seeing that Frank is punished, decides to teach him a long term moral lesson—that such a sword can only be earned through merit, one cannot be a fighter by stealing it. He talks to Frank's parents about the benefits of martial training and expresses and wish to make Frank his student. That became the beginning of a lasting and close father-son like relationship between Frank and Tanaka, and when Tanaka's son died as an young adult, it was Frank—by then grown into a mature young man, a soldier in the army and a worthy disciple—whom Tanaka saw as his deserving successor and inheritor of his martial legacy. The training phase of the movie thus ended with a quite ceremony in which tanaka was seen handing over his katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
to Frank, signifying Frank's success in earning that sword, which he had tried to steal as a young boy, by merit and qualification. Frank, too shows the place his master occupies in his life by dedicating his victory in the underground Kumite
Kumite
Kumite means sparring, and is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which you train against an adversary, using the techniques learned from the kihon and kata....
to him.
In the second Karate Kid movie, there is a touching scene where Daniel Larusso is seen coming up to the bereaved and tearful Mr. Miyagi who was sitting alone facing the sea and grieving for his father who had just died. Daniel sits besides him and comforts the old Mr. Miyagi both with words and an arm on his shoulder.
In some movies, the ability of the master to make his protege rise above the thought of "revenge", and to acquire the moral strength and fortitude to hold himself back from doing to the rival/ villain the same thing that the latter once had done to his brother or friend, even in the face of the strongest provocation, is shown very movingly and dramatically. In the Taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
classic Best of the Best
Best of the Best
Best of the Best is a 1989 martial arts film. The plot revolves around a team of Americans facing a team of Koreans in a taekwondo tournament. Several sub plots pop up in the story - moral conflicts, the power of the human spirit triumphing over adversity are some themes...
, featuring some world-renowned martial-artists and a renowned martial arts grandmaster (Hee Il Cho
Hee Il Cho
Cho Hee Il is a prominent Korean-American master of taekwondo, holding the rank of 9th dan in the martial art. He has written 11 martial art books, produced 70 martial art training videos, and has appeared on more than 70 martial arts magazine covers...
, the coach of the American team Frank Couzo (James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
, prevents the American fighter in the last face-off of the competition, Tommy Lee Philip Rhee, to deal a fatal blow to his Korean opponent Dae Han Park (played by Philip's real-life brother Simon Rhee). Tommy had maimed his opponent and rendered him helpless by disabling his arms and legs, and the Korean could barely keep standing and taking a fighting stance. This was the same man who had cruelly killed his brother in sport combat years ago with excessive brutality. All Tommy had to do was to deal the final maiming or death blow with a powerful kich he had already braced himself for, as the scene of his brother's death flashed through his mind. But Coach Couzo's gentle but strong "No!" "No!" call from the sidelines helped Tommy avoid repeating the same crime for the sake of revenge and come down to the level of Dae Han. By doing so, he own over Dae Han with moral strength instead of and eye-for-an-eye revenge, which made Dae Han repent and approach Tommy to hail him and give him his own medal after the fight was over.
Humour
The old master often shows a wry and restrained sense of humor at times. Master Tanaka flashes his katana with a practiced lightning speed to cleanly cut off the visor of Frank's baseball cap, with Frank becoming wide-eyed in frightened surprise. In Kickboxer the lead character of Van Damme is awakened flabbergasted and gulping at dawn from deep sleep by a huge splash of cold water by his master. The Kung Fu movies of Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
starring Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
are probably the most mentionable as containing the most instances of master-disciple fun and frolic. In Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi shows a subtle sense of humor by pretending to deal a final "death blow" to the last standing member of the gang of mischief-makers that tries to assault him at night, but brings down his hand and at the last moment just "screws" the guy's nose and drops him. In another instance, when the arrogant and disrespectful rival fighter misbehaves and provokes Miyagi and Daniel, Mr. Miyagi tells him a story about his younger days in his native Okinawa, when there was a bull in the village that terrorized everyone, but one fine day, when there was a festival and a fest held, everyone was very happy and scared no more. Why so? because on that day, replies Mr. Miyagi as the punch-line, the angry and scary bull became very tasty soup.
The Master also keeps an eye on his protege's less martial and more "romantic" activities. He views them in an indulgent manner, as Mr. Miyagi does in the case of Daniel, as something that is but normal for the protege's age. But he also takes care, directly or indirectly, to make the disciple remember that the "girl" should not be interfering with and hampering his martial arts training or lessening his seriousness and commitment when it comes to training hard. Mr. Miyagi also displays humor in his rustic practicality when he explains to Daniel the importance of belts in martial arts. He says "belt hold up pants."
General conclusion
All in all, the "elderly martial arts master" is an overall positive, "role-model" archetype, aimed by all means at the children, adolescent and youth viewer. It is essentially founded on the images, traits and qualities that are traditionally associated with the late-middle age or old age in AsiaAsia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n societies like China, Japan, India, Thailand etc, which are the birth-places of most world-wide practiced martial arts. It is the image of an individual who has acquired experience, time-tested wisdom, insights, values and skills—not only in the sphere of his art but also in life in general, and his always ready and willing to gift or impart what he has to a deserving young individual, whom he recognizes as potentially deserving and fit to be groomed and helped to reach his innate potential. The values and qualities that are associated with such an archetype, and always found to be intended for the audience to recognize in him through the eyes of the protege, are wisdom, patience, dedication, discipline, self-control, strength of character, respect towards others and the art, and the ability to hold one's ground and to desist from using the art/skill unless forced to and unless left with no other option—which is an all-time outlook or attitude associated with martial-arts culture from the beginning. Though at times appearing as cliched, over-repeated and too simplistic or uni-dimensional, it is definitely one of the most positive, straightforward, uncomplicated and clean among the fictional stock characters.
Examples
- Master Kan and Master Po in Kung FuKung Fu (TV series)Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
and Kwai Chang CaineKwai Chang CaineKwai Chang Caine [虔官昌 or 拐杖棍 Qián Guānchāng] is a fictional television character in the 1972–1975 western television series, Kung Fu. He has been portrayed by David Carradine as an adult, Keith Carradine as a younger Caine and Radames Pera the child Caine and Stephen Manley as the youngest...
in Kung Fu: The Legend ContinuesKung Fu: The Legend ContinuesKung Fu: The Legend Continues is a spin-off of the 1972-1975 television series Kung Fu. David Carradine and Chris Potter starred as a father and son trained in kung fu - Carradine playing a Shaolin monk, Potter a police detective. This series aired in syndication for four seasons, from January 27,... - Mr. Miyagi and Mr. Han in The Karate Kid films
- O-SenseiO-Sensei (comics)O-Sensei is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He is a martial arts master who first appeared in Dragon's Fists, a novel by Dennis O'Neil and Jim Berry, starring Richard Dragon...
in DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner... - YodaYodaYoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...
and Obi-Wan KenobiObi-Wan KenobiObi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...
, JediJediThe Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
masters in the Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
franchise. - Pai Mei from the Kill BillKill BillKill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
series of films (Volumes 1 & 2). - Splinter from the Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesThe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
franchise - Master Shifu and Master Oogway from Kung Fu PandaKung Fu PandaKung Fu Panda is a 2008 American computer-animated action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures...
- Kamesennin from the Dragon BallDragon Ballis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
series. - Chiun master of Sinanju, The Destroyer series with Remo Williams.
- Hard Master and Soft MasterArashikageArashikage is a fictional ninja clan from the military-themed G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series of comics, television shows, and action figures. The name is derived from the Japanese words for storm and shadow...
, in G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero series.
See also
- Wise old manWise old manThe wise old man is an archetype as described by Carl Jung, as well as a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character...
- Stock characters
- BruceploitationBruceploitationBruceploitation is a cultural phenomenon mostly seen in the 1970s after the 1973 death of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. Movie makers in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan hired a great number of Bruce Lee look-alike actors to star in many cheap knock-off martial arts movies to cash in on...
- Cinema of ChinaCinema of ChinaThe Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
- Wuxia film
- ClichéClichéA cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...