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Grandmaster and Master, are titles used to describe or address some senior or experienced martial artists. Oriental martial arts traditionally use terms that are usually translated as "teacher"^[1] and the use of master is a Western invention. This came from 1950s US war veterans returning home with stories of incredible martial feats of individuals and groups in Asia and subsequently, they found their way into martial arts culture as marketing tactics. In Asian countries such are titles are more commonly reserved for religious leaders and saints.^[1] The titles are aligned to the Elderly martial arts master stock character.

Naming Styles

Lineage based systems

In these styles there is only one grandmaster who is the head or father figure of the entire style and acts as the overseer and example to all the style's adherents. It is the grandmaster's duty to see that the style continues on intact to the next generation of students and masters as well as look deeply into the style itself for anything that can be strengthened in any way. As the grandmaster it is him only who has the authority to change the style's format for future generations legitimately. Usually, the grandmaster from one generation to the next is a prized disciple of the last grandmaster who has trained and mastered all the style's aspects including fighting techniques, theory and philosophy, and is publicly named the next grandmaster upon the current one's retirement. In various systems there are different traditions regarding this passing on of the title, some of which include a match between the successor and former heads of the style in order to demonstrate the new grandmaster's grasp of the style and his skill in its use.

Family systems

A second use of the title is Tai Si Gong (Chinese) which literally translates to grandfather or master's master.^[1] This dates back to the family systems of martial arts where the Sifu or Sensei is the master and father figure of the students. The grandfather then is the generation beyond that and to the present students would be known as grandfather. This of course refers to a level of skill and wisdom for the grandmaster, however it is not the same as being the grandmaster of a style.

Modern systems

Some more modern grandmasters claim the title is earned simply by them having promoted a student to master level, thus rewarding themselves and their accomplishment as an instructor with a higher level title. This is similar to the familial system as described above, but is not the same.

Naming conventions by culture

China

Various dialects of the Chinese language use different terms.

"Sifu" is the Cantonese romanization, although the term and pronunciation are also used in other southern languages. In Mandarin Chinese, it's "shifu". The pronunciation in Mandarin is like "sure foo" (using typical English pronunciation). There's an "R-sound" in there, which is not obvious from the romanization. Many martial arts studios incorrectly pronounce this like "she foo". In Cantonese, it sounds like "Sea foo" (almost like "sea food", minus the "d" on the end). (師傅 or 師父; Pinyin: shīfu, Cantonese: si1 fu6) as a general term for "teacher".^[1] In the north of China, where Mandarin is the standard, Lao Shi (老師 lǎo shī Cantonese lou5 si1), "elder teacher" is the usual term.

The term Sifu is a combination of the characters "teacher" and "father." The traditional Chinese martial arts school, or kwoon is an extended family headed by the Sifu. The Sifu's teacher is the "teacher grandfather" or Sigung. Similarly the Sifu's wife is the Simu "teacher mother". Male and female students who began training before you and are thus senior, are Sihing "teacher older brothers" and Sije "teacher older sisters". Students junior to you are your Sidai and Simui. The pattern extends to uncles, aunts, cousins, great uncles, and so forth.^[1]

Posthumously a teacher might be referred to as Josi "ancestral teacher" for their exceptional ability and contributions to the martial arts community. A reversal of the order of the characters produces the title Sijo. A Sijo is he founder of a martial art. Sijo Bruce Lee is the Sijo "founder" of Jeet Kune Do.^[1]

A closer relationship is formed between the Sifu and the Todai "disciple". After a formal Tea Ceremony, where everyone dresses up in their Sunday's best, the Todai kneels while serving his Sifu tea and becomes virtually an adopted son. The Todai assists the Sifu in minor school duties such as housekeeping and tuition collection. Modern mainland Chinese sometimes also use the term laoshi which also means teacher but implies a relationship more similar to that of Japan than the traditional family relationship.^[1]

Japan

Japanese and Japanese derived arts commonly use Sensei (先生) meaning "teacher" or literally translated, "born first"^[1] or "one who has gone before".^[2] A Sensei is a person who has knowledge and is willing to teach that knowledge to another. A Sensei assists students in ken shiki "the pursuit of knowledge".^[2] Some organizations, such as the Bujinkan, Kodokan Judo, and Shodokan Aikido, use the term shihan for high-ranking or highly distinguished instructors.

Korea

The actual Korean word for a student's master is suseung-nim. This term is only used by the student when speaking to the instructor. The student is hakseang.^[3] (학생 HakSaeng 學生)

Many Korean titles are often mistakenly translated as "grandmaster" (태사님 TaeSaNim 太師님). Sonseang-nim (선생님 SeonSaengNim 先生님) is a general term for a teacher of any subject as well as a respectful form of the word “you”. Martial arts instructors (in Korea 4th Dan and above) are called Sabom-nim (사범님 SaBeomNim 師範님). Since black belts of any level in the United States may teach martial arts, the title sabom-nim (사범님 SaBeomNim 師範님) is used by some when talking about American martial arts instructors that might not yet be 4th Dan.^[3]

The term kwan jang-nim (관장님 KwanJangNim 舘長님 or 館長님) is used for the owner of a martial arts school. A chae yook kwan is a fitness center. A jang (장 Jang 長) is the general term for a head, chief or director. Nim (님 Nim) is a suffix of respect for a person. In the United States a black belt might not necessarily be a master but still might be the kwan jang-nim (관장님 KwanJangNim 舘長님 or 館長님) owner/operator of the school. The head or chief of several kwan jang (관장 KwanJang 舘長 or 館長) is the chong kwan jang (총관장 ChongKwanJang 總舘長 or 總館長). The hae jang-nim (회장님 HwoiJangNim 會長님) is the president or head of the association.^[3]

See also

• Chinese "sifu"
• Japanese "sensei"
• Malay "pendekar"
• Sanskrit "guru"

References