In light of an anonymous member's posts,
I decided to write something out about the title of "master"
as well as the other titles in general.
Straight to the point,
there are many different types of masters.
And I don't mean the topics you can be a master of.
Here is a list.
~~~
[b]Practiced Master[/b],
or a master who has earned the title through hard work and patience,
is the most thought of master when the word is said.
These masters deserve a large amount of respect,
are generally very old(I'd say at least forty
{and that's young for a master}),
and must know all there is to know at the time the title is earned.
Naturally, there is allot to know about allot of things
and no one person can be expected to know every detail
that has not yet been discovered.
So generally a true master would simply know all that is known
at the time the title is earned
and would have to keep up to date with discoveries
as more is found out.
[b]Self-proclaimed Master[/b],
or a master who is only a master
because he/she calls him/herself that.
These people can also be called fakers,
role-players, liars, and disrespectful
to those who worked long and hard
to earn the title.
[b]"Twenty Dollar" Master[/b],
or a master who is only a master
because he/she paid money just to be called that.
People actually do this!
They pay twenty dollars,
and sometimes more,
to be called the master of something.
It's ridiculous.
You can't just pay twenty dollars
and wake up knowing forty+ years of knowledge!
Good grief, people.
Rather then call these guys role-players or anything of the like,
I say we just call them both ignorant and foolish...
~~~
And the same goes with many other titles.
Due to the large number of people,
and I admit to being guilty of this as well to some degree,
who claim titles without having truly earned them
I think it is safe to say that titles are practically meaningless.
You have to be able to back up your words when you claim a title.
If you are a Master of Martial Arts,
you'd better know some good moves to back up that title.
Else some young fighter like me will challenge you,
put you in a wrist lock,
and slam you around a couple of times
just to say "I beat a master."
People who work hard to earn the title deserve respect.
People who have spent long years of research and study
to know what they are practicing and know as much as they can,
they deserve a title to show it and they deserve respect.
The people who just claim a title for the fun of it
and wave it around wanting others to confirm it or use it
(which is one thing I do not do),
I believe they deserve to be laughed at and called out
for being the faker they are and for disrespecting the people
who did earn the title that the faker would try to claim.