History Main / OldMaster

* In the world of film soundtracks and OrchestralBombing, when all modern scores are dominated by computer and electronic software, Music/JohnWilliams showed why he is still intellectually superior with the 2012 releases of ''Literature/WarHorse'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin''. This composer (yes, the same one that also gave you the unforgettable scores from ''{{Film/Superman}}'', ''{{Franchise/StarWars}}'' and the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' films of 30 years ago) is over 80 years old. How did he celebrate his 70th birthday? By conducting the Salt Lake City symphony orchestra performing the theme song he composed for the XIX Winter Olympic Games, at the Opening Ceremony.

* Master Xehanort in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' is the BigBad of the game, and the entire first saga of the franchise, and is a hunched-over old man.[[note]]How old? His younger self is known in Japanese as ''Seinen Xehanort'' -- "seinen" meaning 'young man'. The age of majority in Japan is 20 years. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' takes place 75 years after a cutscene late in Young Xehanort's career. That puts Xehanort at upwards of 84 in ''Birth by Sleep'' and north of 96 in ''III''.[[/note]] However, in spite of his age he's still one of the most powerful entities in the series so far -- in the cutscene before the final battles of the three storylines, he raises plateaus of earth into the air and creates a [[StormOfBlades whirlwind of Keyblades]] to attack the heroes with, all with a few waves of the hand. And when one of the heroes, Ven, gets close enough to attack, Xehanort [[FlashStep evades the sneak attack]], [[NeckLift holds Ven in the air by the head]], [[HumanPopsicle and freezes him solid]]. Then the time the actual boss battle comes around, and he averts CutscenePowerToTheMax by doing ''all'' of those things as attacks. [[PlayingWithATrope However]], he's not content with being unable to unleash his full power just because his body's too old and feeble to handle it, [[spoiler:which is why he spends most of the game corrupting one of the heroes, Terra, so that he can [[GrandTheftMe steal his body]] at the right opportunity. As seen with the resulting Terra-Xehanort, as well as his younger self, he's even more horrifyingly powerful when he has a body that won't give out at a moment's notice]].

* Similar to the ''Franchise/BlazBlue'' games, Jubei was this to Ragna in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13701943/1/BlazBlue-Remnant-Alternative BlazBlue Alternative: Remnant]]'', but this time, Ragna was also briefly mentored by [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Maria Calavera]]. He even brings up to Jaune that, despite being old and blind, she's still easily able to kick his ass.

* Netero from ''Manga/HunterXHunter'', still one of the most powerful people on the planet despite being over 110 years old. Not a sensei anymore, and he's still active (though rarely involved in fights) as the head of the Hunter Association, but he fits the trope otherwise.

** Master Roshi, who is the founder of the Turtle Style School and the inventor of the Kamehameha. While he's long since been surpassed in sheer strength by his pupils, ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' proves that he is still an incredibly skilled fighter when he takes part in the Tournament of Power (featuring 80 of the best warriors from ''eight different universes''), and takes down three fighters entirely on his own. Goku even marvels at how his teacher has only become stronger while the rest of the Z Fighters weren't looking. [[spoiler: In the [[Manga/DragonBallSuper manga version]] Roshi even holds his own against WorldsStrongestMan Jiren the Grey with his own incomplete form of Ultra Instinct, explicitly thanks to his century’s worth of martial arts experience]].
** His former friend turned rival, Master Shen of the Crane Style School, is this as well, due to the fact both of them are over 300 years old.

* Sensei Ito of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse''. He is a little old man without powers who teaches martial arts to teens who are mutants with superpowers. In his first appearance (the first day of classes), he schools PK superboy Lancer. In later stories, we learn that Lancer was the fourth superpowered teen he clobbered that day.

* Splinter, to the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles (and that includes the animated series). There was also Splinter's former owner, Himato Yoshi. (Assuming the two aren't [[CompositeCharacter the same character]], and they are in some continuities.)

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'''s Shadowbringers has Ran'jit who's this, as well as one of the main villains that consistently gets in the way of the Warrior of Darkness's path by being just about an ImplaccableMan.

* Wang Jinrei from the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' series. When he participates in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, he's 105 years old, has a bad back, and is somewhat senile. He can ''still'' send the young'uns tumbling across the arena with ease, however.

* Sotaro Komaki from ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'' embodies this trope in the game, being one of the fighting instructors from ''Zero'' forwards, and being capable of teaching Kiryu everything from how to fight gun-wielding opponents to the immensely powerful [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Komaki Drop.]] He is also perfectly capable of kicking his pupil's ass, should the need arise.

* All four of the Dragon Guardians from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'' trilogy. While their age isn't mentioned, their words imply they're getting too old for the job, but that doesn't mean the Apes attacking the temple in the second game didn't get their butts kicked by the four of them. Yeah, Spyro and Cynder outclass them in the end, but that's what they were hoping for.

** On another branch is Granny Weatherwax. What she lacks in physical skills, she more than makes up for in her knowledge of Discworld psychology (or "headology", as she puts it). She is no less a master of reputation than Cohen or Lu-Tze, and reputation and psychology are her primary weapons. Like Lu-Tze, everyone questions whether she is a real witch, but she has shown the ability (if not the eagerness) to perform very powerful magic when she really needs it. Such as when she moved the entire kingdom of Lancre forward in time 15 years (in ''Literature/WyrdSisters'').

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' has the Greybeards, masters of the [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]] (the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent draconic]] LanguageOfMagic). The Greybeards have trained their voices to such an incredible extent that even a misplaced whisper could kill a person. They play a major part in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', where they summon the [[PlayerCharacter Dragonborn]] to High Hrothgar, their monastery on the Throat of the World, the tallest mountain in Tamriel, for training in the Thu'um. When they greet the Dragonborn with a politely whispered "Dovahkiin", ''the whole mountain shakes'' from the force of it. Even when they speak in full voice to summon the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar, ''all of Skyrim hears it''. It should be noted that this [[GamePlayAndStoryIntegration isn't just lore fluff]], the four Greybeards are some of the highest level-[=NPCs=] in the game, with Arngeir sitting pretty at level 150.

* In the ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' series, [[DrunkenMaster Bo Rai Cho]] fills this role. An ancient martial artist native to the Outworld who invented Drunken Fist, his many students include Li Mei, Kung Lao, and Liu Kang, the hero of the series. In the Konquest Mode of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'', it states that he was also the sensei of the 17th Century samurai Musō Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi, who was a RealLife personality. And he's no slouch himself. In ''Deadly Alliance'', it is stated that the only reason he never took part in the original tournament in an attempt to defeat Shang Tsung himself is because, as an Outworld native, Shao Kahn would get credit for his victory, which was what Kahn wanted in the first place.

** Played straight with extremely pacifist and soft-spoken Oogway himself (Who is about ''1000 years old''), to the point that he was originally able to take down the undefeatable BigBad in less than a second. According to Shifu, Oogway is the one who invented kung-fu, so it'd make sense for him to know more than anyone else about it. We see more of his badassery in the TV series, such as when he [[DeadlyDodging completely floors]] the incredibly agile Monkey

** Colbey Calistinsson trilogy. Never mind that he is 67, in an era where people seldom lived to 40. He was perfectly calm about taking out a group of 15, training a 16 year old girl in the art of the sword, fighting a group of 100 with only Santagithi to help him, and [[spoiler: an army of 10000 quaracks, by himself]].

* Druss from Creator/DavidGemmell's first published novel, ''[[Literature/{{Drenai}} Legend]]'', is an unusually blunt variant of this trope. Sixty years old, built like a bull, and quite capable of single-handedly slaughtering a dozen men half his age. His presence, and wisdom, inspire the younger characters to heroism; after all, he is a living legend. Meanwhile, he's trying to pretend he's not half-dead from exhaustion, agonised by arthritis, and determined to avoid senility through battle.

** Syrio Forel, the first sword of Braavos, who takes on several {{Mooks}} to protect Arya while she escapes, and bludgeons them to death with a wooden sword. [[spoiler:He dies a few minutes later to a knight, though. In his defense, the knight was wearing armor and he was aware that the fight was hopeless.]]

* Master Xehanort in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' is the BigBad of the game, and the entire first saga of the franchise, and is a hunched-over old man.[[note]]How old? His younger self is known in Japanese as ''Seinen Xehanort'' - "seinen" meaning 'young man'. The age of majority in Japan is 20 years. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' takes place 75 years after a cutscene late in Young Xehanort's career. That puts Xehanort at upwards of 84 in ''Birth by Sleep'' and north of 96 in ''III''.[[/note]] However, in spite of his age he's still one of the most powerful entities in the series so far -- in the cutscene before the final battles of the three storylines, he raises plateaus of earth into the air and creates a [[StormOfBlades whirlwind of Keyblades]] to attack the heroes with, all with a few waves of the hand. And when one of the heroes, Ven, gets close enough to attack, Xehanort [[FlashStep evades the sneak attack]], [[NeckLift holds Ven in the air by the head]], [[HumanPopsicle and freezes him solid]]. Then the time the actual boss battle comes around, and he averts CutscenePowerToTheMax by doing ''all'' of those things as attacks. [[PlayingWithATrope However]], he's not content with being unable to unleash his full power just because his body's too old and feeble to handle it, [[spoiler:which is why he spends most of the game corrupting one of the heroes, Terra, so that he can [[GrandTheftMe steal his body]] at the right opportunity. As seen with the resulting Terra-Xehanort, as well as his younger self, he's even more horrifyingly powerful when he has a body that won't give out at a moment's notice]].

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Turner_(magician) Richard Turner]] is 64 years old, a self-proclaimed card mechanic, and in 2009 a Sixth Degree Black Belt in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wad%C5%8D-ry%C5%AB Wa Do Kai system]]. For the card mechanic skill, he is able to shift a deck of cards around from a randomly shuffled deck by two other people and deal a round of Texas Hold'em poker with one player getting four kings in the final deal. The techniques he used were so good, they fooled Penn and Teller, the aforementioned two people who shuffled the deck, when they were done right in front of them. For added bonus, Richard Turner is completely blind.

* Jiji from ''Manga/IchiTheKiller'' wears baggy clothing and walks with a slump in order to disguise his true strength.

* ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'': Master Asia's not as old as he looks [[note]] Apparently the IncurableCoughOfDeath somehow makes him look older than his actual age of 50. [[/note]] but he is still past his prime and the Grand Master of the School of the Undefeated of the East. He can effortlessly catch cannonballs and demolish HumongousMecha with his bare hands, and when putting forth some actual effort can punch a ''skyscraper'' hard enough to launch it into the air. While ''G Gundam'' is a WorldOfBadass, virtually no one else is ''that'' badass.
* Both [[CoolOldLady Torogai]] and [[PosthumousCharacter Jiguro]] from ''Literature/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit''.
%%* ''Manga/MysteriousJoker'': Silver Heart is this to Joker and Spade.

* Druss from Creator/DavidGemmell's first published novel, ''[[Literature/{{Drenai}} Legend]]'', is an unusually blunt variant of this trope. Sixty years old, built like a bull, and quite capable of single-handedly slaughtering a dozen men half his age. His presence, and wisdom, inspire the younger characters to heroism; after all, he is a living legend. Meanwhile, he's trying to pretend he's not half-dead from exhaustion, agonised by arthritis, and determined to avoid senility through battle.

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagu':
** Subverted: the Old Master -- who comes complete with mysteriousness, tea drinking, and repeated comments about today's youth -- [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld looks like a ten year old girl]], has a crush on the main character, [[NobleDemon insists she is utterly evil]], and makes at least token attempts to turn her students to TheDarkSide whenever the topic of conversation veers anywhere near a decent opening. Well, that and an occasional detour into [[TheVamp vamp]] territory, which generally fails spectacularly due to the fact that her [[KidHero main pupil/object of her affections]] ''is'' ten. Oh, and it is not just magic, for she has been studying Aikijujutsu for the past century and probably learned it from the fellow who originated same.
** The Mundus Magicus arc introduced a straighter variant in the form of the former [[BadassCrew Ala Rubra]] member [[OldSoldier Jack Rackan]], who acts as a somewhat goofy Obi-Wan towards the Ala Alba. [[spoiler:Of course, the [[ObfuscatingStupidity goofiness is a façade]].]]

* Happōsai and Cologne from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' who are both 100+ years old and [[MiniatureSeniorCitizens roughly one foot tall]]. While Cologne plays this trope straight, Happōsai more or less inverts it. He barely has any interest in martial arts, and his efforts as a sensei means he can, charitably, be described as a FairWeatherMentor. He's a major-league PantyThief and LovableSexManiac (only without the lovable), to the extent that he literally gets weak and sickly, losing the majority of his martial arts prowess, if prevented from stealing underwear and groping women. Yet, despite this almost completely opposed personality and the fact he considers being a pervert far more important and meaningful to being a martial artist, he is still an incredibly powerful fighter, capable of smacking down [[EmbarrassingFirstName Pantyhose]] [[MixAndMatchCritters Taro]] with one of his normally firecracker-grade bomb attacks.

* The original head trainer in the [[HeroesRUs Space-Time Administration Bureau]] from ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'', an old woman who the [[ComicBookAdaptation supplementary manga]] reveals had trained Nanoha and Fate. And just to make a point on how much more the two leads need to learn despite the events of the first two seasons, she, a lowly [[RandomPowerRanking AA-ranked]] mage using standard equipment, managed to beat the two of them at the same time.
* Prince Kamehame, despite being 70 years old and having a bum heel, is able to defeat Manga/{{Kinnikuman}} via pinfall in only seven seconds. In the Dream Choujin Tag Arc, he wrestles alongside Kinnikuman in his Kinnikuman Great guise, and they defeat Black Hole and Pentagon together before [[spoiler: he's mortally injured by Sunshine's Cursed Roller.]]
* ''Manga/{{Vagabond}}'' (the Takehiko Inoue manga):
** Four for UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi: his father Shinmen Munisai, Houzouin In'ei, Yagyuu Sekishuusai are ''all'' Musashi's {{Old Master}}s (to a point), yet subvert the trope in their own ways: Munisai wasn't much of a master (his obsession with being "invincible under the sun" actually left him closing off his world, fearing his own child and pushing away others), In'ei was actually Inshun's OldMaster and trained Musashi because no one else [[spoiler:could threaten Inshun's life and thus get Inshun to develop further]], and Sekishuusai is 'just' an old man who's since retired, passing down the system to his son; what he ''does'' impart onto Musashi is one of the most profound lessons, after Musashi [[spoiler:defeats himself by internalizing the idea of "the invincible Sekishuusai" until it becomes a SelfFulfillingProphecy]]: "Invincible's just a word."
** Sasaki Kojirou's adoptive father Kanemaki Jisai subverts the trope too: living by the sword has left him unmarried, without children or friends, and thus hopeless... until Kojirou comes along; at that point, he advertises himself (unsuccessfully) as an Old Master to make a living so that he could raise Kojirou ''away'' from the sword. When Kojirou shows a terrifying affinity for the sword (by disarming an evil Old Master and then attacking the corpse) however, Jisai spending the next half of the boy's life embodying the phrase "old age and trickery beat youth and speed," trying to repeatedly dissuade the boy by defeating his challenges with cunning and underhanded means... until his former disciple Itou Ittousai comes along and secretly takes Kojirou under his wing. After he finds out, Jisai reluctantly gives up Kojirou into Ittousai's custody, thinking that he gave his life to the sword only to have nothing but regrets... until he finds that although he couldn't keep Kojirou away from the sword, he ''did'' raise a decent man with great potential. "''My life dedicated to the sword -- it was worth it all. It was worth it because I managed to leave behind a great swordsman like you''..."
* Genkai from ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', the defining example of the "just wants a break" version, and badass grandma.
* ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'': When Genjo Sanzo meets Master Abbot Jikaku in the Burial arc, he seems like just a harmless old man- until he kills several youkai attacking a temple. Turns out he was once known as 'The Ogre' for his vicious training of would-be Sanzo candidates, including Sanzo's own master Koumyou.

* ''VisualNovel/TearsToTiara'''s Master Ogam. While he spends much of the early episodes as the calm and serious old guy, it's not long before he breaks out his MAGICAL POWERS and blows up an ogre.

* ''Manga/BakiTheGrappler'' has several: Doppo Orochi, Gouki Shibukawa, Kaku Kaioh and Ryu Kaioh...and not one of them stands a chance against Yujiro.
* Two in ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'': One crazed hermit who might be UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi, and the series' BigBad, who is either this or RetiredBadass (his age is never given, but he is an evil version of TheLastDJ of the old samurai ways).
* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
** Makarov Dreyar. 88 years old ([[spoiler:actually 96, thanks to spending seven years frozen in time]]), incredibly powerful, and master of several different types of magic, on top of being one of the ten Wizard Saints. That title is only granted to the most powerful wizards in the land, and it's implied a few times that Makarov is one of strongest of all of them.
** [[GreenThumb Warrod Seeken]]. Over 105 years old and even stronger than Makarov, being one of the Four Gods of Ishgal (the strongest members of the Ten Wizard Saints and all of which are said to not even be fully human anymore) and one of Fairy Tails' original founders. [[spoiler: He was also one of [[TheArchmage Zeref's]] students with Hades below.]]
** And on that note, [[TinTyrant Precht]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Hades"]] [[ChainPain Gaebolg]], another of Fairy Tail's original founders, the Second Guild Master, and current Master of the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart. Also over a hundred years old and strong enough to toss the aforementioned Makarov's [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever Titan]] form around like a ragdoll, fight [[TrueCompanions Team Natsu]] without much difficulty, and was ''the'' most powerful villain after BigBad Zeref to appear in the series Pre-{{Timeskip}} and still a contender after it to the other {{ArcVillain}}s.
* Hayato Furinji of ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple''. He is the undisputed most experienced and powerful master in a series filled to the brim with martial arts masters. Unlike many other Old Masters, though, Hayato still has an imposing physique: the man is ''huge'' and extremely buff despite his advanced age.
* In ''Manga/SchoolRumble'', Mikoto finds Hinai training in the mountains, with an old man dispensing mystical-sounding advice. Mikoto Hinai if he's his [[OldMaster sensei]], but Hinai responds that it's just some random old guy.

* ''Manga/ShamanKing'': When the zombie of Pyron, a martial arts actor, is released from control of Ren's sister Jun, Yoh's friends decided to call upon the spirit of Pyron's old master, Shamon, who was 96 when he died, to try and becalm the raging spirit of Pyron. When Shamon possessed Yoh, he quickly assumed a stooped stance, and didn't do anything... until Pyron tried to hit him.
* Both [[CoolOldLady Torogai]] and [[PosthumousCharacter Jiguro]] from ''Literature/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit.''
* Kaze Gorou from ''Manga/{{Bartender}}'' was the undisputed master of Tokyo's cocktail bars, and proves to [[StillGotIt not have lost anything]], even with age and the after-effects of a severe stroke taking their toll. Ryu's sempai Kitagata has the skills, gives off the "seen-it-all" vibe and has the world-weary attitude and disrespect for the "young whippersnappers" of an Old Master, but is in his mid-thirties at the oldest.
* "Silverfang" Bang from ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'' is a martial arts instructor and the third highest-ranked hero in the world, although (like everyone else in the series) he's no match for [[InvincibleHero The Protagonist]].
%%* ''Manga/MysteriousJoker'': Silver Heart is this to Joker and Spade.

* Katsuichi-sensei, the hermit who taught [[ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo Usagi]] just about everything he knows, is at least a Middle-aged Master.
* Splinter, to the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles (and that includes the animated series). There was also Splinter's former owner, Himato Yoshi. (Assuming the two aren't [[CompositeCharacter the same character]], and they are in some continuities.)
* In the first few issues of ''ComicBook/NinjaHighSchool'', Ichiban fights her grandfather... Well, she challenges him anyway. Fight ends before it begins.

* Dr. Yagyu from ''ComicBook/NthManTheUltimateNinja'' is a {{Ninja}} master in his late 60s, but thinks nothing of stepping into a war zone with a satchel full of throwing stars and a machine pistol.

* Tim's first martial arts teacher as [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]] outside the Batfamily was the Rahul Lama, a very old Tibetan refugee living in Paris who was the last living master of an ancient fighting style and whom Tim noticed never seemed to run out of stamina.

* ''ComicBook/BlackCanary'': In the ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' animated TV series, she's the team's official combat trainer. Old only relative to the teenaged heroes, of course; WordOfGod puts her at 24 in that universe.
** She herself has trained under several in the comics, most notably Wildcat, though she's also studied in East-Asia and was briefly trained by Lady Shiva.

* A downplayed example shows with Tsume in ''[[http://ficwad.com/story/213011 Eroninja.]]'' While "only" in her mid-40s, she's still well past her prime and it's noted a couple times that it's only her skill and experience that keeps her from losing challenges for Alpha of the Inuzuka clan. Though once she's bonded to Naruto, the [[FountainOfYouth reversion to her prime]] that comes with it has her mopping floors with the next several challengers.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10759250/2/Unbiased Unbiased]]'' takes things further than [[Manga/{{Naruto}} canon]] when it's revealed that the rigors of shinobi life mean most start developing arthritis and muscle weakness in their ''thirties''. So those who make it to their fifties, let alone their seventies like Hiruzen and Oonoki, are rightly feared as being some of the most badass people around.
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has the canon examples of [[Literature/HarryPotter Albus Dumbledore,]] and [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles the Senior Council of the White Council]] (though in the latter case, they get StrongerWithAge, magically speaking, even if they do have to work at staying roughly in shape). However, the crowning example is probably Doctor Strange [[spoiler: a.k.a. Taliesin]], who despite looking somewhere in his mid-forties, was born over 1500 years years ago, and thanks to time travel, is actually more like [[spoiler: ''500,000'' years old - and that's a guess. He stopped bothering to count after he turned 100,000]]. As a result of this, he's incredibly experienced, capable of keeping a [[PhysicalGod Loki-level opponent]] at bay while ''multitasking'', then absolutely ''[[CurbstompBattle flattening]]'' him once he returns his full attention to the matter at hand, and routinely manipulates, bullies, and outright terrifies most of the most powerful beings in the setting.
* In ''Fanfic/TheChaoticThree'', Yoda is an obvious example of this, but the term also applies to [[spoiler:the time-displaced Luke Skywalker; while he muses that he gets tired more easily than he did in the past, Luke is recognised by all of the Jedi of the past as being strong in the Force, to the extent that he defeats Palpatine in a duel]].

* ''Crossworlds'' stars Rutger Hauer as one of these.

* Eda Bell, one of the two teachers of hand-to-hand combat in Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'' books says something to the effect of "I may look like someone's grandmother, but some grandchildren require more raising than others."
* In the ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' series of books by Creator/JohnHemry, Captain John Geary has spent a century in [[HumanPopsicle suspended animation]] while his reputation became ShroudedInMyth... and everyone '''else''' forgot effective naval tactics in favor of simply charging at the enemy. Which means once he takes command, forces that follow his orders tend to win amazingly one-sided victories unless ridiculously outnumbered -- '''then''' they just win. The "forgot" part comes from the fact that such knowledge comes partly from experience and partly from being passed on by experienced fleet commanders. Unfortunately, after a century of constant warfare, all those officers were killed before passing on their experience. Thus, being able to accurately plan a fleet action, accounting for the speed-of-light time lag (basically, fight in 4 dimensions), is a lost art. He still faces a lot of opposition to his tactics from the more hardcore ship commanders, especially when the legendary "Fighting" Falco comes aboard, who claims that "fighting spirit" is enough to win battles. To their credit, the Syndics start to pick up on Geary's tactics, although they are still amateurs at it. The "old" part is averted here thanks to Geary spending the century on ice. He definitely feels out of place, but he's hardly an old man. On the other hands, due to heavy attrition, most fleet officers even in command positions are ''way'' younger than him.
* Mazer Rackham in ''Literature/EndersGame'', hero of the second BugWar and Ender's trainer in the third one. According to [[Literature/FormicWars the prequel novels]], he was also key in stopping the First Invasion, while still a member of the New Zealand SAS. Interestingly, the novels slightly deconstruct his greatness, showing that he failed his admittance test into the Mobile Operations Police (a multinational task force).
* Kaa in ''Literature/TheJungleBook''. The oldest creature in the jungle, Kaa offers sage advice to those who seek it, and painful, suffocating death to those who cross him. Or happen to be near him when he is hungry. He doesn't discriminate that much.
* ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'': Isengrim has become one of these by ''Defender of the Crown''. He wipes the floor with three skilled duelists who initially scoff at the idea of three against one.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
** Ser Barristan Selmy is the last living member of King Aerys' old Kingsguard, if you leave Jaime Lannister out of the count, and can easily defeat younger adversaries.
** Syrio Forel, the first sword of Braavos, who takes on several {{Mooks}} to protect Arya while she escapes, and bludgeons them to death with a wooden sword. [[spoiler:He dies a few minutes later to a knight, though. In his defense, the knight was wearing armor and he was aware that the fight was hopeless.]]
** In the prequel series ''Literature/FireAndBlood'', Samgood of Sour Hill, also known as Sour Sam, was a sixty-three year old hedge knight before he ascended to become a [[PraetorianGuard Kingsguard]] to Jaehaerys Targeryen. He was gaunt, bald, nearly toothless, and moved faster than men half his age, his skills honed by a lifetime of battle.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** Dumbledore is clearly a prime example. He's incredibly old, but most people speak of him in complete awe. In the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix fifth book]] we probably get the best view of his power when he [[spoiler: takes down three ministry officials (with a little help) and then battles [[BigBad Voldemort]] to a draw after restraining some half a dozen [[EliteMooks Death Eaters]]]]. This is likely due to the fact that in the wizarding world knowledge actually equals power and Dumbledore has had plenty of training time.
** Some of the other teachers at Hogwarts qualify. Flitwick, it's mentioned in the second book, is an old duelling champion. [=McGonagall=] is powerful enough to enchant [[spoiler: the school itself]] to come to life and use it as a weapon. She, Slughorn and Shacklebolt [[spoiler: duel Voldemort]] in the final book. Naturally, they are also masters in their respective fields - or they wouldn't be teachers.
--->'''[=McGonagall=]''': We teachers ''are'' [[{{Understatement}} rather good at magic]], you know.
** Another example is (probably) Augusta Longbottom. We never actually hear what she's a master of, but she's incredibly powerful.
* In ''Literature/{{Emergence}}'', by David R. Palmer, the character referred to by the narrator as "Teacher" or "Master" (depending on context. Name is given as Soo Kim [=McDivott=]) plays this role for the narrator and several other characters.

* Druss from Creator/DavidGemmell's first published novel, ''[[Literature/{{Drenai}} Legend]]'', is an unusually blunt variant of this trope. Sixty years old, built like a bull, and quite capable of single-handedly slaughtering a dozen men half his age. His presence, and wisdom, inspire the younger characters to heroism; after all, he is a living legend. Meanwhile, he's trying to pretend he's not half-dead from exhaustion, agonised by arthritis, and determined to avoid senility through battle.
* The Lance Lord from Gemmell's ''Literature/StonesOfPower'' series.
* Gandalf from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Théoden also kicks some serious ass.

* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': Belgarath, sure he looks like a scruffy old vagabond, but he's also [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld 7000 years old]] and the single most powerful sorcerer EVER. The BigBad's followers consider him to be {{Satan}} and need a change of underwear at the mention of his name.
** The other Disciples of Aldur are no slouches either. Or even the Disciples of Torak. No one with that much power and age (and thus knowledge and, hopefully, wisdom) should be underestimated.
* In ''Literature/TheDestroyer'' series of novels, 80 year old (at the start of the book series - which has been ongoing for almost 50 years now) tiny Chiun is quite literally, the most dangerous man in the world. If he wants you dead, you might as well shoot yourself.
* ”Literature/TheIronTeeth” Don't let his age fool you. Blacknail has learned not to mess with his master Saeter. The old scout is still a force to be reckoned with.
* [[TheVicar Patera Silk]], the protagonist of Creator/GeneWolfe's ''Literature/BookOfTheLongSun'', learns swordsmanship from Master Xiphias, who is one of these. His [[MeaningfulName name]] is derived from a species of swordfish.
* ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' by Creator/RobertEHoward: In "Literature/TheTowerOfTheElephant" Conan meets Taurus, whom he has heard of as "the prince of thieves." Taurus, liking his spirit, takes him along and immediately instructs him.
-->''"You made one mistake," said Conan.\\
Taurus' eyes flashed angrily.\\
"I? I, a mistake? Impossible!"\\
"You should have dragged the body into the bushes."\\
"Said the novice to the master of the art. They will not change the guard until past midnight. Should any come searching for him now, and find his body, they would flee at once to Yara, bellowing the news, and give us time to escape. Were they not to find it, they'd go beating up the bushes and catch us like rats in a trap."''
* Subverted in ''Literature/TheWiseMansFear'' where Shehyn, the elderly teacher of an order of legendary fighters, battles one of her much younger students, the student much more energetic vs Shehyn's measured movements - and Shehyn loses. Kvothe wonders if this means the one who beat her is the leader now, which the member he's talking to finds amusing. Not only would it be ridiculous to base their leadership off of who wins a single fight, but Shehyn is very old. It's not realistic to expect her to always beat someone with much more energy. Of course, Shehyn is still extremely good.
* Bodger from ''Literature/TheIncredibleJourney'' is a goofy, half-blind old bull terrier whose goal in life seems to be to mooch as much love and food from humans as possible. He is also a dog fighting veteran and can still beat up other dogs when he needs to.
* By some of the later books which are set during his retirement from front line duty, Literature/CiaphasCain '''(HERO OF THE IMPERIUM)''' becomes this to his cadets despite his body not being that physically old due to rejuvenat treatments. He combines unconventional thinking with the Badass martial skills that saw him survive tangling with some of the Imperium's worst enemies for decades.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has a plethora of these, both human and non-human.
** The seven Senior Council of Wizards are generally the strongest and eldest members of the group, usual ascension minimum age being near their 200s. Here is a quick rundown of some of their strengths.
*** The leader, Arthur Langtry, is called the Merlin and is the strongest of the lot. A master of defensive magics, he once created a barrier ward on the fly to hold back [[spoiler:an entire court of evil vampires and monsters from beyond the universe]]. The most impressive aspect is the wards need to be grounded by some threshold, like the one guarding a home. Lacking one means the ward's strength is reduced greatly. So, even without that essential quality to make a good ward, he maintains one against an incredible danger.
*** Ebenezer [=McCoy=] is one of the youngest members. He once nearly killed a vampire by just clutching his fist and Force-choking her with no effort on his part. He destroys enemy bases by [[spoiler:dropping old satellites orbiting in space on them]]. Professional smartass Harry Dresden [[RespectedByTheRespected addresses him as, "sir".]]
*** Ancient Mai, a miniature senior citizen type, has an incredibly sharp intellect and deduction capabilities. What is known is limited, but when the hero Harry Dresden sees her escort of battle harden Wardens, magical soldiers trained to kill other mages and dark things, one is holding her umbrella. She has made guardian statues able to detect dark magic.
*** Joseph "Injun Joe" Listens-to-Winds is a Native American shaman, best healer in the Council, regularly goes back to med school every ten years to see what new things have come about, and is a master of shapeshifting, having once [[spoiler:sent a walking physical god running in fear of its destruction after a shapeshifting battle]].
** Odin, the Norse God, is still alive and well in the Dresden-verse. While not as powerful as he once was, his previous students include Myrrdin Emrys, aka the Original Merlin from 1,000 years back. A powerful and dangerous man, not above priming Harry and setting him on a course of action without ever seeming to be anything but friendly and respectful.
** Skaldi Skjeldson is one of Odin's Einherjar. He has been around for roughly 2,000 years. While he may look like a middle age man, he is a skilled combat fighter. When one of Harry's friends train against him, Skaldi never loses. At the last moment before Skaldi would lose, he pulls out some new move or trick to secure a victory.
* There are several of these in ''Literature/{{Atharon}}'' . To even survive in that world, a person has to be a master of something, whether a fighting skill or carpentry (so you're hard to replace). Some of them work as a teachers for the new generation.
* Drona of ''The {{Literature/Mahabharata}}''. He was the mentor to the Pandavas, and taught Arjuna, the world's greatest archer, nearly everything he knew. He has access to a number of mantras and esoteric combat techniques no one else knows. When the civil war happens, Drona is 85 and still nearly invincible.
* ''Literature/GangstaGranny'': The Granny can swim up pipes and abseil down skyscrapers.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': Wedge Antilles qualifies by the end of his career, having served in and survived three galactic wars, fighting in his final pitched battle before semi-retirement aged sixty one, shooting down one of his successors as Rogue Leader in the process.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** Master [[PunctuationShaker Bra'tac]]. In his first appearance in the series, started off by complaining about his old age, then promptly incapacitated Colonel O'Neill in an embarassingly short fight sequence. Continues to refer to himself as an old man during the entire 10 seasons despite the fact that he is obviously one of the most skilled warriors in the galaxy. Some other Jaffa [[UnderestimatingBadassery make the mistake of confusing his age with weakness]]. Too late and to their sorrow do they realize that a prominent man living a century and a half in an ''entire society of expendable warriors'' should have been a clue as to his badassery. Bonus points for being called "Master" by virtually every Jaffa and on some occasions even Humans, seemingly an honorary title given only to Bra'tac out of respect for his wisdom.
--->'''Kinsey:''' Which is why I've taken it upon myself to come on down and hear what Mister Bra'tac has to say personally.\\
'''O'Neill:''' ''Master'' Bra'tac. ''Master.''
** Due to his 50 years spent in a time warp in SG-1's final episode, Teal'c is even older than Bra'tac now. As of that episode, he's nearly 160 in subjective years. That makes him physically about 5 years Bra'tac's senior, though he doesn't look it.[[labelnote:*]] Turns out, the time warp being 50 years was the result of a makeup error that couldn't be corrected before the deadline. The writers originally intended it to be "merely" around 20 years, so that Teal'c would still be a quarter century younger than Bra'tac.[[/labelnote]] Teal'c lived and practiced for those fifty years, and still kicks so much rear after it.

* In ''Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue'', Chad's former mentor Tomashiro was a guy like this, but he and Chad weren't exactly on good terms. Tomashiro was sorely disappointed that his student had chosen his current occupation (as a Ranger) rather than take the role as his successor. This led to Tomashiro foolishly [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter accepting the demon Cyclopter as a student]], who [[DeceptiveDisciple naturally turned on him after learning enough]]. (Chad eventually won back his mentor's respect.)
* Both played straight and averted in ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury''; some of the masters and teachers from the Order of the Claw are indeed old masters. However, in the first episode, when the rangers are sent to the Jungle Karma Pizza restaurant to find their new master, they see a man who looks like your stereotypical old master and immidiately assume he must be the one they are searching for, only to find out he is just a customer and the real master is the much younger owner of the restaurant.

* ''Series/{{Knightfall}}'' has Master Talus, an elderly Knight Templer who is the Master of Initiates in charge of training and evaluating all potential knights. When King Philip begins ThePurge of the Knight Templar, Talus is one of the few knights to escape and he leads a daring rescue of the other knights. He then performs a YouShallNotPass so people under his protection can escape. We then see him a few minutes later as he is sheathing his swords and the street behind him is covered in dead enemies. Despite his age, he is probably the deadliest Knight Templer shown in the show.
* ''Series/CobraKai'': John Kreese at around 70 can still stand toe-to-toe with his middle-aged best student Johnny Lawrence.

* The Old Master archetype from ''TabletopGame/FengShui'' has the highest starting Martial Arts and Chi scores of the whole archetype list and five Fu Schticks, and though he only starts with a Body score of 4, his Unique Schtick allows him to use unarmed attacks to wallop characters with 10 base damage (equivalent of Body 8 or 9). You just know it's a bad move to mess with him.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', Sidereals will eventually become this, if they aren't already. They know the best SupernaturalMartialArts there are (that ''only'' they can learn), they rely on subtle but masterful measures, their non-martial-arts powers require esoteric wisdom to make good use of, and they keep low profile-- though that last one is a magically enforced rule of reality.
* The Archangel Michael is the second or third oldest angel in the universe in ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' -- and since he's also the Archangel of ''War'', he can take down just about any opponent or group of opponents you care to name. After he personally booted his older brother Lucifer out of Heaven, the rest of the demonic army [[OhCrap decided to show itself out.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Assassins Creed|I}}'', the single most dangerous opponent you can face in a straight sword fight? [[spoiler: Your own ancient, gray-bearded master, Al-Mualim, in the final battle.]] He uses extensive trickery. [[spoiler:Being able to magically multiply yourself has some clear advantages in battle.]]
** Although his true age is unknown, La Volpe from the sequel is clearly no spring chicken as his wrinkled face shows. Nevertheless, the first time Ezio meets him, the former is winded trying to keep him.
** Ezio and Altair eventually become this, as shown in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations''.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' has Maat, the old man responsible for raising the level cap from 50 to 75 (or just to 70 on a few expansion jobs). He uses both WaxOnWaxOff and TrainingFromHell methods to raise your limits, but you never take him too seriously, and think he's [[TheMentor just an advisor]]... then you go to break the 70-75 cap, which has you fight him, and most likely see him gleefully rend you into paste, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard even unfairly so.]] Simply put, anyone who's 75 respects him. Or hates him. It kinda varies. Love him or hate him, you have to respect him. Even if you fought Maat as a Red Mage [[NintendoHard back in the days before he was nerfed]], you have to smile when you see Maat whalloping the crap out of enemies [[TimeyWimeyBall in the past]] in the ''Wings of the Goddess'' expansion.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'''s ‘’Shadowbringers'' has Ran'jit who's this, as well as one of the main villains that consistently gets in the way of the Warrior of Darkness's path by being just about an ImplaccableMan.

* Jolee Bindo in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', who is old enough to be starting to lose his memory and for the little hair he has left to be completely white, and yet with the proper build and gear is a contender for the title of most powerful character (including the ''player'') in the game at high levels. On the other hand he dismisses the idea of being a teacher and claims just to be travelling with you for fun.

** Also Tung Fu-Rue and Jubei Yamada from the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' series, along with Lee Pai-Long from ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting''. Tung even made it as a bonus character in the [=PS2=] version of ''KOF XI''. Makes you wonder why they didn't form a team in ''KOF''.

* In the ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' series, [[DrunkenMaster Bo Rai Cho]] fills this role. An ancient martial artist native to the Outworld who invented Drunken Fist, his many students include Li Mei, Kung Lao, and Liu Kang, the hero of the series. In the Konquest Mode of ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'', it states that he was also the sensei of the 17th Century samurai Musō Gonnosuke Katsuyoshi, who was a RealLife personality. And he's no slouch himself. In ''Deadly Alliance'', it is stated that the only reason he never took part in the original tournament in an attempt to defeat Shang Tsung himself is because, as an Outworld native, Shao Kahn would get credit for his victory, which was what Kahn wanted in the first place.

* Sotaro Komaki from ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'' embodies this trope in the game, being one of the fighting instructors from ''Zero'' forwards, and being capable of teaching Kiryu everything from how to fight gun-wielding opponents to the immensely powerful [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Komaki Drop.]] He is also perfectly capable of kicking his pupil's ass, should the need arise.
** Replace "martial artist" with "cabaret club hostess", and this trope applies very well to Yuki, in her appearance in ''Kiwami 2''. Yuki is at this point 39 years old, which is ancient for a hostess. However, what she lacks in youthful beauty, she more than makes up for in grace, poise, charm and skill. In spite of being nearly twice the age of her employees, she can still run circles around them without even trying when she works the floor.

* The Great Sensei from ''VideoGame/GodHand''. [[ThatOneBoss He will kick your ass.]]
* All four of the Dragon Guardians from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'' trilogy. While their age isn't mentioned, their words imply they're getting too old for the job, but that doesn't mean the Apes attacking the temple in the second game didn't get their butts kicked by the four of them. Yeah, Spyro and Cynder outclass them in the end, but that's what they were hoping for.
* Master Xehanort in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' is the BigBad of the game, and the entire first saga of the franchise, and is a hunched-over old man.[[note]]How old? His younger self is known in Japanese as ''Seinen Xehanort'' - "seinen" meaning 'young man'. The age of majority in Japan is 20 years. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' takes place 75 years after a cutscene late in Young Xehanort's career. That puts Xehanort at upwards of 84 in ''Birth by Sleep'' and north of 96 in ''III''.[[/note]] However, in spite of his age he's still one of the most powerful entities in the series so far -- in the cutscene before the final battles of the three storylines, he raises plateaus of earth into the air and creates a [[StormOfBlades whirlwind of Keyblades]] to attack the heroes with, all with a few waves of the hand. And when one of the heroes, Ven, gets close enough to attack, Xehanort [[FlashStep evades the sneak attack]], [[NeckLift holds Ven in the air by the head]], [[HumanPopsicle and freezes him solid]]. Then the time the actual boss battle comes around, and he averts CutscenePowerToTheMax by doing ''all'' of those things as attacks. [[PlayingWithATrope However]], he's not content with being unable to unleash his full power just because his body's too old and feeble to handle it, [[spoiler:which is why he spends most of the game corrupting one of the heroes, Terra, so that he can [[GrandTheftMe steal his body]] at the right opportunity. As seen with the resulting Terra-Xehanort, as well as his younger self, he's even more horrifyingly powerful when he has a body that won't give out at a moment's notice]].
* Edge Master from the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries''. He is Kilik's master and can also use every weapon in the game with equal proficiency to its owner. One of the oldest, non-immortal characters in the series (though his actual age is unknown).
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' has the Greybeards, masters of the [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um]] (the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent draconic]] LanguageOfMagic). The Greybeards have trained their voices to such an incredible extent that even a misplaced whisper could kill a person. They play a major part in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', where they summon the [[PlayerCharacter Dragonborn]] to High Hrothgar, their monastery on the Throat of the World, the tallest mountain in Tamriel, for training in the Thu'um. When they greet the Dragonborn with a politely whispered "Dovahkiin", ''the whole mountain shakes'' from the force of it. Even when they speak in full voice to summon the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar, ''all of Skyrim hears it''. It should be noted that this [[GamePlayAndStoryIntegration isn't just lore fluff]], the four Greybeards are some of the highest level-[=NPCs=] in the game, with Arngeir sitting pretty at level 150.
* ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'': Artemus was Garrett's former teacher and the only person able to outsneak the Master Thief.
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'', there was originally going to be a battle with Prof. Oak, who apparently keeps the Pokémon neither you nor your rival chooses. He would have been the strongest Trainer in the game - even better than the Champion - but, for some reason, the battle was dummied out. However, using a VideoGame/GameShark, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7u2AbkkJ5I the battle]] can still be accessed.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' has gym leader Opal who at 88 years old is definitely the oldest gym leader in her region and possibly the oldest trainer in the entire series. Looking at two of the League Cards will imply she was even Champion for a while until losing the title to another trainer who grew up to be this -- Mustard of the Isle of Armor.
* Augus from ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'', a CoolOldGuy who is quite fond of the finer things in life and has quite the BloodKnight streak to him. Unfortunately, he's also one of the Seven Deities who Asura has sworn vengeance against for betraying him. The battle you have against him is one of the most awesome ones of the game.
* TheMaster in ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans: Path of the Furon'', who is a parody of [[Series/KungFu Master Po]].
* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' has one of these as the last test in a ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' parody tournament training level.
* ''VideoGame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'' has the local MightyGlacier, Fritz, a quiet swordsman in his 70's or 80's who is incredibly badass and [[spoiler: is one of the ''very'' few cast members who's a survivor of the past war from fifty years ago]].
* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', the player character of one chapter is a nameless old master of a dying school of Kung Fu in search of a young disciple to pass his art on to.
* ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' casts Yoshihiro Shimazu as one of these, a MasterSwordsman who carries a {{BFS}} that would put the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasy7 Buster Sword]] to shame and yet uses it with enough finesse to precisely deal {{One Hit Kill}}s to any opponent. Many of the characters in the game revere him for his skills and seek lessons from him, for good reason.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Beware of any [[ProudWarriorRace krogan]] who has lived past the age of 1,000. Since krogan are predisposed to spend their lives in combat, very few of them reach old age... and those that ''do'' have probably seen more battles than every human in an army put together. Such krogan are often known as "Battlemasters" and are considered some of the most dangerous warriors in all of existence. Asari matriarchs (from a race that lives just as long as Krogan) tend to also qualify, although they're less likely to be front-line specialists.
* ''VideoGame/TheBattleCats'' features this trope in the form of [[BonusBoss Hermit Cat]], which is quite possibly the strongest enemy in the entire game.
* ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'':
** The Owl, Wolf's adoptive father. The only man in the game to have the title "Great Shinobi". [[spoiler:And he'll prove more than worthy of it in his boss fights, as even without his bag of tricks (ranging from shuriken and poison to firecrackers and smoke bombs), he's an agile old bird who can easily swing his massive sword around. This goes double for the slightly younger version of him in the second Hirata Estate memory, who's not only physically stronger than present-day Owl, but can summon an owl spirit familiar to aid him in battle.]]
** Lady Butterfly is an elderly kunoichi who was one of Wolf's former mentors, and age hasn't stopped her from being a highly acrobatic fighter with incredibly powerful illusion magic.
** Isshin Ashina, the patriarch of the Ashina clan, was known as the "Sword Saint" in his youth. While his age has long since caught up with him, his swordsmanship is arguably even more refined than during his prime; despite being terminally ill, he's still capable of easily slaughtering entire ninja squadrons in his guise as the "Tengu of Ashina", an alter-ego he also uses to secretly mentor Wolf in swordsmanship. [[spoiler:In fact, the old man is powerful enough to be the final boss in one possible ending (in the other endings, he is revived at the peak of his power by his grandson Genichiro's sacrifice, and this version of Isshin is by far the most difficult boss in the game).]]

* Feng from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance''. His fight with Kusari would have been a tie if it weren't for her HealingFactor.

* Dr. Sun Jen-djieh from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''. When Baron Wulfenbach bypassed his medical order of staying in bed by building a bed into a Humongous Mecha, Dr. Sun '''destroyed''' that mecha. By hand.

* Master Surya from ''Webcomic/TheBeastLegion''
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', this is invoked.
-->'''Greg:''' For alas it is my greatest of shames as an anime martial arts master that I am not an old man or a pervert!!!
* ''Webcomic/DragonBallMultiverse'': [[spoiler:Krillin]] from U9.
* Karl Tagon, Captain Tagon's father from ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary''. He might be in his 70s or 80s, but that doesn't prevent him from being both a brilliant senior officer ''and'' a good soldier.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' there was the True Master (named Chu Hui in the end credits) a rare female example of this trope. Her habit of giving answers that had simple meanings when people expected complicated ones was very similar to Mr. Miyagi's habit of doing so.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': [[DishingOutDirt King Bumi]], [[PlayingWithFire Uncle Iroh, Jeong Jeong]], [[MakingASplash Master]] [[AnIcePerson Pakku]] and [[BlowYouAway Monk Gyatso]] are all prime examples of this trope, each being one of the most powerful of their respective elemental bending discipline (Iroh and Bumi make heavy use of ObfuscatingStupidity as well). Although never seen in combat, Monk Gyatso qualifies because of [[spoiler: the amount of dead Firebenders surrounding his corpse, which he fought during [[CometOfDoom Sozin's comet]]]]. Whether or not [[MasterSwordsman Piandao]] counts is based solely on how old you think he is. In the GrandFinale, [[spoiler:King Bumi, Uncle Iroh, Jeong Jeong, Master Pakku and Piandao all show up and take back Ba Sing Se themselves]]. For bonus points, the episode in which we see them is actually named [[spoiler:"The Old Masters"]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** In the SequelSeries, Katara becomes this when she's seen as a member of the Order of the White Lotus. That, and she's also Korra's [[MakingASplash Waterbending]] teacher.
** Zuko and Toph also became Old Masters by the time of ''Korra'', with Zuko taking an active role in caging Zaheer and the other Red Lotus members (and can hold his own in a fight against them) and Toph being able to curbstomp Korra and Kuvira's army with just a few basic Earthbending moves. Toph in particular, with her journey to find herself, can likely lay claim to being the greatest Earthbender who ever lived.

* Master Fung of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' is a classic example, being an actual Chinese monk. Not only is he filled with wisdom (And the cheesy sayings that come with it), he's also a force to be reckoned with when he fights, taking on several of Chase Young's tiger minions at once and winning, and in one instance, fighting Chase and Wuya in a [[HandicappedBadass wheelchair]] and holding his own. However, due to his age, he doesn't ''quite'' have the energy to keep it up...
* Mrs. Twombly in ''WesternAnimation/{{Littlest Pet Shop|2012}}'' (2012) was a master (and the founder) of kung-fu quilting until a CareerEndingInjury in 1969. (The series is set in the present.) She eventually recovered and kept her skills sharp in private but chose to permanently retire, having turned to teaching upon request.
* Sensei Wu in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}''. He can beat up attackers with just an [[SimpleStaff old bamboo staff]] despite his old age. Not to mention that he knows [[FantasticFightingStyle spinjitsu]] better than just about anybody.
-->'''Sensei Wu:''' ''[to Kai]'' You are not ready to face my pinky toe!
* Jasmine Lee in ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'' is the protagonist's grandma (called "Ah Mah", ''literally'' grandma in pin yin) and the previous [[TheChosenOne mantle bearer]] of the Te Xuan Ze role. Having at least sixty years of fighting experience under her belt, she trains Juniper in being a better protector and guardian. Even though she experiences some backlash from her age, she still manages to wipe the floor, whether the enemy is a huge monster or an army of magically-enhanced magic-hating humans.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheHollow'': The Last Ironwood Tree has shades of this. Besides being an incredibly old and wise being, she is also the only inhabitant of the Hollow who actually helps the kids by providing them advice, directions and determining if they're already worthy [[spoiler: to face Colrath]].
* A ''very'' dark example in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' when [[KidHero Ezra]] meets a mysterious fellow who wants to be called "Old Master". That fellow is [[spoiler:Darth Maul]], and he's as strong as ever.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Whitebeard, Sengoku, Rayleigh, Garp and Zeff among many others. It helps that if you're a pirate or a marine the only way you can live to see old age is by being stronger and more badass than everyone else.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'':

* Both [[CoolOldLady Torogai]] and [[PosthumousCharacter Jiguro]] from ''Anime/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit.''

* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10759250/2/Unbiased Unbiased]] takes things further than [[Manga/{{Naruto}} canon]] when it's revealed that the rigors of shinobi life mean most start developing arthritis and muscle weakness in their ''thirties''. So those who make it to their fifties, let alone their seventies like Hiruzen and Oonoki, are rightly feared as being some of the most badass people around.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' has gym leader Opal who at 88 years old is definitely the oldest gym leader in her region and possibly the oldest trainer in the entire series.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Whitebeard, Sengoku, Rayleigh, and Garp among many others. It helps that if you're a pirate or a marine the only way you can live to see old age is by being stronger and more badass than everyone else.

** Master Roshi, who is the founder of the Turtle Style School and the inventor of the Kamehameha. While he's long since been surpassed in sheer strength by his pupils, ''Dragonball Super'' proves that he is still an incredibly skilled fighter when he takes part in the Tournament of Power (featuring 80 of the best warriors from ''eight different universes''), and takes down three fighters entirely on his own. Goku even marvels at how his teacher has only become stronger while the rest of the Z Fighters weren't looking.
** His former friend turned rival, Master Shen of the Crane Style School, is this as well, due to the fact both of them are over 100 years old.