It seems when a great martial arts master dies, many come out of the wood work to claim lineage from that master even though they may have only attended a seminar or two.  It also seems as if many come out of the woodwork trying to discredit the master’s legacy for their own personal reasons.  Apparently the current fad is to try and create a controversy where none exists by attempting to discredit Grandmaster Daniel K. Pai because he was known to many of his students as Dr. Pai.  Certain self-proclaimed internet historians apparently object to the title “doctor” being used in reference to Grandmaster Pai.  It is my understanding that they simply do not understand the proper use of the title “doctor.”

     “Doctor” in Latin means teacher.  No one who has ever met Grandmaster Pai would deny that he was a teacher.  He was, in fact, a teacher’s teacher.  This alone, in my opinion, is enough to credibly justify his students calling him Dr. Pai.  By definition, if they were his students, Grandmaster Pai was their teacher and the use of the title “doctor” is not only appropriate but actually self-defining of the relationship.  But for the sake of those who still need more justification, let us examine the dictionary for the definition of the word “Doctor.”

     The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.  2000. defines doctor as follows: NOUN:  1. A person, especially a physician, dentist, or veterinarian, trained in the healing arts and licensed to practice.  2a. A person who has earned the highest academic degree awarded by a college or university in a specified discipline.  b. A person awarded an honorary degree by a college or university.  3. abbr. Dr. Used as a title and form of address for a person holding the degree of doctor.  4. Roman Catholic Church An eminent theologian.  5. A practitioner of folk medicine or folk magic.  6. A rig or device contrived for remedying an emergency situation or for doing a special task.  7. Any of several brightly colored artificial flies used in fly fishing.

     While it is clear that sixth and seventh annotation do not apply, it is possible that the first, second, or third might.  However, we do not even need to look for empirical proof of the existence of these first three annotations that some of Grandmaster Pai’s students have orally claimed were true about the late Grandmaster.  I can say unequivocally from first hand knowledge that the fifth annotation, A practitioner of folk medicine or folk magic, definitely applies.  Anyone who had the privilege of training with the late Grandmaster Pai, even for a short time, would have seen first hand that he was a practitioner of both folk medicine and folk magic.  As such, those students could properly address him as Dr. Pai.  Thus, there is no controversy.  According to the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, having an earned doctorate degree from an accredited university is not the sole criteria one needs in order to be referred to as a “doctor.”

     While it is true that there may be many things about the life and teachings of the late Grandmaster Pai that may have been controversial, the fact that some of his students called him Dr. Pai is just not one of the controversies.  And anyone who says that it is just reveals how very little he really knows about the legacy of the late Grandmaster, Dr. Daniel K. Pai.