I've trained in martial arts for 61 years and am considered (and carry the title) of Master. Yet still, I continue to learn, and wonder if it's possible to master any art.
Please pardon if I've told this story before on this site.
I started training in a French fighting style called Savate when I was five years old (my father thought I needed toughening up). My instructor was a painter - not of houses but landscapes and portraits. Apparently he was good enough to have his own gallery in Palo Alto CA and earn a nice living.
Regardless of that; there was a period where I got frustrated with my progress in Savate, it felt as if I were regressing rather than progressing. This is what he told me:
There are two aspects of every art; these are the eye and the hand.
When you begin, your eye is better than your hand so everything you do seems terrible. But, then your hand improves and suddenly you feel great about what you can do. However, usually soon after this euphoric period, everything you do looks awful again, and you feel as if you are getting worse.
What's actually happening is that your eye has improved, and again is ahead of what your hand can accomplish. Eventually though, your hand catches back up.
This process, which is sort of like climbing a ladder, is continuous; it goes on for the entire time that you practice your art.
End of story.
It could be, that those of us that feel we have mastered some aspect of our craft, have simply reached a point where their eye and hand are in sync, and in time that point of view may change.