Grandmaster (martial arts) of "Dan" rankings and Black belt and Red belt in martial arts both derive from Judo where they were adopted by its founder Kanō Jigorō. There are many terms similar or equivalent to 'grandmaster' used by various martial arts traditions. Some of these terms derive from older systems, while others are relatively modern. Japanese martial arts commonly use Sensei (先生) meaning "teacher" or literally translated, "born first" or "one who has gone before". 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
Japanese martial arts in other schools it is practiced as a sport. literally means "empty hand". It is also sometimes called . Karate originated in and, is technically, Okinawan, formerly known as the Ryūkyū Kingdom, but now a part of present-day Japan. Karate is a fusion of pre-existing Okinawan martial arts, called ""te"", and Chinese martial arts. It is an art that has been adopted and developed by practitioners on the Japanese main island of Honshu. Karate's route to Honshu began with Gichin Funakoshi (船越 義珍 "Funakoshi Gichin", 1868–1957), who is called the father of karate, and is the founder of Shotokan karate.