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
Grandmaster (martial arts) spelled "shifu" in pinyin. Using non-rhotic British English pronunciation, in Mandarin it would sound something similar to "sure foo". Using IPA, 'shi' is pronounced 'ʂɨ'. The 'i' is a short vowel. Many martial arts studios incorrectly pronounce this like "she foo". In Cantonese, it is said as "see foo" (almost like "sea food", without the "d" on the end). (師傅 or 師父; Pinyin: "shīfu", Standard pinyin: "si1 fu6") a modern term for "teacher". The term "Shifu" is a combination of the characters "teacher" and "father" (師父) or a combination of the characters "teacher" and "mentor" (師傅). The traditional Chinese martial