Master Shifu

A former student of Master Oogway, Shifu became a highly skilled master of kung fu who hoped that his first student, Tai Lung, would become the legendary Dragon Warrior. Some time after Tai Lung's betrayal, however, Shifu went on to train Tigress, Mantis, Monkey, Viper, and Crane, the Furious Five. Though these students became well-known for their heroics, none of them were selected to be the Dragon Warrior, and Shifu was outraged when Po was chosen instead. Witnessing the panda's potential and determination however, Shifu eventually came to believe in him, successfully teaching Po the skills needed for him to ultimately save the Valley of Peace. He now acts as a mentor to Po.

Master Shifu was seen as a loving father and devoted teacher to a young Tai Lung when the cub first showed up. But after Tai Lung's betrayal, he became distant, a firm and uncompromising taskmaster to his students. It wasn't until he expected to depart from his students one last time that he confessed he was proud of them all, including Tigress, who especially sought to earn his approval. Since Po's heroism in becoming the Dragon Warrior, Shifu has let go of his bitterness and attained inner peace.

Ever since Tai Lung was defeated and his mistake with him was essentially rectified, he has become much more warm, understanding, patient and open-minded. Additionally, while Po's antics can still get on his nerves, he tends to have a lot more faith that he'll ultimately succeed at whatever he puts his mind to since despite overwhelming odds, he managed to find a unique way to train him against Tai Lung that proved to be very effective, and he even ended up successfully defeating him. If anything, Po's tendency to master things that took him much longer to is another thing that annoys him. However, he's also very much proud of him, and is much more likely to tell him and the Furious Five so after realizing that not doing this enough with Tai Lung was one of his biggest mistakes.

Shifu is most often seen wearing a reddish-burgundy robe with a brown-colored sash. The robe has golden wave designs on the silver cuffs, as well as oval patterns on the back of the sleeves. He also wears black pants (white in the TV series), closed-toed sandals, traditional Shaolin leg wraps around his ankles and lower legs, and a ring-like item that holds together his small goatee.