Master Mutaito

This article is about the original character. For the character portrayed in live-action by Ernie Hudson, see Sifu Norris (Ernie Hudson).

"Spiritual Power. It's not unique to just me, everyone has it. It's the basic form of human energy. With proper training one can control it at will."
— "The Time Room"

Master Mutaito (武泰斗) was one of the greatest martial arts teachers of all time, and the first known person to act as Earth's savior (something that was the main role of Goku throughout his life). He was Master Roshi and Master Shen's teacher and the one who taught them the most amazing skills of the martial arts.

Overview

Meeting Goku

In the anime filler episode "The Time Room", during his stay on Kami's Lookout, Goku travels to the past (via the Lookout's Pendulum Room) to a period before Mutaito's battle with Piccolo (back when he was teaching the 18-year-old Roshi and Shen in the way of the martial artist), and fights with him. From their battle, it was clear however that Mutaito is stronger than Goku, causing something of a continuity error in the series (not uncommon with the anime-only filler).

MutaitoKiFinger — Mutaito uses a one finger Ki technique

This is interesting given the fact Goku had not long before defeated King Piccolo, the very demon Mutaito could not defeat and eventually gave his life just to seal him away (however Goku's pure-Saiyan bloodline combined with his desire to avenge the deaths of Krillin, Master Roshi, Chiaotzu, and others killed by Piccolo and his spawn may have been what allowed him finally defeat King Piccolo in the end, as during the fight Goku ended up with two broken legs and a broken arm). It should be noted, however, that Mr. Popo tells Goku that the persons encountered while in the Pendulum Room are not real, but mere illusions. Another reason is that his age and body began to get older and slower a few years later before he fought King Piccolo.

Goku later trains with him, and Mutaito teaches Goku the basis of all Ki-based techniques. He also teaches this knowledge to his students Roshi and Shen, knowledge which Roshi later used to develop the technique would become his and Goku's (and many others) signature Ki-based attack, the Kamehameha.

Battling King Piccolo

Main article: King Piccolo wars

MutaitoEvilContainmentWave — Mutaito using the Evil Containment Wave (Mafūba)

Mutaito, together with his disciples, faced King Piccolo during his first attempt to conquer the Earth, getting gravely injured and suffering for the death of his pupils (with Roshi and Shen being among those few to have survived). Before his wounds could fully heal, Mutaito, disgraced at being defeated in front of his remaining students, went off somewhere to be alone and train while Piccolo continued his rampage. For this motive he decided to develop a special technique, training in solitude to avoid any distraction. When he finished his training several years later, during which much of Earth's population had been slaughtered and the cities destroyed, he reunited with Master Roshi and the two went to find Piccolo.

Mutaito faced Piccolo with the Evil Containment Wave and managed to conquer him in a rapid and elegant way, trapping him forever in an Electric Rice Cooker and regaining his honor in the process, but died shortly afterwards from the use of this technique which, though tremendously effective, caused death to the one who used it. This selfless act restored natural order and stopped the extinction of the human race, but was centuries later undone by Emperor Pilaf, who foolishly freed King Piccolo, allowing the evil Namekian to begin his reign of terror anew, only to be defeated by Roshi's surviving pupil, Goku.

Techniques and special abilities

Evil Containment Wave: The technique that Mutaito used to seal King Piccolo in a rice cooker jar. Use of this technique resulted in Mutaito's death.
Ki Based Techniques: Master Mutaito was actually the first person to mention the word ki (spiritual energy in the FUNimation Dub). He used it in the anime to beat Goku with one finger, and to slice a waterfall in two.

Video game appearances

MutaitoStatueFront(DBO) — A Statue of Mutaito in *Dragon Ball Online*

According to the video game Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans, after King Piccolo defeated him, Mutaito trained in special Training Grounds. Several years later, he developed his signature technique, the Evil Containment Wave, and used it to seal a Fire Demon called Evil Flame in the Divine Crossing right before going to find King Piccolo. In the game, when Evil Flame was released by Tien Shinhan and possessed Chiaotzu before the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, Mutaito's spirit helps Tien develop the Multi-Form technique, allowing him to save Chiaotzu and destroy the monster.

Master Mutaito is also mentioned in Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo. Engravings and statues of him appear in the computer game Dragon Ball Online.

Voice actors

Japanese Dub: Kenji Utsumi
FUNimation Dub: Kent Williams
Latin American Dub: Mario Sauret
Brazilian Dub: Gilberto Barolli

Trivia

Mutaito's hairstyle is the same as the wig Master Roshi wore when disguised as Jackie Chun. The Jackie Chun disguise was probably designed that way by Master Roshi to be a homage to his master.
Mr. Lao, a character who only appears in the Dragon Ball Z anime filler, has a hairstyle very similar to that of Mutaito.
Mutaito's name is a play on words of "Muay Thai", a striking-based martial art that originated in Thailand.