Kirigi was a master of martial arts living in the Paektu mountain range in North Korea, near the border of northeast China. Master Kirigi is renowned among martial arts virtuosos for his Vibrating Palm Technique. Kirigi was the most influential of Bruce Wayne's martial arts instructors and his primary sensei.
History
Bruce Wayne's training
A young Bruce Wayne had sought Kirigi for instruction, gaining some of the skills he would later use as Batman. When Wayne first arrived Kirigi merely tested the young man's patience and discipline by having simply sweep the floor for the first month. By the third month Wayne was sweeping, washing dishes and boiling rice. It wasn't until month five that Kirigi began giving Wayne martial arts instruction, with about seven months of intensive physical training in total.
Kirigi also explicated various philosophies to Wayne, analyzing his spirit and drive. After eleven months, Kirigi concluded that due to him being "marked by some great violence" Wayne's intense drive for combat could likely destroy him from within. Kirigi claimed that he would require another twenty years to help Wayne get past it to what lies on the "other side." Wayne decided to leave the mountain retreat to study with masters of various other disciplines instead.
Batman returns to the Dojang
Ten years later members of the League of Assassins used Kirigi's vibrating palm strike to commit murders in Gotham City, including the death of an innocent woman. Batman returned to Kirigi's dojang to understand why he would teach morally questionable people. Kirigi gave a detached answer, not seeming to care about Bruce's moral quandary or any possible wrong doings of former students. Master Kirigi believes anyone who is able to find his dojang are worthy of his training. Another of Batman's enemies, the Bronze Tiger, also studied with Kirigi.[1]
Rebirth
His name is changed to Takibi Kirigi in New 52/Rebirth continuity and Kyodai Ken is depicted as his lone surviving bodyguard. Kirigi's dojang is also depicted as a much larger residence, with many young students training like a traditional martial arts schools. He also teaches swordsmanship and weapons training rather than just unarmed combat.
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