For those of you unfamiliar to the kung fu world or the fancy-shmancy (Chinese) words we use, this should help.

First Form:  most kung fu styles have a beginning movements form to train basic techniques.  Coincidentally, our first form is entitled "First Form."

Foa Ge:  patience and control

Gim:  double-edged straight sword; also a popular tai chi weapon

Hoi Ma:  ready horse stance

KFF:  kung fu friend (like BFF, get it?)

Kung Fu:  doesn't mean martial arts; kung = work & fu = man; together means 'hard work'; anyone can have good kung fu - from a martial artist, to a carpenter, to a cook

Sifu:  teacher; master (When you see Sifu [with a capital S] in my text, colloquially I most often times will be referring to my teacher, Sifu Bob Rosen.  If you see sifu [little s], then it just refers to any teacher of Chinese kung fu in general.)

Si Gung:  grandmaster;  your teacher's teacher (which in my case is Grandmaster Pui Chan of Orlando, FL)

Si Hing:  kung fu older brother

Si Di:  kung fu younger brother

Si Jye:  kung fu older sister

Si Mui:  kung fu younger sister

Si Sook:  kung fu uncle younger than your sifu (interestingly, there is no word for 'kung fu aunt', so it's weird to hear my Si Jye's students calling me 'Si Sook')

Sow:  kung fu command to close or finish

Wah Lum Pai:  the northern praying mantis Chinese kung fu system that I study

Wushu:  the stylized, standardized, nationalized form of Chinese martial arts

Yi Bei:  kung fu command to begin or get ready

 Leave a Comment