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Gung Fu has been a big part of Chinese culture for thousands of years. Over the centuries, many different styles of gung fu has emerged , developed and passed down from master to student. Traditionally upon being accepted as a disciple by the sifu(teacher) of a particular style, one becomes an immediate member of that gung fu family and part of a rich tradition which is full of meaningful rituals. Kung Fu styles has been taught in the manner of a family structure for thousands of years.
The table below outlines the basic family structure and proper terms/titles used within a gung fu family.
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English Title
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Cantonese Title - Male
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Cantonese Title - Female
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Founder Of System
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Si-Jo
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Si Jo
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Great Grandmaster
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Si-Tai-Gung
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Si-Tai-Poo
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Grandmaster
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Si-Gung
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Si-Poo
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Older Gung Fu Uncle
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Si-Bak
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Si-Doo-Goo
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Younger GungFu Uncle
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Si-Sook
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Si-Goo-Mui
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Teacher/Father
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Sifu
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Sifu
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Teacher/Father
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Si-Hing
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Si-Je
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Younger Brother/Sister
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Si-Di
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Si-Mui
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Student/Follower
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To-Di
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To-DI
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In Door Student
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Yup Moon Dai Gee
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Yup Moon Dai Gee
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Inner Chamber Disciple
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Yup Sut Dai Gee
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Yup Sut Dai Gee
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Husband / Wife
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Sing-San
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Si-Mo
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Before
briefly explaining the the structure of a gung fu family, it must
be mentioned that the Chinese culture with its tradition and customs
is very different from the western culture. Due to the cultural differences
many traditional practices and concepts within gung fu are usually
either misunderstood or misinterpreted by many westerners. For example
one of the most commonly misunderstood factor is how to address the
members of a gung fu family. Like many other Asian countries, Chinese
have a strict discipline on how to address people. According to the
Chinese culture, calling ones elders by their first name is regarded
very disrespectful. This also applies to the traditional gung fu schools.
For example, if a student starts calling his teacher/sifu by his first
name he/she is not only being very rude and disrespectful to the teacher
but also not showing any respect towards the style, its ancestors
and tradition. So the proper way to address the elders/seniors within
a gung fu family is to use the appropriate titles which are shown
above. For example the proper title for ones gung fu teacher would
be Sifu. When referring or calling a senior member of the family such
as the teacher or the grandmaster, one can use the family name or
the full name followed by the appropriate title. For example Lam Cho sigung or Wong sifu. However, in the west the title is usually put before the name due to the structural differences in languages.
The Chinese(Cantonese) term/title Sifu is used to address a master/teacher. This title like all the others listed above is not only explicit to gung fu but the whole Chinese community. The title sifu, for example can be used to address a skilled cook/chef or a poet. Sifu is more like a father figure, a mentor, a skilled person who is respected and admired within a community. A student must show upmost respect towards his/her sifu at all times. Your sifu will remain as your sifu doesn't matter how advance you may become.The titles Si-Mo (wife) and Sing-San(husband) are used to address your sifu's wife or husband respectively. I will write about the Master and Student/Disciple relationship as a separate subject in the near future.
The title Sijo is used to address the founder of a system. For example in Hung Gar, Hung Hei Goon is credited as the founder of the system. In general the founder of the style (sijo) would be classified as the first generation of the particular style.
The title Sigung is used to address ones Grandmaster. For example in Hung Gar, our Granmaster is Lam Cho (sigung). In general or in a simpler term Sigung or the grandmaster is the person who taught your sifu. The grandmaster's(sigung's) master(sifu) would be known as Si-tai-gung or the Great Grandmaster. In Hung Gar our Si-tai-gung would be/is Lam Sai Wing. Following in this order, each generation before would be known as Si-tai-tai-gung and Si-tai-tai-tai-gung and so on. For example our Great great granmaster or Si-tai-tai-tai-gung would be Wong Fei Hung.
Si-bak is the title used to address your older gung fu uncle who is also your sifu's senior gung fu brother. In the same manner, Si-sook is the title used to address your younger gung fu uncle who is also your sifu's younger gung fu brother.
The gung fu family members of the same generation would address each other as Si-hing (older brother), Si-di (younger brother). The female members Si-je (older sister) and Si-Mui (younger sister). It is important to bare in mind that the seniority between the younger and older class mates within a gung fu family is usually marked by the date one joins the school, not by age, superiority of skill or neither by ones physical appearances. Another important point to mention here is that as I stated above these tiles are not exclusive to the gung fu community. The distinction between the titels used or the formality within a gung fu family depends on your sifu. The list of titles/terms used above is by no means complete. Please visit the dictionary section of the web site for more titles as well as other terms used in gung fu.
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