Kung fu (term) - Ning Mui Kung Fu Organisation

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Kung fu (term) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Kung fu (term) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is specifically about the term "kung fu". The martial art(s) sometimes called Kung Fu are in fact synonymous with "Chinese martial arts"; for information about this, see Chinese martial arts. For other uses, see Kung fu (disambiguation). Kung fu or gongfu (功夫, Pinyin: gōngfu) is a well-known Chinese term often used today to refer to Chinese martial arts. Its original meaning is somewhat different, referring to one's expertise in any skill, not necessarily martial. Contents � 1 History � 2 Spelling � 3 Translation and usage � 4 Related terms � 5 Philosophy � 6 See also History The term kung fu was not popular until the 20th century, thus the word would be seldom found in any ancient texts. The term was first known to have been reported by a Westerner, French Jesuit missionary Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, in the 18th century and was known little in the mainstream English language until approximately the late 1960s, when it became popular because of the Hong Kong films, especially those by Bruce Lee, and later Kung Fu - the television series. Before that it was referred to primarily as "Chinese boxing". Kung Fu, as it is written here, refers to the general term of Chinese martial arts. Shaolin Kung Fu refers to the style that was developed in the Shaolin temples. Spelling Part of the confusion around this term comes from the many ways the Chinese characters 功夫 can be romanized, as Chinese romanization systems have evolved much in the past years. Here are some of the most common versions in use today: � Kung fu is undoubtedly the most widely spread. It uses the Wade-Giles romanization system; a system that many consider obsolete today. � Gongfu is the Hanyu Pinyin romanization. With tones included this would be written gōngfu. Even though Pinyin is currently the official system of romanization of the People's Republic of China, the spelling "gongfu" is not widely used. Pinyin is, however, a popular system used for many other similar Chinese terms, such as qigong (instead of ch'i kung in Wade-Giles). � Gungfu or gung fu is a Cantonese version using Yale Romanization, sans tone marks. This spelling was made popular by martial artist Bruce Lee during the 1970s. Translation and usage Seite 1 von 3 Nowadays, the most common use of the term kung fu is when referring to Chinese martial arts in general. Thus, when someone says they study kung fu, they likely mean they study one of the many styles of Chinese martial arts. (An alternative term might be "Zhongguo wushu" (中國武術, literally China martial art)). The http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_fu_%28term%29 08.07.2006

Kung fu (term) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kung fu (term)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is specifically about the term "kung fu". The martial art(s) sometimes called Kung Fu are

in fact synonymous with "Chinese martial arts"; for information about this, see Chinese martial arts.

For other uses, see Kung fu (disambiguation).

Kung fu or gongfu (功夫, Pinyin: gōngfu) is a well-known Chinese term often used today to refer to Chinese

martial arts. Its original meaning is somewhat different, referring to one's expertise in any skill, not

necessarily martial.

Contents

� 1 History

� 2 Spelling

� 3 Translation and usage

� 4 Related terms

� 5 Philosophy

� 6 See also

History

The term kung fu was not popular until the 20th century, thus the word would be seldom found in any ancient

texts. The term was first known to have been reported by a Westerner, French Jesuit missionary Jean Joseph

Marie Amiot, in the 18th century and was known little in the mainstream English language until

approximately the late 1960s, when it became popular because of the Hong Kong films, especially those by

Bruce Lee, and later Kung Fu - the television series. Before that it was referred to primarily as "Chinese

boxing". Kung Fu, as it is written here, refers to the general term of Chinese martial arts. Shaolin Kung Fu

refers to the style that was developed in the Shaolin temples.

Spelling

Part of the confusion around this term comes from the many ways the Chinese characters 功夫 can be

romanized, as Chinese romanization systems have evolved much in the past years.

Here are some of the most common versions in use today:

� Kung fu is undoubtedly the most widely spread. It uses the Wade-Giles romanization system; a system

that many consider obsolete today.

� Gongfu is the Hanyu Pinyin romanization. With tones included this would be written gōngfu. Even

though Pinyin is currently the official system of romanization of the People's Republic of China, the

spelling "gongfu" is not widely used. Pinyin is, however, a popular system used for many other similar

Chinese terms, such as qigong (instead of ch'i kung in Wade-Giles).

� Gungfu or gung fu is a Cantonese version using Yale Romanization, sans tone marks. This spelling was

made popular by martial artist Bruce Lee during the 1970s.

Translation and usage

Seite 1 von 3

Nowadays, the most common use of the term kung fu is when referring to Chinese martial arts in general.

Thus, when someone says they study kung fu, they likely mean they study one of the many styles of Chinese

martial arts. (An alternative term might be "Zhongguo wushu" (中國武術, literally China martial art)). The

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_fu_%28term%29

08.07.2006

Kung fu (term) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

original meaning of kung fu is quite different, and is hard to translate as there is no English equivalent. In

short, 功夫 (gōngfu) means "achievement through great effort" or simply virtue. It combines 功 (gōng)

meaning achievement or merit, and 夫 (fū) which translates into man. In Mandarin, when two "first tone"

words such as gōng and fū are combined, the second word often takes a neutral tone, in this case forming

gōngfu.

Originally, to practice kung fu did not just mean to practice Chinese martial arts. Instead, it referred to the

process of one's training - the strengthening of the body and the mind, the learning and the perfection of one's

skills - rather than to what was being trained. It refers to excellence achieved through long practice in any

endeavor. You can say that a person's kung fu is good in cooking, or that someone has kung fu in calligraphy;

saying that a person possesses kung fu in an area implies skill in that area, which they have worked hard to

develop. Someone with "bad kung fu" simply has not put enough time and effort into training, or seems to

lack the motivation to do so. Kung fu is also a name used for the elaborate Fujian tea ceremony (Kung-fu

cha).

There is a curious contemporary twist on this meaning in the hacker culture: there the fu has been generalized

to a suffix, implying that the thing suffixed involves great skill or effort. For example, one may talk of "scriptfu"

to refer to complicated scripting. It is unknown whether this was consciously based on the original,

broader meaning of the term or whether it was a simple wordplay on the less general Western notion of "kung

fu".

In Japanese, the characters 工夫 are read 'kufū' and refer to a resourceful method devised to achieve a

particular result. Another meaning is to engage in Buddhist training, especially Zazen. When read 'kōfu', the

same characters refer to a building site laborer. The characters for Kung Fu (功夫) have carried over the

Chinese pronunciation and is read as 'kanfū' (カンフー), although Taiji styles are referred to as

'taikyokuken' (太極拳、たいきょくけん). Chinese martial arts can also be referred to as 'Chūgokuken'(中国拳)

or 'Chūgokukempō,'(中国拳法) which translates as 'Chinese boxing.'

In Korean, the characters are read as 'gongbu' (공부), and simply mean 'study'.

Related terms

While the term Kung Fu is used globally as a generic term for the Chinese martial arts — such as Shaolin

Kung Fu — certain Chinese words may be used to denote some specific aspect of a style. These words are

often based on the theme of the human hand. A common term is the Mandarin word quan or chuan (拳,

Cantonese: kuen, Japanese: ken), meaning fist, which conveys the sense of a style of boxing or striking, as in

Shaolin Quan (Young Forest Fist) and Wing Chun Kuen (Eternal Spring Fist). The word "chuan", however,

may not always denote boxing; Tai Chi Chuan (Supreme Ultimate Fist), for instance, contain the word

"chuan" but does not focus on striking in common practice. The term chang or zhang (掌), meaning palm, is

also seen, an example being Bagua Zhang (Eight Trigrams Palm). Another similar word is shou (手), or hand,

as in San Shou (Loose Hand or Free Hand).

Some words refer to an art's origin or tradition. One term is pai (派), denoting a school of thought or system,

as in Tien Shan Pai and Ying Jow Pai. This is related to the Japanese term ryuha (流派, Mandarin: liúpài),

meaning "mainstream school of thought". Some martial arts of Southern China use the Cantonese word gar

(家, Mandarin pinyin: jiā), meaning family, as in Hung Gar and Lau Gar (Hung Family, Lau Family), among

others.

Philosophy

There are various philosophies around the term kung fu, suggesting a deeper meaning. The following is an

example of such a philosophy:

For a process to truly be kung fu, the following three elements must be present:

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Kung fu (term) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

� Motivation

� Self-discipline

� Time

Motivation is the basic driving force, and without it, kung fu can never be reached. It means both interest and

the will to do something; a person who is forced to do something is not truly motivated. A motivated person,

on the other hand, has interest in learning: they have a goal.

It is important to note a difference between the various types of motivation: A person can be motivated to do

something, because if they do not they will be punished. Money can also lead to motivation, because you

know that doing something will give you more money. However, the motivation kung fu comes from an

interest and an inner desire to learn and develop, in which the goal is not an external gain, like avoiding

punishment or earning money, but an internal one, with the only reward being knowledge, skill, strength and

wisdom. This motivation can be inspired, but not controlled, by other people.

Self-discipline is closely related to motivation, but refers to the effort and patience required to actually get

something done, and to get past obstacles that might appear on the way towards one's goal. While motivation

is the mental state of wanting to do something, discipline is required to put motivation into action: A person

might want to do something very much, but lacks the required amount of discipline to get started. Without

this, motivation will lead to nothing.

It is true that a competent instructor can assist a person by providing discipline, helping that person to get past

obstacles. This is good, but will not last forever, and in the end, it is always up to the person herself to put her

thoughts into action.

Time is essential for finding one's motivation and self-discipline, and to actually accomplish something by

making use of them, but motivation and self-discipline are also important to make a person willing to put time

into accomplishing their goal: to prioritize.

In later stages, once motivation and discipline have become an integral part of a person's life, it is important

not to stop spending time on practice. This is said to be a very important aspect of kung fu: Many ancient

Chinese philosophers and martial artists consider time the most valuable commodity in a person's lives, as

time cannot be replaced. By finding interest in and putting effort and time into every action, one will make the

best use of time, and live a happy and productive life.

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