Besides the humorous lists we've discussed about the attributes of a sifu, what is it that makes some black sashes sifus and others not? While a black sash is clearly a qualifying requirement, what else is involved?
The term Sifu is Chinese for teacher. In Shaolin tradition, after a Kung Fu master has accepted someone as a student, the student calls him Sifu from then on. Sifu is a coaching position, helping the student to reach his/her true potential in martial arts. Traditionally, all students would work at the temple as a community and together take care of all essentials (food, maintenance, cleaning). When two masters in different styles teach each other their style, they both refer to each other as Sifu.
All people who train in the same system are related like a family, and in a large Fu family (Kung Fu Tong) the following members may exist (Cantonese):
* Si Fu – Teacher * To Dai – Student * Si Gong – Father, Sifu to your Sifu * Si Jo – Head of family, Sifu to your Sigong * Si Dai – Younger Brother, any male student who started after you did * Si Mui – Younger Sister, any female student who started after you did * Si Hing – Older Brother, any male student who started training before you did * Si Je – Older Sister, any female student who started training before you did * Si Suk – Uncle, Si Dai to your Sifu * Si Pak – Uncle, Si Hing to your Sifu
In the here and now, this can become very cumbersome. The way Master Tom uses the terminology is very simple, some would say it takes meaning away from the original, some (like me) say it makes things much easier.
With Master Tom, any of the head instructors is titled Sifu, assistant instructors are titled SiHing.
So, I refer to Aaron Marcum as Sifu Aaron, and Eli as SiHing. Traditionally, I would call Aaron SiDai, you guys would call him SiSuk, and students that he teaches at master Tom's school would call him SiHing, because the Sifu at that school is Master Tom. And to make it even more confusing, Eli and Larkin started at Master Tom's school, so they would actually call me SiHing, I would call them SiDai, Anne would not call them SiHing, but SiSuk, Anne and Dean would call me Sifu. . .
So to simplify things since the training is not so familial as it once was, we call instructors SiFu, assistant instructors SiHing.
Sifu can be a difficult term to nail down.
ReplyDeleteThe following is from goldenharmonykungfu.com
The term Sifu is Chinese for teacher. In Shaolin tradition, after a Kung Fu master has accepted someone as a student, the student calls him Sifu from then on. Sifu is a coaching position, helping the student to reach his/her true potential in martial arts. Traditionally, all students would work at the temple as a community and together take care of all essentials (food, maintenance, cleaning). When two masters in different styles teach each other their style, they both refer to each other as Sifu.
All people who train in the same system are related like a family, and in a large Fu family (Kung Fu Tong) the following members may exist (Cantonese):
* Si Fu – Teacher
* To Dai – Student
* Si Gong – Father, Sifu to your Sifu
* Si Jo – Head of family, Sifu to your Sigong
* Si Dai – Younger Brother, any male student who started after you did
* Si Mui – Younger Sister, any female student who started after you did
* Si Hing – Older Brother, any male student who started training before you did
* Si Je – Older Sister, any female student who started training before you did
* Si Suk – Uncle, Si Dai to your Sifu
* Si Pak – Uncle, Si Hing to your Sifu
In the here and now, this can become very cumbersome. The way Master Tom uses the terminology is very simple, some would say it takes meaning away from the original, some (like me) say it makes things much easier.
With Master Tom, any of the head instructors is titled Sifu, assistant instructors are titled SiHing.
So, I refer to Aaron Marcum as Sifu Aaron, and Eli as SiHing. Traditionally, I would call Aaron SiDai, you guys would call him SiSuk, and students that he teaches at master Tom's school would call him SiHing, because the Sifu at that school is Master Tom. And to make it even more confusing, Eli and Larkin started at Master Tom's school, so they would actually call me SiHing, I would call them SiDai, Anne would not call them SiHing, but SiSuk, Anne and Dean would call me Sifu. . .
So to simplify things since the training is not so familial as it once was, we call instructors SiFu, assistant instructors SiHing.
Then there is this
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sifu
Thanks for all this info. You've said some of this in class over the years, and I can't hold it in my head. It's good to have it in writing.
ReplyDeleteSo, one specific feature that makes a sifu is a student. Without at least a single student, one cannot be a teacher.
That explains much.