Hmm what does Kung Fu actually mean?

Question

Is it a real word? or did someone make it up for marketing value and it just got picked up? did people call kung fu kung fu in old china? if they didnt call kung fu kung fu then what did they call chinese boxing back then?

Answer 1

Chinese martial arts describes the enormous variety of martial arts styles originating in China.

Kung fu and wushu are popular terms that have become synonymous with Chinese martial arts. However, the Chinese terms kung fu (Chinese: 功夫 pinyin: gōngfu) and wushu (Traditional Chinese: 武術; Simplified Chinese: 武术) have very distinct connotations. Each term can describe a different martial arts traditions and can also be used in a context without referencing martial arts. Colloquially, kung fu (or gong fu) alludes to any individual accomplishment or cultivated skill. In contrast, wushu is a more precise term that refers to general martial activities. The term wushu has also become the name for a modern sport similar to gymnastics involving the performance of adapted Chinese bare-handed and weapons forms (tàolù 套路) judged to a set of contemporary aesthetic criteria for points.

The origins of Chinese martial arts are traced to self-defense needs, hunting activities and military training in ancient China. Hand to hand combat and weapons practice were important components in the training of Chinese soldiers.[1][2][3] Eventually, Chinese martial arts became an important element of Chinese culture.

According to legend, the reign of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi, traditional date of ascension to the throne, 2698 B.C.) introduced the earliest forms of martial arts to China.[4] The Yellow Emperor is described as a famous general who, before becoming China’s leader, wrote lengthy treatises on medicine, astrology and the martial arts. He allegedly developed the practice of jiao di or horn-butting and utilized it in war.[5] Regardless of these legends, jiao di evolved during the Zhou Dynasty (2nd millennium B.C.) into a combat wrestling system called jiao li, the practice of which in the Zhou Dynasty was recorded in the Classic of Rites.[6] This combat system included techniques such as strikes, throws, joint manipulation, and pressure point attacks.[5] Jiao li became a sport during the Qin Dynasty (221 - 207 B.C.). Jiao li eventually became known as shuai jiao, its modern form.

Sophisticated theories of martial arts based on the opposing ideas of yin and yang, and the integration of "hard" and "soft" techniques are recorded in the annals of the Spring and Autumn Period (722 BCE–481 BCE).[7]

The Han History Bibliographies record that, by the Former Han (206 BCE–8 CE), there was a distinction between no-holds-barred weaponless fighting, which it calls shǒubó (手搏), for which "how-to" manuals had already been written, and sportive wrestling, then known as juélì or jiǎolì (角力).[8]

Wrestling is also documented in the Shǐ Jì, The Records of the Grand Historian, written by Sima Qian dating from 109 BC to 91 BC.

In the Tang Dynasty, descriptions of sword dances were immortalized in poems by Li Bai. In the Song and Yuan dynasties, xiangpu (the earliest form of sumo) contests were sponsored by the imperial courts. The modern concepts of wushu were fully developed by the Ming and Qing dynasties.[9]

Martial arts are also mentioned in Chinese philosophy. Passages in the Zhuangzi (庄子), a Daoist text, pertain to the psychology and practice of martial arts. Zhuangzi, its eponymous author, is believed to have lived in the 4th century BC. The Tao Te Ching, often credited to Lao Zi, is another Daoist text that contains principles applicable to martial arts. According to one of the classic texts of Confucianism, Zhou Li (周禮/周礼), Archery and charioteering were part of the "six arts" (Traditional Chinese: 六藝; Simplified Chinese: 六艺; Pinyin: liu yi, including rites, music, calligraphy and mathematics) of the Zhou Dynasty (1122 - 256 B.C.E.). The Art of War ( 孫子兵法), written during the 6th century B.C. by Sun Tzu ( 孫子), deals directly with military warfare but contains ideas that are used in the Chinese martial arts. Those examples shows that over time, the ideas associated with Chinese martial arts changed with the evolving Chinese society and over time acquired philosophical basis.

Taoist practitioners have been practicing Tao Yin, physical exercises similar to Qigong that was one of the progenitors to Tai Chi Chuan, at least as early as the 500 B.C. era. In 39-92 A.D., "Six Chapters of Hand Fighting", were included in the Han Shu (history of the Former Han Dynasty) written by Pan Ku. Also, the noted physician, Hua Tuo, composed the "Five Animals Play" - tiger, deer, monkey, bear, and bird, around 220 B.C.[10] Taoist philosophy and their approach to health and exercise can still be seen in the Internal styles of Chinese martial arts.

kung fu /ˈkʌŋ ˈfu, ˈkʊŋ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kuhng foo, koong] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
an ancient Chinese method of self-defense by striking blows at vulnerable areas of an attacker's body using fluid movements of the hands and legs.
[Origin: < Chin gōngfú lit., skill]

Answer 2

Kung Fu as I've explained in other posts, is actually a chinese term that refers to an individual's hard earned or well practiced and mastered skill. This meant Kung Fu could be used to refer to any skills whether in fighting, cooking, or even painting. When you hear older generation chinese say something like: "My Kung Fu is better than your Kung Fu." They don't mean their fighting style is better than your fighting style, what they really meant was their skill was better than yours. The proper chinese term for the chinese martial arts is Wushu. Unfortunately, when Bruce Lee became popular in the 70s, many chinese kept praising his "Good Kung Fu" and most people assumed this meant his martial arts style, when in fact they meant his skills. It didn't help that when Bruce first started out and opened a new martial arts school(this was way before he evolved as a martial artist and developed Jeet Kune Do), he decided to advertise his style as Chinese Gung Fu and even published a book "The Tao of Chinese Gung Fu"as an advertisement method. This reinforced the non chinese people's misinterpretation of the term Kung Fu. And it carried over into the mainstream television and movies as a result of the Bruce Lee phenomenon. Fortunately, since a lot of old chinese masters have migrated to the west today, they have started to reintroduce the chinese arts as Wushu and is gradually being helped by the numerous media exposures especially in films.

Answer 3

Wu Shu was a general term. Kung Fu as a word relates to Hard Work or Working Person.
The arts themselves in China have meanings,
like my art of choice San Soo. The Chinese name is Choy ( Kicking and Punching ) Li ( Leverages ) Ho ( Pressure points ) Fut ( Psychology ) Hung ( Power and Strength ) and Ga ( Way )
the name represents an exact meaning.

Answer 4

Fu means Master for sure. Kung or Gung means Work. For martial arts, it has the Li symbol added in front of it. Li means Strength. The connotation is to work hard (and well) to master some skill. A synonym is Great Achievement. One can achieve Kung Fu in any field. A butcher never had to sharpen his knives, but his assistants had to sharpen theirs often, for they constantly dulled them by hitting bones and tough tendons that the Kung Fu Butcher missed. The term is often used for martial arts, but Wu Shu literally means Martial Arts, and that term is used now in Red China.

Answer 5

Kung Fu literally translated means to "work man" or "work the body." It has always been called that.

Answer 6

to my knowledge it means "skilled" much like our word Wizard... Hey that kid's really a wizard on the computer. He's a wizard at boxing. (Chuan Fa-fist law)

Answer 7

It loosly translates to "expertise". As used in MA, it is a corruption of Chung Fa- foot way.