What does 'Kung Fu' mean?

good question. you can translate it literally or figuratively I suppose...

it doesn't mean anything martial arts related though. If one has "kung fu", then one has a high degree of skill in something. If I remember my chinese right, then "kung" means "to work or labor". I'm not totally sure on the "fu" bit, but I think it is something like "long time" or something like that.

the chinese term for martial arts is "wushu", but many traditonal CMA practitioners stay away from that term to distance themselves from the sport martial art that is supported by the chinese government. another term to be familiar with is "ch'uan fa" or "fist law". You may be more familiar with this in the form of "Ken Po", but it was originally a chinese term (e.g. the ch'uan in tai chi ch'uan).

Literally, it refers to a skill that is acquired through hard work over a period of time. So, you could be, say, an excellent carpenter and the people would say that you have good "kung-fu."

Top marks gentlemen, you have restored my faith in humanity.

The question was inspired by this post from another board, where years previously I'd written extensively about the meaning of Kung Fu;

My Kung Fu is Kung Fu. Simply as that. The grappling I learn, is just a part of my Kung Fu.

What then follows is the typical misunderstanding, which, in this case is particularly ironic, as the poster lives and works in Hong Kong;
You mean to say you supplement your Kung Fu with BJJ and Sambo.
No matter how you slice it... BJJ and Sambo aren't Kung Fu. The only way it's possible to round out the Kung Fu to compete in these types of events is to incorporate grappling. At least to my way of thinking... I'm guessing the majority of the ground submissions you learn are not inherent in Kung Fu. So really it's basically MMA.

Kung Fu is not a style!
Kung Fu is not a Martial Art!

Literally Kungfu (Gongfu) means "hard work". Non-literally, kungfu to me means a way of life. Its not something you do twice a week in a hall, it becomes you and forms a part of your everyday life.

Thought I hate the term Martial Art, I have to disagree that kungfu is NOT a martial art. It is. Though it is more of an art than most other "martial arts".

The term Martial Art means "a system of codified practices and traditions of training for combat" Apart from many other things, in kungfu, and certainly in the styles i am learning, training for combat is something you do learn, end of. Therefore it can be called a martial art, but you will find that most people hate this term.

There is more history, culture behind most kungfu styles, there is also so much more involved in kungfu, as you have tai chi, lion dancing etc etc which completes the full circle, not to mention other things like i-ching, soft and hard chi gong, meditation etc etc etc.

Wushu is not a fighting art, at all. Its an acrobatic sport which resembles kungfu. When I think of Wushu I think of flowery fists and embroidery kicks, none of the moves mean anything they just look good. They look good in a film, but are useless in real life. Proper kungfu is ugly but extremely effective

How very interesting. I did not know that! I was ignorant and now I am educated. Fanks all!

Lardy wrote:
How very interesting. I did not know that! I was ignorant and now I am educated. Fanks all!
Indeed.
So next time you see one of those 'Style X vs Kung Fu' threads, you'll be ready to rip into them.

spaced wrote:

... but you will find that most people hate this term...


I think that is an over-generalization. I've never seen any kung fu practitioner turn his nose up at kung fu being called a 'martial art'. I have seen that happen when other styles are considered martial arts along with it. I do agree with pretty much the rest of what you said though.

Well, "kung-fu" has now come into use as a generic term for Chinese martial arts, even though that's not literally what it means. It's the same thing with "wushu", which means literally, "martial art(s)" but has come to refer to a form that mixes gymnastics, Chinese opera, and martial arts postures.

In China they often refer to "contemporary wushu" or "traditional wushu" but that's not quite how we do it over here-

When I was in China many people watched my morning practice and referred to it as "kung-fu", so the misnomer has been carried back to its homeland...!

pstarr wrote:
When I was in China many people watched my morning practice and referred to it as "kung-fu", so the misnomer has been carried back to its homeland...!
I don't think that should prevent correct usage of the term.

heh, i blame Hong Kong martial arts movies.

<mouth moves out of synch and thumb points to nose>

Ha-HA! You have no kung fu. My kung fu is too strong for you to defeat.

lol.

David Carradine has a LOT to answer for (if you've ever seen his Tai Chi videos you'll know exactly what I mean).