Definition of Kung Fu

The term Kung Fu is the transliteration for the Chinese term “工夫 or 功夫.” The English term mainly refers to a style of traditional Chinese martial art, especially Shaolin Kung Fu, meaning Shaolin style martial art.

The original Chinese term means a lot more:

1. To work, to labor, to spend efforts. 他们下了很多工夫: They put in a lot of work.
2. Skills and craftsmanship. 他刀功 (功夫 of using a knife) 很好: He is very skillful on using knives. 这件衬衫手工很好: The craftsmanship of this shirt is very good.
3. Time. It took her only 3 days to learn that short routine: 她三天工夫就学会了那个短套路.
4. The accumulation of strength and skills through whole hearted continuous practice. 练功: To practice.

In traditional Chinese martial art community, 功夫 mainly means 2 things:

1. Practice. 练功: To practice.
2. The accumulated strength and skills. 他功夫深不可测: He abtained and accumulated unfathomable knowledge, strength and skills.

功夫 takes a lot of time and effort to obtain and accumulate, therefore it is considered the most important part of martial art training. 练功 usually involves practice a single, simple move or a stance repeatedly for a long time. Masters usually tell their pupils to stay on a horse stance for hours or to practice one simple punch hundreds of times. When a martial artist says he is 练功, he is saying he is practicing the fundamentals.

功夫 is the simple plain fundamentals that is behind all the fancy moves and forms.

A martial artist practices the fundamentals since the first day of his martial art training to the last day of his life. That reflects the importance of 功夫.