12/28/2022 0 Comments Sifu kung fuBut I have met many eastern sifus commenting on the lack of respect, sometimes utter disrespect, shown to them. Often it is because of the western students’ ignorance of eastern ways rather than their willful discourtesy that their eastern masters of chi kung or kungfu (including taijiquan) regard as disrespect. In this connection I have little complaint because my students, from both the east and the west, generally show much respect to me. One remarkable difference between the culture of the east and the west is the respect shown to a Sifu. SHOWING RESPECT TO THE SIFU – Sifu Wong Kiew Kit His article is in green, my additions are in black. It is by Sifu Wong Kiew Kit (a Grandmaster from the Shaolin Wahnam Institute). Lately, with an influx of new students into all of our classes I felt it was time to return to an article about what a Sifu is and what he means to students that I read and shared some years ago. I give of myself in the same manner, teach with the same passion, and encourage the same relationships with students whether they belong to our martial lineage or to our health and exercise based community. I also feel that line disappearing between our classes that are martial arts related and those that are not. SIFU KUNG FU CODEOver the last 14 years this line has disappeared as my conduct reflects that of a Sifu/Kung Fu practitioner no matter where I am or what I am doing. This has also been influenced by the ancient code of Martial Morality. He talked about the fact that being a Sifu meant there would be the Kung Fu me and the not Kung Fu me. He was referring to the fact that with my Kung Fu students I would conduct myself in the manner of a Sifu yet when dealing with non students in everyday life I would conduct myself more ‘normally’. My Sigung and Sipo, my Sifu and my Simo, my wife and I.īefore sitting for the Master level grading that would lead me to opening my own school and becoming a Sifu I had a discussion with my Dai Sihing. I often think about my relationship with my Sifu, and his relationship with his own Sifu, and how that has influenced me as a practitioner and teacher of Chinese Martial Arts, my relationships with my students, and how I conduct myself in the community. In a world where people care less and less for each other, yet want more and more, having a relationship like this is not only rare but something that should be valued once you have it. And the fact that the Sifu is so much more than your teacher of a physical skill. For me it is the traditional art of Kung Fu and the hierarchy of respect and the morality and etiquette that inspires me more than the sports oriented versions of martial arts. Some are led by a Sifu/Sensei, others by coaches and businessmen. Some are traditional arts that require a lifetime of commitment, others are sports oriented that give the student limited time to reach a peak before they are unable to maintain the training and competition regimes. They come from different countries and cultures, with the result being countless styles and varying degrees of quality. In Blog, FitLife Martial Arts News, FitLife Therapies News
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