In a first class you will hear a few words you probably do not know. None of it is a secret and none of it needs learning in advance - but if you are curious, here is an honest glossary. The translations are explanatory rather than literal, because with Chinese a literal translation often obscures more than it clarifies.
Basic terms
Gong fu (功夫) - skill acquired through sustained effort. The word did not mean a martial art; it applied to any mastery, cooking and calligraphy included. That it now means a fighting art is a product of the twentieth century and of cinema.
Wushu (武術) - literally “martial art”; in China it is the general term for all martial arts, while in the West it often refers to the modern competitive version with acrobatics and judging.
Qi (氣) - breath, air, life energy. In practice it mostly means the connection between breath, attention and movement. You do not need to believe anything in particular for Qi Gong to work.
Qi Gong (氣功) - “work with qi“: slow movement and breathing exercises for health and calm.
Training and forms
Taolu (套路) - a form, a sequence of movements practised as a whole. Once the only reliable way of transmitting knowledge, before print and video.
Mabu (馬步) - the horse stance, a low squat with the feet apart. A foundational exercise in nearly every Chinese school.
Sanshou (散手) - “free hands”: the fighting part of training, where techniques are used against a moving partner. The counterpart to a form, which is fixed in advance.
Sifu (師父) - teacher; the word also carries the sense of a father, someone who guides rather than merely instructs. We use it sparingly and without solemnity.
If someone explains a term in a way that leaves it more mysterious than before, they are probably selling something other than training.
The contemplative side
Chan (禪) - the Chinese meditation tradition, ancestor of Japanese zen; both names descend from the Sanskrit dhyana, meditative absorption.
Shaolin (少林) - “young forest”: the Buddhist monastery on Mount Song where meditation and physical training merged into one practice.
Chan wu he yi (禪武合一) - “Chan and the martial art are one”. Not a slogan but a description of method: the mind is trained in stillness and in movement.
What to do with all this
Honestly: you need none of it in order to train. The terms stick by themselves once you hear them twice a week. Knowing them is useful mainly so you understand what others are talking about - and so you can tell when someone is overselling them.
