Kung fu (term)

In general, kung fu or kungfu (/ˌkʌŋˈfuː/ ^ⓘ or /ˌkʊŋˈfuː/; pinyin: gōngfu pronounced [kʊ́ŋfu]) refers to the Chinese martial arts also called wushu and quanfa. In China, it refers to any study, learning, or practice that requires patience, energy, and time to complete. In its original meaning, kung fu can refer to any discipline or skill achieved through hard work and practice, not necessarily martial arts (for example, the discipline of tea making is called the gongfu tea ceremony). The literal equivalent of "Chinese martial art" in Mandarin would be 中國武術 zhōngguó wǔshù.

There are many forms of kung fu, such as Shaolin kung fu, Wing Chun, and tai chi, and they are practiced all over the world. Each form of kung fu has its own principles and techniques, but is best known for its trickery and quickness, which is where the word kung fu is derived. It is only in the late twentieth century that this term was used in relation to Chinese martial arts by the Chinese community. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term "kung-fu" as "a primarily unarmed Chinese martial art resembling karate" and attributes the first use of "kung fu" in print to Punch magazine in 1966. This illustrates how the meaning of this term has been changed in English. The origin of this change can be attributed to the misunderstanding or mistranslation of the term through movie subtitles or dubbing.