The term Sifu is Chinese for teacher. In Shaolin tradition, after a Kung Fu master has accepted someone as a student, the student calls him Sifu from then on. Sifu is a coaching position, helping the student to reach his/her true potential in martial arts. Traditionally, all students would work at the temple as a community and together take care of all essentials (food, maintenance, cleaning). When two masters in different styles teach each other their style, they both refer to each other as Sifu.
All people who train in the same system are related like a family, and in a large Fu family (Kung Fu Tong) the following members may exist (Cantonese):
- Si Fu – Teacher
- To Dai – Student
- Si Gong – Father, Sifu to your Sifu
- Si Jo – Head of family, Sifu to your Sigong
- Si Dai – Younger Brother, any male student who started after you did
- Si Mui – Younger Sister, any female student who started after you did
- Si Hing – Older Brother, any male student who started training before you did
- Si Je – Older Sister, any female student who started training before you did
- Si Suk – Uncle, Si Dai to your Sifu
- Si Pak – Uncle, Si Hing to your Sifu
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