Sifu
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Sifu or Shifu (師父) means "Master" or "Teacher" in the Chinese Language. The term is most commonly used in martial art school. Si means teacher. Fu means father. Depending on which Chinese dialect the transliteration was based on, it may be spelled differently.
In Chinese martial art tradition, learning from a master does not make one his student automatically. The acceptance as a student is a very formal event, usually requires a ceremony called baisi (拜師). One can always address some master as sifu as a courtesy in greetings. But one cannot say certain master is one's sifu without the formal admission ceremony. Only after a student is admitted formally, the sifu would pass all his knowledge. Only then, the student can be the carrier of the tradition to the next generation.
In most martial art schools, the master may teach many informal students. However, only the worthy few are admitted formally to carry the sifu's name forward. If a student misbehaves, the sifu can denounce the student and eliminate the student's name from the school.
In modern days, martial art schools are run as business. Informal students are numerous and many claim some famous masters as their sifu even though they have never been admitted formally nor received any in-depth training. In the past, using the sifu's name without permission was forbidden and considered a disgrace. The issue of formal lineage becomes a very controversial topic. For example, Yip Man probably had hundreds of informal students because of the open Wing Chun school he ran in Hong Kong. Some source claimed that he only had eight formal students who were authorized to carry his name. Moy Yat was among these students. Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu lives on as a thriving lineage of Kung Fu in the USA. Some also say that Bruce Lee was one of the formal students of Yip Man, although he did not receive the full Wing Chun system.
In a martial art school, the actual teaching is usually done by the more senior sihings. Only after the student has reached a certain level of skills, the sifu will start to get involved in more formal training.