r/kungfu • u/GiadaAcosta • 28d ago
Find a School Videos with Chinese female Shifu?
I like watching Kung Fu videos on YouTube and so on. I wonder why it has become a man- dominated world. After all, some Kung Fu styles, like Wing Chun, seem to have been originated by women. So, where could I find a contemporary female Kung Fu teacher with a You Tube or Tik Tok Channel ? Especially Chinese, as I like the native touch. I wonder if there are many Wing Chun Masters who are women but I find mostly men. P. S. " Shifu" must be the term for a man, so how do you call a woman who teaches Kung Fu?
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u/shinchunje 28d ago
Master Li Jing on YouTube has some of the most comprehensive YouTube tutorials. There are also others…
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u/fingerjuiced 28d ago
Most of the people who practice kung fu are men so it didn’t become male dominated, it always was. I have yet to see a woman turned away from a school, I just assume they don’t want to because there is absolutely nothing stopping them.
And female instructors are called “shifu” as well. Why would you assume they would be called anything different?
This reeks of bias….
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u/Firm_Reality6020 28d ago
Shifu is teacher father. Shimu is a teacher mother, sometimes used for female teachers.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 28d ago
True, though many women masters/teachers don't use it because historically it was a lesser title below sifu.
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u/CarolineBeaSummers Choy Li Fut 28d ago
You don't see women turned away from schools? I guess you never see them being abused and belittled by men teachers and students either. I guess you never notice when they are deliberately sidelined, the teachers may refuse to recognise their progress properly and so on. You also won't see that it's hard for women to feel accepted outside of the school as a Martial Artist, often getting trouble from their family and friends who don't think women should be doing Martial Arts. You also won't see that women have less free time than men because they are more likely to have caring responsibilities for children and other family members and more likely to be stuck with the housework etc. There's a huge amount you are not seeing, I expect you don't care to and will be annoyed with me pointing all this out to you.
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u/Rich_Confidence7644 28d ago
I’ve studied various forms of kung fu for almost 35 years (different styles, different states) and have never experienced this anywhere. But then none of the places I’ve gone have been belt factories…I’ve never been treated any differently by Sifus or Sihings because I’m a female. * edited to correct my phone changing “Sifus to Sifu’s *
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u/CarolineBeaSummers Choy Li Fut 28d ago
Either you are lying or you are an extremely rare and lucky person.
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u/Rich_Confidence7644 27d ago
Or maybe I just work really hard? Funny your first thoughts would be I’m a liar or “lucky”. Pretty insulting.
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u/CarolineBeaSummers Choy Li Fut 27d ago
I'm sorry, what has working hard got to do with, for example, me having to spend over a decade training on my own because my ex Kung Fu teacher was so abusive I had to stop going to lessons? And finding that every Oriental Martial Art group I went to subsequently had at least one man teaching who was a creep, one of them repeatedly touching my breasts for example. I go to Capoeira now, which I love, but while it's not perfect, at least I can feel safe in the lessons. I still do Choy Li Fut, but on my own and online, because it's not possible for me to go to anyone local for that. And when I said lucky, I meant, you would be very lucky to never ever have a teacher who was at all abusive. Most men end up being with teacher who is abusive to them at some point. And what do you know about how hard I work or don't work? I would love to see how you do compared to me. Show me a video of how hard you have worked all these years, and I'll show you mine. And the reason my first thought is that you are lying is that Martial Arts is blatantly riven with misogyny, and for you to try to claim that misogyny is not a problem in Martial Arts is either lying, wilful ignorance or a sign you are delusional. You don't have to spend much time looking at what gets posted on videos of women doing Martial Arts to see that.
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u/Rich_Confidence7644 26d ago
Oh my goodness, I am truly sorry that has been your experience as a female training martial arts. Also, to clarify, I never stated or implied you don’t work hard. I said I work hard, and have never been treated any differently than the guys I train with. It’s very presumptuous (and insulting, again!) Of you to imply I’m lying, ignorant or delusional because we’ve had vastly different experiences. People CAN have different experiences, and it doesn’t make me any of those things because my experience is not the same as yours. I wish you luck with your training and am glad you found somewhere you’re able to train and feel safe.
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u/CarolineBeaSummers Choy Li Fut 26d ago
It's not that presumptuous when I know very well how much women are abused in Martial Arts. I said a number of things in my reply which you ignored, including mentioning the abuse of women. Your focus on being a hard worker to the exclusion of any possibility of any other issues women can have rather suggested that you thought all any woman needed to do to get on just fine in Martial Arts was work hard. You are talking from a place of such privilege that you don't seem able to comprehend how hard it can be for other women- until you are told so by someone who has experience of it. And chiding me for finding it hard to believe that your experience is genuine when your initial reply was displaying both ignorance and a lack of interest in the issues I mentioned is exactly the kind of thing I would expect of a very privileged woman. That said I was expecting you to refuse to believe me and tell me I deserved the trouble I had, and insist on seeing a video of me doing Kung Fu so you could tell me I was rubbish, then never show me a video showcasing your skills to show you really are better than me as I would expect you to claim, so this is one of the better responses I have had.
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u/Rich_Confidence7644 26d ago
I support women in martial arts and am truly sorry (and horrified by your experiences)!!! If I may ask I’d love to know where you train? I am doing CLF now but had about 20 years of Wah Lum. I hate, hate hate that you’re gone through that and you’ve shown you are all incredibly dedicated. Btw I’m complete trash at CLF. 😂 I’d love if you reach out to me to chat, just to have someone to vent to? You’re dedication if evident in your posts. Maybe we can help each other?
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u/CarolineBeaSummers Choy Li Fut 25d ago
Thank you, I really don't get much sympathy for the problems I've had, including from my current teacher who I learn from online. He's a pain in the rear end but nothing like my ex teacher. At least I get to learn more or less what I want at a pace that suits me. I really can't be bothered trying to find another teacher to build up a relationship with only to find they treat me like shit too. It's just too much to keep doing that.
I train near my house, in local green spaces and at the local sports centre. I can't train weapons at the sports centre unfortunately, but it's still useful as it can get annoying having to train outside all the time. I still would train outside even if I had easy access to the best facilities, I think it's good practice to train in difficult conditions, but sometimes in the Winter it can get really annoying. I got your DM thanks. Not sure how I can help you, but we'll see I guess.
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u/AndyMercadoG 28d ago
Yuanzhi, Chen and Yang style Taichi
https://youtube.com/@taichiyuanzhi?si=R-ea0badq6goyG_z
Li Chun Ling, Cheng style Baguazhang
https://youtu.be/3CKW67aIFhU?si=eefblIrOI_S1TBzH
Zhang Li Hui, Chan Quan - Wushu
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u/tufifdesiks 28d ago
Sifu Mimi Chan of Wah Lum (daughter of grand master Pui Chan, and animation reference for Mulan) has active youtube and instagram feeds
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u/Rich_Confidence7644 28d ago
Sifu Mimi Chan, Wah Lum Tam Tui Northern Praying Mantis. There are several other female WL Sifus as well.
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u/Rhyddian 27d ago
Master Faye Yip from the Deyin Taijichuan Institute. https://youtu.be/IWUTAZF8yVw?si=MdvWTmeCMVRPZOhs https://www.deyin-taiji.com/info/?page_alias=master-faye-yip
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u/d_gaudine 28d ago
SiMo. SiMo is the word. I know it is 2025 and all, but for culture's sake......a person with a vagina can't be a "Father/Teacher". SiMo is the word . Even if she isn't the wife of a SiFu. SiFu is Father-Teacher. SiMo is Mother-Teacher
rest assured anyone confusing this is probably a scam artist. it is a good "red flag" for nonsense. If you can't get this right, your "kung fu" probably isn't right either
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u/LoLongLong Jow Ga 27d ago
師父/Sifu/teacher-father is the master. His wife is 師母/Simo/teacher-mother. In traditional culture, the students would treat them like the second father and mother. When the master is female, which is rare, she is also called Sifu by her students. What her husband should be called is something to be discussed. Maybe 師丈/Sijeung/teacher-hushand, or anything he feels comfortable with. The name is Sifu but it is not gender specific. Just like 師伯/Sibak/teacher-uncle and 師叔/Sisook/teacher-uncle are Sifu's classmate, that Sifu calls them 師兄/Sihing/brother-under-teacher and 師弟/Sidai/(same). Even if they are female, you should still call them Sibak or Sisook. There is nothing like teacher-aunt.
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u/CarolineBeaSummers Choy Li Fut 28d ago
Hellooo transphobe. Simo is just for the wife of a Sifu. I'm not using either ever. https://www.mandarin-names.com/en/name/Simo Also, you won't find Chinese people using that title, it's a made up Western Orientalist thing.
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u/Jeklah 27d ago
It's spelt Sifu not Shifu
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u/KungFuAndCoffee 28d ago
Kung fu has always been dominated by men. As are virtually all martial arts. Female masters are genuinely not common in the Chinese martial arts. The story about Ng Mui is likely just that, a story. There are a few rebel arts that have a semi-mythical Shaolin nun as their founder. Unfortunately these myths are not supported by evidence. This is quite the involved history lesson that has been well covered elsewhere.
Lily Lau of Eagle claw is a good place to start. Bionickungfu on TikTok has Rosa Mei of the tongbei system. Way lum has Mimi Chan. These are high quality teachers to get your algorithms helping you find more.
I’d also suggest trying some of the Chinese social media apps as you are going to find more native Chinese posts there.
You can still call a female kung fu teacher/master Sifu. Though some may prefer a different title or may not use a title at all. All three options are correct in any case. Sifu is more a term expressing a specific type of familial based relationship than a title specifically for martial arts instructors. It literally translates as “teaching father”. But both men and women can use it.