This website is dedicated to the family of Master Jou, Tsung-Hwa and those students and friends who continue to carry his legacy forward.
Production Staff
Writer Producer: Dr. John P. Painter.
Webmaster: Eric Reynolds.
Music: composed by EricR. www.ericrmusic.com
Major Content Contributors:
Bob Klein
Eo Omwake
John Painter
Charles Pratt
Special Acknowledgments:
We owe a great debt of gratitude to the following students and friends of Master Jou, Tsung-Hwa for their kind assistance in this project without whose assistance we could not have created this project. We have listed them in alphabetical order.
Aiping Cheng
Suzanna Derosa
Dr. Jay Dunbar
Bob Klein
Simone Krause
Liz Jou
Sam Masich
Marsha Nolan
Eo Omwake
Charles Pratt
Pat Rice
C.J. Rhoads
David Shaver
Eric Reynolds
Loretta Wollering
Video Presentations
The majority of the video clips used herein for the Tai Chi Farm came with the kind assistance of Charles Pratt, Bob Klein and John Painter. When there were no clips available in this material to illustrate some of the famous teachers who presented at the farm video was downloaded from the internet from programs not specifically at the Tai Chi Farm in order to keep the representations fair and impartial.
Apology
The producers solicited information, photos and video from many individuals, many of whom agreed, but with the time constraints placed upon the completion of this project the producers were unable to extend deadlines for submissions. It is our hope that perhaps the new webmaster will be able to add additional materials in the future. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We also accept responsibility for any mistakes in the website and will do our best to rectify them upon notification from qualified individuals.
Chinese Terms
The reader may find some terms used in this website confusing due to different spellings of some Chinese words. Chinese written language is comprised of characters or symbols written with a brush or printed by machines. Rarely are Chinese language terms translated into English or pronounced correctly by non Chinese speaking individuals. In this website many friends of Master Jou, Tsung-Hwa sent in articles with their own translations of certain terms. We have endeavored to keep their offerings in the original, but in some cases we have, when necessary corrected the usage of some Chinese terms. There are three systems of transliterating Chinese characters into English words. We have listed them below in the hope this may clear up some confusion as to why in one area the one sees Tao and in another Dao, they are both the same word transliterated for the Chinese character 道.
Wade Giles system
Books in English before 1980’s if they were written by educated authors most often used the Wade Giles method of rendering characters into English. This system is good yet it has a problem in that it is not phonetically accurate and makes the pronunciation of terms difficult. This transliteration is still used and popular in Hong Kong.
Yale system
The Yale system was designed to help pronunciation from the Wade Giles methods and is not often seen in books. The Yale system is probably the most intuitive for English speakers however it has all but vanished from contemporary use.
Pinyin method
In recent years the Pinyin version of Romanization has come into wide use. With Pinyin words look more like they sound. This is used mostly in the Chinese mainland. Pinyin is also less confusing to the reader as to the meaning of words in sentences.
Examples:
| Wade Giles | Yale | Pinyin | English |
| T’ai Chi Ch’uan | Tai Chi Chuan | Taijiquan | Grand Pole Boxing / Fist |
| Pa Kua Chang | Ba Gwa Jang | Baguazhang | Eight diagram palm |
| Ch’i | Chi | Qi | Breath, air |
| Tao | Dau | Dao | The Way |
To any native Chinese and those fluent in the Chinese language we beg your forgiveness and indulgence should some mistakes have been made in the use of this interesting and challenging language.
A Note About Names and Titles In Chinese Martial Arts
Chinese names: In China names are most often written with the surname first followed by a comma and then followed by a given name. So instead of the western convention for Dr. Jwing-Ming Yang the name is written Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming.
About titles: We have chosen to use the honorific title Shifu (Sifu) for teachers in this production. This term which is often translated as Master does not actually translate as a master. The word pronounced Shifu (pronounced Sheefu) has two separate Chinese words each made up of two characters. They are both pronounced the same but have different meanings. The more common term for Shifu 師傅 means anyone with a skill set or an instructor of some discipline. This is the meaning implied by the term Shifu affixed to some names in this website. Traditionally in modern times for martial arts it is permissible to call a martial arts teacher Shifu 師傅, however in the Chinese martial arts world it is not necessary to use this title when the individual is not ones teacher. It is also not good form to introduce oneself as Shifu 師傅.
The other meaning of Shifu 師父 is head of a clan or school who is a leader or father, monk or spiritual teacher. The characters are also pronounced as Shifu. Use of these characters is not appropriate, except when used within a specific clan or school only by students of the instructor of said school. Our use of this term complies with the Chinese characters 師傅 explained above. To honor the teachers mentioned on this website we have affixed the title Shifu 師傅 to all except those who have passed.
There are several terms for a Master that are in use. For example the characters for Master are Zhangwò 掌握 (master hand) and refers to one who has attained the pinnacle of skills through years of hard work. Another term for master is Zongshi 宗師 (master of great learning and integrity). These titles are most often reserved for a teachers teacher or one with long years of experience. It is never good form or appropriate for a teacher to call himself one of these titles in introductions or print.
Finally, the term Master in traditional Chinese martial society was most often applied to a teacher of great repute who has passed into the void. We have followed that etiquette on this site for those now gone into the void. We hope our viewers and teachers will understand our reasons in trying to follow the correct protocols of martial virtue (Wude). We have retained the titles of Dr. for individuals with university certifications of PhD. or MD.
Website Owner: All content on this website is internationally copyrighted
MJTCF 2024 © owned by the Master Jou Tai Chi Foundation. MasterJouTaiChiFoundation@gmail.com