# Can You Help Me?

**URL:** <https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/can-you-help-me/12012>\
**Category:** Shaolin Kung Fu\
**Created:** [May 14, 2002, 5:27pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/can-you-help-me/12012 "2002-05-14T17:27:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Blackspear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@Blackspear](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/Blackspear)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 5:27pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/can-you-help-me/12012/1 "2002-05-14T17:27:01Z")

</div>

I would like to know if someone can tell what the chinese word for instructor is. You see I recently opened my own kwoon under my sifu. But I want to know what the chinese word for instructor is because I am only an instructor and can not use Sifu. I was going to use Si-hing but my senior brothers said I shouldn’t because I am their teacher and not their older brother which is true but I wanted to know what word can I use for Instructor because Sir alone does not sound to professional.

```
   Thank you for your time and your input will be greatly appreciated.

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Iron\_Tiger86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8797f3/32.png) [@Iron\_Tiger86](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/Iron_Tiger86)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 11:28pm UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/can-you-help-me/12012/2 "2002-05-14T23:28:38Z")

</div>

here is one answer

They can call u sensa also none as teacher.

sinserly  
crow

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![joedoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dc4da7/32.png) [@joedoe](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/u/joedoe)\
**Post date:** [May 15, 2002, 2:42am UTC](https://forum.kungfumagazine.com/t/can-you-help-me/12012/3 "2002-05-15T02:42:03Z")

</div>

How about upping your sifu’s title to sigung and you take the title sifu - everyone else seems to do it :D.

Seriously though, the term sifu means different things in different schools I have found, so don’t get too tied up in titles.

Having said all that, I think there is an alternate term that can be used for instructor in place of sifu, I just can’t recall it.