Note on Romanization

In this text I have opted to use the pinyin romanization system for all Chinese words. As such, kung fu is gongfu, ch’i is qi, ch’uan fa is quan fa, etc. I have also elected to refer to the Chinese unarmed civil fighting traditions using the popular Cantonese term gongfu rather than quan fa, wushu, or kuoshu. Although gongfu is a general term meaning “hard work” or a “work out” that does not specifically refer to the unarmed civil fighting traditions, I felt its common use justified my using it in this text.