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Terms exist in all fields, be they in a workplace or a school of study, or even between friends. They exist because they help describe something complex in a simple and easy way. They are keywords, used for brevity.

Things which are specific to martial practices. Things which might be applicable to everyday live are found above.

Many arts are of foreign origin. As such, there are ideas which are not thought to survive linguistic and cultural translation. (See Contemporization)

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• I've used Pinyin spelling for Chinese words.

See also:

• Aikido > Aikido terms

People ∞

• kohei -- Japanese: 後輩, "Junior student"

  • The junior man who is guided by the senpai, or "senior man".
  • Senpai and kōhai
• LEO -- Law Enforcement Officer
• Shihan -- Japanese: 師範, "Teacher" or "Model"

• Sifu -- Shaolin father.

  • Sifu is the Cantonese dialect of the Chinese language for "Master". The Mandrin pronunciation is "Shīfu".
  • 師傅 (traditional) or 师傅 (simplified)

• Senpai or Sempai -- Japanese: 先輩, "Senior student"

  • Senior man, who guides the junior man, the kohei.
  • Senpai and kōhai
• Sensei -- Japanese: 先生, "Teacher"

• Uke -- Demonstration assistant

  • The guy the sensei beats on. :)

Things ∞

• Kamiza -- Symbolic representation of past devotees.

  • Not a shrine, and often there is discomfort in such an association. This is an issue of respect for and devotion to a lineage, not one of ritual or worship.

Actions ∞

• Kata -- Japanese: 型 or 形 -- choreographed patterns

  • hsing in Chinese and kata in Japanese
  • (Understanding Kata)
• Metsubishi -- Distraction techniques
• Qigong -- Chi Kung, ...

• Seiza -- Japanese: 正座, "correct sitting" -- A formal kneeling position.

  • The traditional formal way of sitting in Japan. Sitting on one's knees. Sitting this way requires acclimatization, but provides both a stable base and greater ease of movement than sitting cross-legged.
  • Often done for Meditation.

• Zazen -- A kind of meditation practiced in Zen.

Concepts ∞

• Chudo -- The middle path, the path of moderation.

  • A term in Aikido.

• Sung - relaxation, alertness, sensitivity, awareness, calmness, and a tranquil mind.

  • Mentioned in Qigong.

• Tai -- Traditional/Simplified Chinese: 太; Pinyin: Tài; literally "grand"

  • Also translated as "supreme"
  • This is the Tai in Taijiquan

• Makoto -- Japanese: まこと

  • "The True spirit of sincerity" or "unbiased genuineness".

• Quan - short for "quan fa"

  • "Fist techniques" -- used as a reference to Shaolin Kung Fu arts.

• Ryu -- style, or school. type

Resources ∞

• was sageartsstudio.com/student_section/glossary/
• was aikidojournal.com/encyclopedia.php
• was martialinfo.com/glossary/default.asp
• was onibushi.tripod.com/id36.htm [ 1 ]
• was worldblackbelt.com/Dictionary_Of_Terms/Dictionary_Of_Terms.asp

• was ezine.kungfumagazine.com/info/glossary.php

Unsorted ∞

• FOF -- Force-on-force - Like, say, forced entry into a building of armed opponents.
• "hard" (direct and force/impact oriented) while circular arts tend to be much more "soft" (redirect and control oriented).
• Zen -- Meditation, and also a state of mind.

• Kiatsuho -- Pressing with Ki, from Aikido's The Shokushu - Ki Sayings. It also has writing on both breathing and focus.

Random words ∞

Just a dumping ground for random words.

Note that there are different languages used, and sometimes words are re-used across languages and might be interpreted quite differently between languages or martial arts within a language. It can get confusing.

See /tag/martial-arts+culture

• quan (fist or boxing)
• wu (nothingness)
• yi (will, mind)
• shen (spirit of vitality)
• chin (intrinsic strength)
• nei chin (real internal strength)
• I (mind-intention)
• Ch'ien [South; Heaven]
• K'un [North; Earth]
• K'an [West; Water]
• Li [East; Fire]
• Sun [Southwest; Wind]
• Chen [Northeast; Thunder]
• Tui [Southeast; Lake]
• Ken [Northwest; Mountain]
• Advance (Chin)
• Withdraw (T'ui)
• Ku (Look Left)
• Pan (Look Right)
• Chung Ting (Central Equilibrium)
• Wu Chi [Formless Void]
• tsou [yielding]
• nien [adhering/sticking]
• hsin [mind-and-heart]
• li [external strength]
• sung (relaxed)
• fa-chin [discharge energy]

• tan-t'ien [field of elixir]

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• "stylist"

Last updated 2023-02-19 at 04:47:57

Footnotes