What's in a name

[David Jamieson]

Do you feel there is great importance in the "names" of angles, positions and applied body mechanics?

do you think it is more important to learn these physically and it's ok to "forget" the names for them and call them by something more familiar?

example, in cantonese dialect, a horizontal fist is ping choy, a cannon fist or piston thrust upper cut is chum choy (pao choy in CLF) and so on.

do you think it's more important to understand the structure of the tactic or defense in question than it is to remember it's name in an unfamiliar language?

Many who practice chinese martial arts have less than a rudimentary understanding of Chinese, and many more know less than that.

Do you feel that the ethnocentric naming and categorization of the library of techniques a martial system may offer is a barrier to the learning of them in some fashion?

peace

[Xebsball]

I think that exepct for the stances, forms, two man sets and weapons, i dont know anything in chinese.

The individual techiniques and locks i have no idea what the original name are, we just use numbers...

I dont think it afects the quality if you are properly tought where the power comes from, where it goes to and what is it good for.

[joedoe]

It can be beneficial to know the Chinese terms, but not essential. It is more important to learn the technique and the application.

To my shame (I am of Chinese background) I do not learn the terms because I never learned Chinese properly :(

BTW Kung Lek, good strategy ;)

[Shaolindynasty]

Getting the technique right is what really counts. My sifu said somthing that stuck with me while I was in Capoeria(he also teaches that) he said don't worry to much about learning the portugese words cause in Brazil saying Au is the same as cartwhell here and mealua preza is like saying spin kick. He said don't worry about it but he still gave me a paper with the techniques in portugese names and I needed to known them for the test. The point is learn the language but do it in a lesure like way. The technique is important.

[Budokan]

It's not essential, but why wouldn't you call it by it's correct name rather than some b*stardized version? I mean, if you're going to buy a Porsche would you call it a Ford?

[Serpent]

Tell that to the Chinese Budokan! Take one technique and go to 5 different schools and ask them to write down it's name - you'll get five different spellings at least! Especially with Cantonese speaking southern schools.

[Ka]

I think this comes down to what you want from yor MA,In my opinion schools these days are selling alot more then self defense/combat.If that's all you are after then learning a language isn't going to help you fight better,in this case it's "shut up and do it".If however you enjoy the cultural aspect present in many MA (eg language,philosphy,lion dancing etc)good for you.Others derive confidence,goal setting(gradings) and may just feel good in there uniforms.Others may see it as a future bussiness venture(teaching).In relation to BJJ I tend to think of them as the current pragmatists of MA.I should point out that I beleive most systems had (or should have) a form of grappling/breaking/groundwork finishing system within,just that its been diluted blah blah blah,
I am sure you have heard it all before
anyway
whatever whenever
have a nice day:)

[Shaolindynasty]

"It's not essential, but why wouldn't you call it by it's correct name rather than some b*stardized version? "

You answered your own question. It's not essential, as a martial artist I am only conserned with the essential. Everything else is just fluff. If you can grasp the essential it's all you need. Doesn't essential pretty much mean nessacary? So if it's non essential it
s unnessacary. Fluff and dressings

[Budokan]

That's because there isn't one language called "Chinese" but different dialects with a multitude of different inflections and rules for spelling.

I still think it takes something away from the tradition of the art if you corrupt the names of the techniques to make it easier for people to learn or for marketing purposes only. As anyone here who has practiced MA knows, it's not easy, so why pretend with the nomenclature that it is? This devalues the art, IMO.