Quote Originally Posted by bodhitree View Post
whats in a name, do what you do, call it what you want. Judo is called "soft way" . Say that after getting slammed by a 200lb er.
Semantics ARE important! Look at the fight for words in the U.S. political culture. I
give you an example: Pro-life vs Pro-Choice (in regards to debate over legalized abortion.) Pro-life implies that the other side is anti-life. Pro-choice implies that the other side is anti-choice. What the two sides really are is pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion rights (at least from my perspective...lol.) But politicians know that if they use certain terms that they are in essence framing the debate to their advantage. Another one that floors me is the term "insurgents." When did we ever here the term insurgents in the news before the Iraq War. "Insurgents" sound a hell of a lot better than freedom fighters...now doesn't it.

But I digress....."martial art" sounds alot more innocuous then "hand to hand combat." Little jimmy's mom down the street will let her son sign up for a "martial art" but I doubt she'd sign him up for "hand to hand combat." The term "art" elevates it to an "artisitic" status. Whereas "combat" sounds down and dirty.

The Chinese call Kung Fu, "Chuan Fa/Kyuhn Faat" which means "Fist Method." I think that would be equally acceptable as "hand to hand combat."