# Karate Japanese or English?



## OC Kid (Mar 2, 2005)

Most Japanese Karate styles here in America use the Japanese terms for stances strikes ect. but Why?

They are taught by American instructors to american students. Why should a student learn use the term Zenkutsu Dachi rather than Forward leaning stance? Why use Dojo instead of school or training hall, club ect...

Other than just keeping the traditions is there any real value to it? I can see keeping the names of the forms the originals but even the term kata..why not use the term form?


----------



## Andrew Green (Mar 2, 2005)

went from china to Okinawa and they spoke Okinawan dialect

 Went to Japan and they spoke Japanese

 Went to Korea and they spoke Korean

 Wet to America and they spoke anything but English 


 Culture - North America doesn't really got one in the same sense.  Our "ancient times" are portrayed in Spaghetti Westerns so we steal other peoples


----------



## The Kai (Mar 2, 2005)

Mr Green has apoint ever other instance the art was adapted to the culture.  Americans 60 years later still are speaking pidgeon language


----------



## OC Kid (Mar 2, 2005)

Kai, Yea I know. 
One thing I think is really sad is when a American tries to use Japanese words and uses a fake accent to make him sound Japanese.  

Talks normal like I enjoy the MA i study (then the fake accent ) Karate"

He will usually mispronounce the word and sound like a complete embicile....

I for one just dont understand it.

I speak English (American) so I teach in American.


----------



## theletch1 (Mar 2, 2005)

I'm a student of Nihon Goshin Aikido.  This system was imported from Japan in the 50's and restructured to fit the American way of learning.  All of our techniques are named in english, stances, punches and kicks are in english (officially).  Shihan Bowe figured since the first language of most of his students was english it just made sense to train in the english language.  Why add having to struggle through another language to the already tough task of attempting to learn aikido.


----------



## Andrew Green (Mar 2, 2005)

theletch1 said:
			
		

> Shihan Bowe


 So everything is in English then huh?


----------



## RRouuselot (Mar 2, 2005)

The Kai said:
			
		

> Mr Green has apoint ever other instance the art was adapted to the culture. Americans 60 years later still are speaking pidgeon language


   Unlike most other countries America is the biggest collection of other races and cultures.


----------



## RRouuselot (Mar 2, 2005)

OC Kid said:
			
		

> 1)[font=&quot]      [/font]Most Japanese Karate styles here in America use the Japanese terms for stances strikes ect. but Why?
> 
> 2) They are taught by American instructors to american students. Why should a student learn use the term Zenkutsu Dachi rather than *Forward leaning stance*? Why use Dojo instead of school or training hall, club ect...
> 
> 3) Other than just keeping the traditions is there any real value to it? I can see keeping the names of the forms the originals but even the term kata..why not use the term form?



   1)[font=&quot]      [/font]Because it is a tradition. 

   2)[font=&quot]      [/font]If you are doing Zenkutsu dachi you shouldnt be leaning forward at all.

   3)[font=&quot]      [/font]You can use whatever you want.


----------



## BlackCatBonz (Mar 2, 2005)

i vote for japanese.........i think the whole concept of studying a martial art is something outside your everyday grind......so why not be exposed to a bit of culture in the process? 
in fact, as robert pointed out, the translations that are used for the most part dont really describe what it is you're doing.


----------



## RRouuselot (Mar 2, 2005)

BlackCatBonz said:
			
		

> i vote for japanese.........i think the whole concept of studying a martial art is something outside your everyday grind......so why not be exposed to a bit of culture in the process?
> in fact, as robert pointed out, the translations that are used for the most part dont really describe what it is you're doing.


   One benefit I see is that if a group of people from different countries get together and dont all speak English then it is easier to train using a common language like Japanese.
 Also, why not learn something new like part of a language and culture? 
 You kill 2 birds with one stone, you learn a MA plus part of the language.


----------



## AnimEdge (Mar 2, 2005)

I think its a mixed bag, i think knowing both the japanese and english terms and using them side by side would be a nice even groud, but i think generaly Americans keep it in japanese to generaly sound cooler. Me being a japanese Anime fan woudl much rather call it Anime, then Animation, or Manga(whitch i knowningly misprononce) then Comics, but then this could be compairing Apples to Oranges, i know in my Ninjutsu class we use american terms, i have no problem with this, makes it easyer to understand, but it makes it hard to talk to Traditional Ninjutsu students becouse they do it in Japanese but beyond that i think it comes down to personal prefrence of the teacher and if you yourself care what language it is in


----------



## TimoS (Mar 3, 2005)

I've never quite understood what people have against learning even a few basic words in a foreign language. Probably comes from living here in Finland, a language almost nobody else understands 

Anyway, regarding the question whether karate should be taught in japanese or english (in USA that is), I think that japanese makes most sense. I understand that the situation there is not the same as the situation here, but here we have quite visiting instructors from Japan. If we were taught the names of techniques only in finnish, think how much more difficult it would be for us and for them if we didn't have _any_ common language, even if the common language consists only of the japanese names of the techniques. I remember one summer camp when the head of our then style was visiting us and he insisted on a translator (our japanese sensei who speaks finnish wasn't apparently good enough). The translator didn't know karate, so she was "a bit" at lost when trying to translate. Eventually our sensei had to step in.


----------



## theletch1 (Mar 3, 2005)

Andrew Green said:
			
		

> So everything is in English then huh?


Yep, everything that he organized.  That title was bestowed by his senior students so I reckon it's not officially part of what is taught.  A brain twister, huh.  All techniques and such are in english though.  Nice catch.


----------

