# English technique names in NGA



## Gerry Seymour (Aug 26, 2016)

> So Gerry, how much of the Japanese names for techniques and movements does NGA retain (other than the name), or is it all in English now?



@pgsmith Just following up on your question from the thread that got locked. NGA has used English names since before it came to the US. Richard Bowe trained in Japan while he was stationed there as a translator for the US armed forces (Army, if I recall correctly). I've been told that the other students (and, per some reports, Master Morita) asked him to teach them English names for the techniques, and insisted on using those in class. When Mr. Bowe brought the art to the US, he kept the English names. I know some of the Japanese names for the techniques, mostly from my cross-training.

_(I've posted this here because the discussion started in this forum. NGA arguably belongs in the Aikido forum, because it has the word "Aikido" in the name, though it has as much in common with Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu than Ueshiba's Aikido, with much more use of strikes than is common in Ueshiba's art. Admins, if you wish to move this, I won't object.)_


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## pgsmith (Aug 26, 2016)

Cool. I've seen NGA talked about, but have never actually encountered anyone that practiced it extensively.
In the 80's, ninjas were the big thing and ninja masters sprung up like mushrooms. In the 90's, it was Japanese jujutsu and everyone was inventing their own version of it. I had thought that was what Nihon Goshin Aikido was. I actually got my start in martial arts in one of those invented jujutsu schools, but moved on once I started researching and figured out Aikido was more legitimate and their "Japanese" wasn't.


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## Gerry Seymour (Aug 26, 2016)

pgsmith said:


> Cool. I've seen NGA talked about, but have never actually encountered anyone that practiced it extensively.
> In the 80's, ninjas were the big thing and ninja masters sprung up like mushrooms. In the 90's, it was Japanese jujutsu and everyone was inventing their own version of it. I had thought that was what Nihon Goshin Aikido was. I actually got my start in martial arts in one of those invented jujutsu schools, but moved on once I started researching and figured out Aikido was more legitimate and their "Japanese" wasn't.


Unfortunately (for us, at least), Ueshiba's Aikido is so popular that most folks (even some with rank in UA) think the word "aikido" was originally coined as the name of that art. So, when they hear any art with "aikido" in the name, they assume it is either derived from Ueshiba's art, or is trying to rip it off. We try our best to be clear about our lineage, simply to avoid confusion, but it's tiring. And it sometimes comes across as defensive.


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