From the Karate School
by wjw on January 13, 2014
“This stance is called ‘Fist Under Elbow.'”
“‘Fist Under Elbow?’ That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not ‘Monkey Fist Shelters Beneath the Wing of the Phoenix?'”
“No.”
“It’s not ‘White Crane Feigns a Broken Pinion?'”
“No.”
“It’s not ‘Monkey Reaches Beneath the Bough for the Peaches of Heaven?”
“No. It’s just ‘Fist Under Elbow.'”
“Well, it can’t be any good then, can it?”
I got laughed at a Karate tournament for complimenting someone on his front snap kick, instead of using the Japanese name for it.
Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that most name for martial arts techniques are a great deal less silly than poor translation and lack of context would lead people to believe.
That doesn’t keep some of them from sounding awfully silly, though.
Comments on this entry are closed.