Adam's Karate Dictionary: A Professional Glossary of Shotokan Terms

Karate jargon is integral to everyday practice. Without solid understanding of the Karate vocabulary, it is easy to fall into technical and conceptual errors. The purpose of this Shotokan dictionary is to bring the reader closer to the Karate terminology we so often use, but so rarely explore. This book can be described as a Japanese-English Shotokan dictionary, as well as a heavy-duty professional glossary of Karate terms related to Funakoshi styles. It can also be defined as a Shotokan encyclopedia or as a Karate lexicon, which focuses on the linguistic aspects of Karate phrases. Through the language, we dive into Karate itself. Although planned for senior Karate instructors, absolute beginners may also benefit from this Karate wordlist.
As for its content, the main goal - naturally - is to translate from "Karate language" to English. The book offers various English definitions of the Japanese technical terms, making it a powerful Japanese-English dictionary of the terms used in Karate. Sometimes the Karate meaning does not overlap with the general meaning of a word. If the common, or general, Japanese translation of a Karate term may be relevant, we bring it as well.
It was Seneca who said: "If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable". If we were to achieve a high standard of execution, we cannot afford not to understand - literally - the Karate commands. A clear understanding of the Karate terms is indispensable. Breaking down Karate expressions into their building blocks, does seem to achieve a deeper understanding of them. This Karate glossary puts a special emphasis on the important Kanji, including thorough Kanji-analysis and relevant cross-references. Deep meanings of important Shotokan expressions are sought, and their links to other Karate words are drawn. In our opinion, the references are this book's greatest virtue, and we urge our dear readers to be diligent and to follow them - especially when it comes to the Kanji that compose the value.
A large part of this Shotokan glossary is devoted to pronunciation issues. This Karate wordbook presents different Kanji readings, which may be very important in the case of several terms that have a common Kanji. Critical phenomena in Japanese phonology, such as the rendaku rules, are addressed too.
Besides transliterations of Japanese and Chinese into the Latin alphabet (romanization, Rōmaji), the advanced user will find logographic Kanji and syllabic Kana. Often, alternative writings are presented, so the reader can make better use of other sources - especially Japanese sources.

Our words affect our insights, and our perceptions determine the words we are using. FUNAKOSHI Sensei and other masters had profound knowledge, not only of the Chinese classics[i] and the Japanese culture, but also of the Japanese language[ii]. The names that we use in our Karate trainings were not chosen lightly nor accidentally. As for us, those names have great significance. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet", says Juliet in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In Karate's case, we humbly prefer Confucius's[iii] approach. In the words of the Chinese philosopher Feng Youlan (1895 - 1990)[iv]:
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Take the example of the name Jitte (p. 110). If a day comes, when they debate about how many hand movements there are in the opening of the Kata, the name of the Kata will be there to help. Some are going to realize, that there are Ten Hands - meaning ten palm strikes - up to the first Kiai; this understanding will derive from the name of the Kata. Some of the ten hand strikes are simultaneous. So, the right answer, they will hopefully conclude, is three.
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Accordingly, if we want to understand what it means to be a warrior, we should look at the Kanji for warrior. That is what the Chinese King.. did. The Kanji for warrior is 武 (p. 44). If one looks carefully, one can see...