Martial Arts - Budo in Chinese / Japanese...

武道 is the very common Japanese way to say “Martial Arts.”

武道 is used mostly in Japanese dojos but is also understood in Chinese and Korean.

Some will use this title to mean chivalry (the conduct of a knight) or military art. The way this word is understood would depend on the context in which it is used.

The first character means “force,” “warlike,” or “essence of a warrior.”

The second character means “method,” “path,” and “the way.” It is the same character used to describe/mean the philosophy of Taoism / Daoism.

Some will also translate this as “The Way of the Warrior”; especially in the context of Korean martial arts.

自然武道 is a means the Nature of Martial Arts.

The first two characters create a word that means nature, natural, or spontaneous.

The last two characters are often translated as martial arts.

合気武道 is the title Aiki-Budo or “Aiki Martial Arts” in Japanese Kanji.

合 means “union” or “harmony.”
気/氣 means “universal energy” or “spirit.”
武 means “martial” or “military.”
道 means “way” or “method.”

合気武道 is the modern Japanese way to write this. You may also see 合氣武道, where the second character is written in the older traditional (pre-1945) form. If you want this written 合氣武道, just include a note or email with your order.

合氣武道 are all Chinese characters as well, so I included the Chinese pronunciation above. However, while it can be understood in Chinese, this is not a common term in that language and is not used in any Chinese martial arts. Also, 気 is only used in Japan - Chinese will understand 気 to be the Japanese form of 氣.

See Also:  Martial Arts | Hapkido

精神武道 is the Japanese martial arts title, Seishin Budo.

The first two characters, 精神, can mean vigor, vitality, drive, spiritual, mind, spirit, soul, heart, ethos, attitude, mentality, will, intention, essence, and fundamental significance.

The last two characters, 武道, are the Japanese word for martial arts (literally the Martial Way). This title can also be romanized as Seshin Budou or Seishin Budō.

武道会 is the title Budō-Kai.

Budo means martial arts, and kai is association. This title is used by a few dojos around the world.

古武道 is the title for Kubudo, which can be defined as Okinawan weapons fighting.

The literal translation would be something like “Old Martial Way.” The last two characters are often translated as “martial arts” so “Old Martial Arts” is another possible translation.

Please note that even though these are Chinese characters and can be pronounced in Chinese, this is a Japanese-only title. It is not often used nor understood in Chinese. So please consider this to only be appropriate for a Japanese audience.

The first Kanji alone means to wash, bathe, primness, cleanse or purify.

The second Kanji means heart, mind, soul, or essence.

Together, these two Kanji create a word defined as “purified spirit” or “enlightened attitude” within Japanese martial arts.

洗心 is one of the five spirits of the warrior (budo) and is often used as a Japanese martial arts tenet. Under that context, it's often defined as a spirit that protects and harmonizes the universe. Senshin is a spirit of compassion that embraces and serves all humanity and whose function is to reconcile discord in the world. It holds all life to be sacred. It is the Buddha mind.

This title will only be familiar to Japanese who practice certain martial arts. Others may not recognize this word at all.

洗心 does not show up as a word in too many Chinese dictionaries, but it can be read and has the same meaning in Chinese.

There is an issue with the first character. The original, and probably most correct version is shown above. However, many dojo documents and other sources have used a more simple first character. Arguments ensue about which version is correct. If you want to be correct in the Japanese language, use the "Select and Customize" button above. If you want to match the Kanji used by your dojo, click the Kanji shown to the right. There is a slightly different meaning with this first character which means before, ahead, previous, future, precedence.

First off, 殘心 should only be used in the context of Japanese martial arts. In Chinese, it's a rather sad title (like a broken heart). In Chinese, the first character alone means destroyed, spoiled, ruined, injured, cruel, oppressive, savage, incomplete, or disabled. However, in Japanese, it's remainder, leftover, balance, or lingering.
The second character means heart, mind, soul, or essence in both languages.

殘心 is one of the five spirits of the warrior (budo) and is often used as a Japanese martial arts tenet. Under that context, places such as the Budo Dojo define it this way: The spirit of zanshin is the state of the remaining or lingering spirit. It is often described as a sustained and heightened state of awareness and mental follow-through. However, true zanshin is a state of focus or concentration before, during, and after the execution of a technique, where a link or connection between uke and nage is preserved. Zanshin is the state of mind that allows us to stay spiritually connected, not only to a single attacker but to multiple attackers and even an entire context; a space, a time, an event.

In modern Japan (and Simplified Chinese), they use a different version of the first character, as seen to the right. Click on this character to the right instead of the button above if you want this modern Japanese version of lingering mind / zanshin.

不動心 is one of the five spirits of the warrior (budo) and is often used as a Japanese martial arts tenet.

Under that context, places such as the Budo Dojo define it this way: An unshakable mind and an immovable spirit is the state of fudoshin. It is courage and stability displayed both mentally and physically. Rather than indicating rigidity and inflexibility, fudoshin describes a condition that is not easily upset by internal thoughts or external forces. It is capable of receiving a strong attack while retaining composure and balance. It receives and yields lightly, grounds to the earth, and reflects aggression back to the source.

Other translations of this title include imperturbability, steadfastness, keeping a cool head in an emergency, or keeping one's calm (during a fight).

The first two Kanji alone mean immobility, firmness, fixed, steadfastness, motionless, and idle.

The last Kanji means heart, mind, soul, or essence.

Together, these three Kanji create a title defined as “immovable mind” within the context of Japanese martial arts. However, in Chinese, it would mean “motionless heart,” and in Korean Hanja, “wafting heart” or “floating heart.”

初心 is often translated in Japanese as “beginner's mind” or “beginner's spirit.”

In Chinese, the dictionary definition is “one's original intention.”

The first character means first, initial, primary, junior, beginning, or basic.

The second character means heart, mind, soul, or essence.

初心 is one of the five spirits of the warrior (budo) and is often used as a Japanese martial arts tenet. Under that context, places such as the Budo Dojo define it this way: The state of shoshin is that of a beginners mind. It is a state of awareness that always remains fully conscious, aware, and prepared to see things for the first time. The attitude of shoshin is essential to continued learning.

In Japanese, 無心 means innocent or without knowledge of good and evil. It literally means “without mind.”

無心 is one of the five spirits of the warrior (budo) and is often used as a Japanese martial arts tenet. Under that context, places such as the Budo Dojo define it this way: “No mind, a mind without ego. A mind like a mirror which reflects and dos not judge.” The original term was “mushin no shin,” meaning “mind of no mind.” It is a state of mind without fear, anger, or anxiety. Mushin is often described by the phrase “Mizu no Kokoro,” which means “mind like water.” The phrase is a metaphor describing the pond that clearly reflects its surroundings when calm but whose images are obscured once a pebble is dropped into its waters.

This has a good meaning in conjunction with Chan / Zen Buddhism in Japan. However, out of that context, it means mindlessness or absent-mindedness. To non-Buddhists in China, this is associated with doing something without thinking.
In Korean, this usually means indifference.

Use caution and know your audience before ordering this selection.

More info: Wikipedia: Mushin