New languages

[baronbvp]

I find English easier.

[bushido_man96]

I find English easier.

As do I, Baron. There is a lot less confusion, I feel.

[NightOwl]

Actually I am going to have to disagree with you guys here (sorry! ) !

While 3 of the big MA countries speak English (USA, Canada, UK), the other huge ones are Japan and China. Therefore you are faced with teaching a curriculum that must apply to different people, languages, and cultures throughout the world. By keeping the original terms, anyone who is a practitioner of the style can understand what they mean when interacting, whether they are form Argentina or Thailand. Thus even though it may make things difficult at first, in the end it produces standardization.

[bushido_man96]

Actually I am going to have to disagree with you guys here (sorry! ) !

While 3 of the big MA countries speak English (USA, Canada, UK), the other huge ones are Japan and China. Therefore you are faced with teaching a curriculum that must apply to different people, languages, and cultures throughout the world. By keeping the original terms, anyone who is a practitioner of the style can understand what they mean when interacting, whether they are form Argentina or Thailand. Thus even though it may make things difficult at first, in the end it produces standardization.

The standardization isn't as universal as one might think. Korean stylists use Korean, and Japanese stylists use Japanese, etc. So, there is still a language barrier when it comes to crossing styles. However, if all of the English speakers, for instance, called the side kick a side kick, they could interact just fine.

[ninjanurse]

Jumping in here....there is somthing to be said for keeping the language of the style intact however a side kick is a side kick in any language (as previously posted). My Master Instructor prefers to use English because "we are in America and we speak English" but does use some terms that are universal to TKD so that his students can go to tournaments and understand the language, i.e., hong, chong, kallyo (?sp), etc. I don't mind either way but I do use the Korean term along with the English so my students have a sense of the culture of the art.

[DWx]

...My Master Instructor prefers to use English because "we are in America and we speak English" but does use some terms that are universal to TKD so that his students can go to tournaments and understand the language, i.e., hong, chong, kallyo (?sp), etc. I don't mind either way but I do use the Korean term along with the English so my students have a sense of the culture of the art.

The last time I went to an international seminar the whole thing was nearly in Korean. That way everyone knew what we were doing regardless of their native language. Personally I find that when a student uses the korean terms, they tell you exactly which technique they mean. They could ask me to demonstrate a side kick but then I'd have to ask whether it was a piercing, pushing, checking, high, middle, low... whereas if they'd just said it in korean they tend to say the whole thing because they are more concious of what they are asking. Also at our school, the students are asked to research the culture and history of Korea (us being a TKD school). Learning to recognise and translate the languge is a part of that.

[WudangDragon]

We get given both English and Chinese terms, but the majority of the students prefer the Chinese (Sifu has no real preference), including myself.

One of the things I like about doing Kung Fu is the tradition behind it, so I prefer the traditional names and terms.

[bushido_man96]

...My Master Instructor prefers to use English because "we are in America and we speak English" but does use some terms that are universal to TKD so that his students can go to tournaments and understand the language, i.e., hong, chong, kallyo (?sp), etc. I don't mind either way but I do use the Korean term along with the English so my students have a sense of the culture of the art.

The last time I went to an international seminar the whole thing was nearly in Korean. That way everyone knew what we were doing regardless of their native language. Personally I find that when a student uses the korean terms, they tell you exactly which technique they mean. They could ask me to demonstrate a side kick but then I'd have to ask whether it was a piercing, pushing, checking, high, middle, low... whereas if they'd just said it in korean they tend to say the whole thing because they are more concious of what they are asking. Also at our school, the students are asked to research the culture and history of Korea (us being a TKD school). Learning to recognise and translate the languge is a part of that.

Not all schools use all of the terms, though. I know some of the basic terms, but not all of the discriptors for the different types of side kicks. Therefore, to it would be easier to keep it all in English. Plus, it gets confusing if the TKD guy visits with Karate guys.

[DWx]

Not all schools use all of the terms, though. I know some of the basic terms, but not all of the discriptors for the different types of side kicks. Therefore, to it would be easier to keep it all in English. Plus, it gets confusing if the TKD guy visits with Karate guys.

Well I would understand wanting to keep it in English if you had someone from a different style visiting, however there are differences across schools about how techniques are named in English anyway. For it to work properly you'd need standardisation in all schools. Also, if I were to go on a seminar in another country, say Spain for example, I would understand more if the seminar was conducted in Korean than Spanish. Training in the native language of the art allows students from any background to understand what is being asked whereas if someone asked me to punch in any language other than English (and Korean) I wouldn't have a clue what they'd just asked me. They could have asked me if I'd wanted a drink and I would be still standing there just as ignornt, wondering what was going on.

For me personally, I like to find out what techniques are called in languages other than English. It usually helps me to understand better.

For example (sorry but I can only give a TKD / Korean example and its not a very good one):

Sang makgi <-- we call this W-shape block

Sang palmok makgi <-- twin forearm block

Both blocks use the Korean word which we translate as "twin", unless someone had explained to me that I must use both arms I wouldn't know unless I looked at the translation. I'll try and think of a better example but hopefully you can understand my point!?!?

[NightOwl]

exactly, as an instructor or someone 'majoring' in an art, it helps to be able to interact with practitioners of that style throughout the world. Besides, learning other languages is good for you!