Custom Martial Arts Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

This is more the Japanese way to say "Martial Arts", but it's understood in Korean Hanja and Chinese too. 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" or "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.

This is the Japanese term for a room or hall in which martial arts are taught. This word is often spelled "dojo" which has become a word in the English lexicon. However, the true Romaji is "doujou" or "dōjō".

Please note: The Chinese definition of these characters is quite different. In Chinese, this is a place where Buddhist or Taoist mass is held. It could also be the place where spiritual or psychic events are performed.

This refers to the virtue, morality, and ethics that any practitioner of martial arts should posses. This can be used in both Chinese and Japanese in lieu of English terms such as "soldierly virtue", "good conduct" (military), "warrior ethics", and being honorable in regards to any fight or competition.

See Also...  Morality Of Mind | Morality Of Deed

This is the Japanese Kanji title for "Martial Arts Master". It suggests that you have reached at least the level of black belt, and are probably to the level where you are ready to become an instructor.

Please consider carefully where you stand before ordering this phrase on a wall scroll. If you are not a master, this will make you look a bit foolish.

If you want to get this as a gift for your master at the dojo. Try to discreetly make sure this term is used in your school. Different schools and styles of Japanese martial arts use different terms. You may notice in the Romaji and the characters, this has the same characters as "geisha" which means "person skilled in arts" (what a geisha girl really is). The title here has the character for "martial", "warrior", and/or "military" in front of it. Therefore the literal translation is "martial art person".

These Kanji are valid Chinese characters and Korean Hanja, but this title does not really make sense in Chinese and not often used in Korean, though a Chinese or Korean would be able to guess the meaning by looking at the first and last characters.

This can be translated as "martial arts skills", "warrior skills", or "military skills" depending on usage. In both Japanese and Chinese, rather than meaning martial arts, this speaks more to the skills that you posses in regards to martial arts. This phrase also has a light suggestion of "having an itch to show off these skills".

This is the very Chinese way to express "Martial Arts". Some even use this word to directly describe Kung Fu. But this is a label that fits all disciplines from Karate to Kung Fu to Taekwondo.

Note: This also means Martial Arts with the same appearance in old Korean Hanja characters and is pronounced "musul" or "musur" in Korean.

This also means "martial arts" in Japanese.

The first two characters create a word that means nature, natural, or spontaneous. The last two characters are often translated as martial arts.

Aikido is often referred to as the defensive martial art. While aikido was born in Japan, it has become a somewhat famous form of defensive tactics taught to soldiers and Marines, as well as some law enforcement officers in the west.

Looking at the characters, the first means "union" or "harmony".
The second character means "universal energy" or "spirit".
The third means "way" or "method".

Please note that while these Japanese Kanji characters can be pronounced in Chinese, this word is not well-known in China and is not considered part of the Chinese lexicon.

Note: It is somewhat accepted that this is the origin of Hapkido in Korea. And other than a modern simplification to the middle Kanji of this 3-Kanji word, it is written the same in Korean Hanja.

More aikido info.

See Also...  Hapkido

Many people have no idea that Bruce Lee had a "real" Chinese name. In mainland China and Hong Kong he is known as "Li Xiao-Long". He kept his family name pronunciation (Li = Lee). This is a common family name that also means "plum".

His given name "Xiao-Long" literally means "little dragon". This is why you often see the character for dragon associated with Bruce Lee on various posters etc.

For a pronunciation lesson, the "X" in Romanized Chinese is pronounced like a "sh" sound but with your tongue at the bottom of your mouth. The vowel sound in "Long" is like the English "oh", not like the "ah" sound in the English word "long".

If you are a big Bruce Lee fan, you should know this information, and you should have this wall scroll hanging in your room or martial arts studio.

Note: Japanese use these same exact Chinese characters / Kanji to write Bruce Lee's real name (with different pronunciation - which is a bit like how the name "Bruce Lee" sounds in English).

See Also...  Kung Fu | Marital Arts

Credit is given that karate started in China, but migrated and became refined, and vastly popular in Japan. The literal meaning of these characters is "empty hand method". Karate is a martial art that uses no blades of weapons other than the "natural weapons" that God gave to humans (fists and feet). The last character somehow became optional, but the meaning of that character is "method" or "the way" as in Taoism / Daoism.

The first two characters mean "fist law" which is Romanized from Japanese as "Kenpo" or "Kempo".

The last two express "karate" - technically they express "empty hand". That "empty hand" translation can be understood better when you grasp the idea that karate is a martial art without weapons (other than the weapons organic to your body, such as your foot, hand, fist, etc). When you practice karate, you do so with empty hands (no weapons).

Note: There is also an antiquated way to write karate. It has the same pronunciation but a different first character which means "Tang" as in the Tang Dynasty. Some dojos use that form - let us know if you need that alternate form, and we'll add it for you.

This is a specific type of martial arts in Japan that claims origins in the Kung Fu practiced in the original Shaolin Monastery of China.

The first three characters mean "Shaolin Monastery" and you might notice the Japanese is pronounced in a very similar way. This is because many words were "borrowed" from the original Chinese when Japan did not have a written language and simply absorbed Chinese characters into their language around the 5th century. When a Japanese word did not exist, the Chinese pronunciation was often absorbed as well as the written form.

The last two characters mean "fist law" or "method of the fist". It has long been argued as to whether the Japanese for these characters should be Romanized as "kempo" or "kenpo". The official method should be "kenpou" but it's common to drop the "u" that comes after the "o".

I imagine if you are looking for this title, you already know what it means, so the above is simply extra information that a student of Shorinji Kempo might want to know.

This is a specific type of martial arts (Karate) from Okinawa, Japan.

The first two characters mean "Little Forest". This happens to be the exact title of Shaolin (the famous place in China that many believe to be the birthplace of Kung Fu).

The last character can mean a flow or movement, but in the context of martial arts, refers to a style, method, or in the extended meaning, a school.

Note: This title can be pronounced in Chinese, but would only be used or well-known by Chinese people who practice this Japanese martial art (rare). In most cases, consider this to be a "Japanese only" title.

Note: This title is sometimes written with a different first character. It can be written with a character that means "little/small" (see first character to the right).

But it can also be written with a first character which means "pine" (see second character to the right).

Click on the character above (instead of the button above) of your choice if you want one of these alternate forms.