Custom Martial Arts Chinese & Japanese Calligraphy Wall Scroll

We have many options to create artwork with Martial Arts characters on a wall scroll or portrait.

See our special page full of Martial Arts related words and phrases.
We also have specific pages for Karate, Aikido, Kung Fu, and Jujitsu.
If you need a different style of martial arts, just enter it in the calligraphy search box in the upper left of this page.


  1. Martial Arts / Wushu

  2. Martial Arts / Budo

  3. Martial Arts

  4. Martial Arts Master

  5. Martial Arts Skills

  6. Dojo / Martial Arts Studio

  7. Martial Morality / Martial Arts Ethics / Virtue

  8. Mixed Martial Arts / MMA

  9. Mixed Martial Arts

10. The Nature of Martial Arts

11. Shaolin Martial Arts

12. Spirit Of The Dragon Martial Arts

13. Kuoshu / Martial Arts

14. Aikido

15. Bruce Lee

16. Danketsu Karate-Do

17. Karate-Do

18. Kempo Karate / Law of the Fist Empty Hand

19. Shorinji Kempo / Kenpo

20. Shotokan Aikido

21. Aiki Budo


Martial Arts / Wushu

 wǔ shù
 bujutsu
Martial Arts / Wushu Scroll

武術 is Wushu or Wu Shu, the very Chinese way to express “Martial Arts.”

Some even use this word to describe Kung Fu directly. 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 as old Korean Hanja characters and is pronounced “musul” or “musur” in Korean.

While this is best if your audience is Chinese or Korean, this also means “martial arts” in Japanese, where the popularity of this term is growing (romanized as Bujutsu or Bujitsu) in Japanese martial arts circles.

Martial Arts / Budo

Way of the Warrior

 wǔ dào
 bu dou
Martial Arts / Budo Scroll

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.

Martial Arts

 wǔ yì
Martial Arts Scroll

武藝 is a Korean Hanja title that means “martial arts” or “military skill.”

武藝 is also a word in Chinese but used more often in the context of Korean martial arts.

From Korean, this is romanized as either “mu ye” or “moo ye.” If you want to order this in modern Korean Hangul, just click the Hangul characters in the pronunciation box next to the Korean flag above.

Martial Arts Master

 wǔ yún zhě
 bugeisha
Martial Arts Master Scroll

武芸者 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 that the last two characters romanize 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 is 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.

Martial Arts Skills

 wǔ jì
 bugi
Martial Arts Skills Scroll

武技 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 possess in regard to martial arts. This phrase also has a light suggestion of “having the itch to show off these skills.”

Dojo / Martial Arts Studio

 dào cháng
 dou jou
Dojo / Martial Arts Studio Scroll

道場 is the Japanese term for a room or hall in which martial arts are taught.

道場 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 a place where spiritual or psychic events are performed.

Martial Morality / Martial Arts Ethics / Virtue

 wǔ dé
 bu toku
Martial Morality / Martial Arts Ethics / Virtue Scroll

This refers to the virtue, morality, and ethics that any practitioner of martial arts should possess.

This can be used in both Chinese and Japanese in place of English terms such as “soldierly virtue,” “good conduct” (military), “warrior ethics,” and being honorable regarding any fight or competition.

In Japanese, there is a slight variation in the last character, making it 武徳 instead of 武德 in Japan. And yes, just one little horizontal stroke is omitted. If you need the Japanese version, please choose a Japanese calligrapher, or drop me a note so that I make sure you get the characters you intend.


See Also:  Morality of Mind | Morality of Deed

Mixed Martial Arts / MMA

 sàn dǎ
Mixed Martial Arts / MMA Scroll

散打 is Sanda, a Chinese word for “Mixed Martial Arts” or “MMA.”

Mixed Martial Arts

 zōng hé gé dòu
Mixed Martial Arts Scroll

綜合格鬥 is a common Chinese title for “Mixed Martial Arts” or “MMA.”

The characters or words in this title break down this way:
綜合 zōng hé = composite, synthesized, to sum up, to integrate, and/or to synthesize.
格 gé = style, frame, or rule.
斗 dòu = fight, to battle, or to struggle.

Mixed Martial Arts

 sougoukakutougi
Mixed Martial Arts Scroll

総合格闘技 is a Japanese title for mixed martial arts or MMA.

Note: Some will use other titles for this rather new word or evolving concept. This seems to be the most common right now in the Japanese language.

The Nature of Martial Arts

 zì rán wǔ dào
 shi zen bu do
The Nature of Martial Arts Scroll

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.

Shaolin Martial Arts

 shǎo lín wǔ gōng
Shaolin Martial Arts Scroll

少林武功 is the title for “Shaolin Wu Gong” or “Shaolin martial arts.”

Spirit Of The Dragon Martial Arts

 lóng zhī hún wǔ shù
Spirit Of The Dragon Martial Arts Scroll

龍之魂武術 is the title Spirit Of The Dragon Martial Arts in Chinese.

This can also be translated as “Dragon Soul Martial Arts.”

Kuoshu / Martial Arts

 guó shù
Kuoshu / Martial Arts Scroll

This is a way to write martial arts in Chinese.

This can be romanized as Kuoshu, Kuo Shu, Guoshu, or Guo Shu.

 hé qì dào
 ai ki dou
Aikido Scroll

合気道 is the modern Japanese way to write Aikido.

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 the original 合氣道 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.


See Also:  Martial Arts | Hapkido

 lǐ xiǎo lóng
 bu ruu su ri
Bruce Lee Scroll

李小龍 is the real full name of Bruce Lee.

Bruce Lee Many people have no idea that Bruce Lee had a “real” Chinese name. In Mandarin and Cantonese, he is known as “Lǐ XiǎoLóng” and “Léi SíuLùng” respectively.

He kept his family name pronunciation (Li = Lee). 李 is a common family name that also means “plum.”

His given name 小龍 (Xiao-Long), literally means “little dragon.” 李小龍 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 Mandarin 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 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 | Martial Arts

Danketsu Karate-Do

 dan ketsu kara te dou
Danketsu Karate-Do Scroll

団結空手道 is the title for Danketsu Karate-Do, a dojo located in Stroudsburg, PA.

団結 (danketsu) means union, unity, or combination.

空手道 (karate-do) means “empty hand way.”


If you need you martial arts school/dojo/academy added to my database, just give me the info (actual Chinese/Japanese text if you have it).

 kōng shǒu dào
 kara te dou
Karate-Do Scroll

The literal meaning of 空手道 is “empty hand method” or “empty hand way.”

Credit is given that karate started in China but migrated and became refined and vastly popular in Japan.

Karate is a martial art that uses no blades or weapons other than the “natural weapons” 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.

Karate-Do reached Korea, where it is known as 공수도 which can be romanized as “Kong Soo Do” or “Gong Su Do.”

Kempo Karate / Law of the Fist Empty Hand

 kōng shǒu quán fǎ
 kara te ken pou
Kempo Karate / Law of the Fist Empty Hand Scroll

空手拳法 is the Kanji title for Kempo Karate.

The first two characters mean “karate” - technically they express “empty hand.”

The last two express “fist law” which is Romanized from Japanese as “Kenpo” or “Kempo.”

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.

Shorinji Kempo / Kenpo

 shào lín sì quán fǎ
 shourinji kenpou
Shorinji Kempo / Kenpo Scroll

少林寺拳法 is a specific type of martial art 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. The reason is, 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.

Shotokan Aikido

 sōng tāo guǎn hé qì dào
 shou tou kan ai ki dou
Shotokan Aikido Scroll

松涛館合気道 is the title for Shotokan Aikido in Japanese.

Note: Chinese and Korean pronunciations of these characters are included above, however, this title would only be understood in Chinese or Korean by someone who practices or is familiar with Shotokan Aikido. Please consider this title to be “Japanese only.”


See Also:  Martial Arts | Hapkido

 hé qì wǔ dào
 ai ki bu dou
Aiki Budo Scroll

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




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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
Martial Arts
Wushu
武術
武术
bujutsuwǔ shù / wu3 shu4 / wu shu / wushu
Martial Arts
Budo
武道bu dou / budou / bu dowǔ dào / wu3 dao4 / wu dao / wudaowu tao / wutao
Martial Arts武藝
武艺
wǔ yì / wu3 yi4 / wu yi / wuyiwu i / wui
Martial Arts Master武芸者bugeishawǔ yún zhě
wu3 yun2 zhe3
wu yun zhe
wuyunzhe
wu yün che
wuyünche
Martial Arts Skills武技bugiwǔ jì / wu3 ji4 / wu ji / wujiwu chi / wuchi
Dojo
Martial Arts Studio
道場
道场
dou jou / doujou / do jodào cháng
dao4 chang2
dao chang
daochang
tao ch`ang
taochang
tao chang
Martial Morality
Martial Arts Ethics
Virtue
武德bu toku / butokuwǔ dé / wu3 de2 / wu de / wudewu te / wute
Mixed Martial Arts
MMA
散打sàn dǎ / san4 da3 / san da / sandasan ta / santa
Mixed Martial Arts綜合格鬥
综合格斗
zōng hé gé dòu
zong1 he2 ge2 dou4
zong he ge dou
zonghegedou
tsung ho ko tou
tsunghokotou
Mixed Martial Arts総合格闘技sougoukakutougi
sogokakutogi
The Nature of Martial Arts自然武道shi zen bu do
shizenbudo
zì rán wǔ dào
zi4 ran2 wu3 dao4
zi ran wu dao
ziranwudao
tzu jan wu tao
tzujanwutao
Shaolin Martial Arts少林武功shǎo lín wǔ gōng
shao3 lin2 wu3 gong1
shao lin wu gong
shaolinwugong
shao lin wu kung
shaolinwukung
Spirit Of The Dragon Martial Arts龍之魂武術
龙之魂武术
lóng zhī hún wǔ shù
long2 zhi1 hun2 wu3 shu4
long zhi hun wu shu
longzhihunwushu
lung chih hun wu shu
lungchihhunwushu
Kuoshu
Martial Arts
國術
国术
guó shù / guo2 shu4 / guo shu / guoshukuo shu / kuoshu
Aikido合氣道
合気道
ai ki dou / aikidou / ai ki dohé qì dào
he2 qi4 dao4
he qi dao
heqidao
ho ch`i tao
hochitao
ho chi tao
Bruce Lee李小龍
李小龙
bu ruu su ri
buruusuri
bu ru su ri
lǐ xiǎo lóng
li3 xiao3 long2
li xiao long
lixiaolong
li hsiao lung
lihsiaolung
Danketsu Karate-Do団結空手道dan ketsu kara te dou
danketsukaratedou
dan ketsu kara te do
Karate-Do空手道kara te dou
karatedou
kara te do
kōng shǒu dào
kong1 shou3 dao4
kong shou dao
kongshoudao
k`ung shou tao
kungshoutao
kung shou tao
Kempo Karate
Law of the Fist Empty Hand
空手拳法kara te ken pou
karatekenpou
kara te ken po
kōng shǒu quán fǎ
kong1 shou3 quan2 fa3
kong shou quan fa
kongshouquanfa
k`ung shou ch`üan fa
kungshouchüanfa
kung shou chüan fa
Shorinji Kempo
Kenpo
少林寺拳法shourinji kenpou
shourinjikenpou
shorinji kenpo
shào lín sì quán fǎ
shao4 lin2 si4 quan2 fa3
shao lin si quan fa
shaolinsiquanfa
shao lin ssu ch`üan fa
shaolinssuchüanfa
shao lin ssu chüan fa
Shotokan Aikido鬆濤館合氣道 (Old Japanese/Chinese)
松涛館合気道 (Modern Japanese)
shou tou kan ai ki dou
shoutoukanaikidou
sho to kan ai ki do
sōng tāo guǎn hé qì dào
song1 tao1 guan3 he2 qi4 dao4
song tao guan he qi dao
songtaoguanheqidao
sung t`ao kuan ho ch`i tao
sungtaokuanhochitao
sung tao kuan ho chi tao
Aiki Budo合氣武道
合気武道
ai ki bu dou
aikibudou
ai ki bu do
hé qì wǔ dào / /
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line.
In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese.


Dictionary

Lookup in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary

All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.

When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.

Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!

When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.


A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.

A professional Chinese Calligrapher

Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.

There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form of art alive.

Trying to learn Chinese calligrapher - a futile effort

Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.

A high-ranked Chinese master calligrapher that I met in Zhongwei

The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.



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