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1. Aikido
7. Hapkido
8. Aikikai
10. Takemusu Aiki
11. Daito-Ryu
12. Katsu Hayabi
13. Takemusu
14. Yoshinkan
15. Fighting Spirit
18. Wado-Kai
19. Kodokan
20. Heijoshin / Presence of Mind
21. Shihan
22. Kyuki-Do
23. Sensei / Master / Teacher / Mister
24. Taido
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
Aikido no Kokoro
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
Korean Martial Art of re-directing force
Hapkido or 合氣道 is a mostly-defensive martial art in Korea.
Hapkido has some connection to the Aikido of Japan. They are written with the same characters in both languages. However, it should be noted that the Korean Hanja characters shown here are the traditional Chinese form - but in modern Japan, the middle character was slightly simplified.
Note: You can consider this to be the older Japanese written form of Aikido. Titles on older books and signs about Aikido use this form.
The connection between Japanese Aikido and Korean Hapkido is muddled in history. The issue is probably due to the difficult relationship between the two countries around WWII. Many Koreans became virtual slaves to the Japanese during that period. After WWII, many things in Korea were disassociated from having any Japanese origin. The relationship has greatly mellowed out now.
Looking at the characters, the first means “union” or “harmony.”
The second character means “universal energy” or “spirit.”
The third means “way” or “method.”
One way to translate this into English is the “Harmonizing Energy Method.” This makes sense, as Hapkido has more to do with redirecting energy than fighting strength against strength.
More Hapkido info
More notes:
1. Sometimes Hapkido is Romanized as “hap ki do,” “hapki-do” “hab gi do” or “hapgido.”
2. Korean Hanja characters are actually Chinese characters that usually hold the same meaning in both languages. There was a time when these characters were the standard and only written form of Korean. The development of modern Korean Hangul characters is a somewhat recent event in the greater scope of history. There was a time when Chinese characters were the written form of many languages in places known in modern times as North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and a significant portion of Malaysia. Even today, more people in the world can read Chinese characters than English.
3. While these Korean Hanja characters can be pronounced in Chinese, this word is not well-known in China and is not considered part of the Chinese lexicon.
合気会 or “Aikikai” is the original school of Aikido.
Several organizations use this title. The first was established in Japan in 1940 (The Aikikai Foundation or 財団法人合気会).
The only difference between this title and Aikido is the last character, “kai” which means club, group, fraternity, organization, or assembly.
Note: 合気会 may be romanized with a dash like this: Aiki-Kai.
武産合氣 is one of the core spiritual concepts developed by Morihei Ueshiba to support his practice of Aikido.
Breaking down the characters:
武 - Bu (as in Bushido) is read as “Take” here. It means martial.
産 - Musu means innocent or naive, but also refers to the idea of birth and creation.
合氣 - Aiki as in Aikido - unifying spirit.
School of Japanese Martial Arts
大東流合気柔術 is Daitō-Ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, a Japanese martial art established by Takeda Sōkaku.
The most famous student of Daitō-Ryū Aiki-jūjutsu is Morihei Ueshiba who later founded the school or branch of martial arts known as Aikido.
Note: 大東流合気柔術 can also be romanized as Daito-ryu Aiki-Jujutsu, Daitou-Ryuu Aiki-Juujutsu or Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujitsu.
一心会 is the Japanese martial arts title “Isshinkai” or “Isshin-Kai.”
It literally means “One Heart Association” or “Single-Heart Club.” This title is often associated with Isshin-Ryu Aikido and Isshin-Ryu Karate-Do. This title is appropriate for the name of a dojo that teaches these styles.
Wado-Kai is used as a title for styles of Karate and Aikido.
Breaking down the characters into the proper Japanese Romaji, you have “wa dou kai” or “wa dō kai.” The meaning is roughly-translated as “Harmony Way Club” or “Peace Method Association.” The first Kanji should probably be read as harmony, rather than peace in this case.
See Also: Wado-Ryu
光道館 is Kodokan.
This is the title of an Aikido dojo, studio, or hall.
Be careful in selecting the correct Kodokan, as there are a few different titles that romanize as Kodokan.
Here's how the characters break down in meaning for this one:
1. Light / Bright
2. Way / Path (the Tao/Dao as in Taoism/Daoism)
3. Schoolroom / Building / Establishment / Mansion / Hall (of learning)
Altogether, you get something like “The Path of Light Establishment.”
平常心 is the title Heijoshin, as associated with Kendo and Aikido schools of Japanese martial arts.
平常心 is also a word in Japanese that can be translated as “one's self-possession” or “presence of mind.”
In Chinese and Korean, this means “simplicity heart,” “composure,” “calmness,” or a “sense of orderliness.” In Chinese and Korean, this implies that you enjoy what you have, keep your heart in balance, and have no over-blown ambitions.
師範 or Shihan is a Japanese term, often used in Japanese martial arts.
In typical Japanese language, it can refer to a teacher or instructor. However, in martial arts, it's often an honorific title for an expert or master instructor.
Example: In Aikido the title can refer to someone with the rank of 7th dan. But other schools use it to mean a master who has earned the right to award black belts.
This term is also used in Chinese, where it refers to teacher-training or the art of teaching by example. It's used within the proper name of certain types of universities in China.
Korean Martial Art
擊氣道 is the title of the Kyuki-Do form of Korean martial arts.
In Korean Hangul, it's 격기도.
While “Kyuki-Do” is the most common romanized form of this title, the official Korean romanization is actually “Gyeog Gi Do” or “Gyeoggi-Do.”
The first character means to hit, strike, attack, rout, or break.
The second means “life energy” or “atmosphere.”
The last means “the way” or “method.”
FYI: The last two characters are the same as the last two in the titles Hapkido and Aikido.
I have included Mandarin Chinese pronunciation above; However, this term would only be known by Chinese people familiar with this style of martial arts. Consider this to be a Korean-only title.
先生 is sensei, which is associated in the west with a master or instructor of karate, aikido, judo, and other Japanese martial arts.
In reality, this is a term of respect for almost any professional or skilled person (doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc.). Sometimes, it is used for musicians and artists who have achieved a certain level of fame, skill, or accomplishment.
It should be noted that this is also a courtesy title in Chinese but more like calling someone “mister” or “gentleman.” It doesn't have the “master” or “teacher” meaning in Chinese - see our Chinese “Master / Sifu / Shi Fu” entry if your audience is Chinese.
In Korean Hanja, this means teacher, instructor, schoolmaster, or schoolmistress.
This entry is for educational purposes. 先生 is kind of a strange thing to put on a wall scroll. It's a title that is used more orally to show respect rather than something written in calligraphy. If you feel it is appropriate in your circumstances, we will create a piece of sensei Japanese calligraphy artwork for you.
Taidō (The Way of the Body) is a style of Karate practiced in Japan and popular worldwide.
Taidō or 躰道 traces a lineage from Genseiryū (玄制流), which came from Shuri-te (首里手), one of the original martial arts schools of ancient Okinawa.
The first character 躰 is a variant of the original Chinese character 體. In modern Japan, they tend to use 体, a more simple character form. 体 is also the modern Simplified Chinese form of 體.
The 躰 character is correct for this 躰道 martial arts title. But it can be confusing with so many variants out there, not to mention other homophonic Japanese words that also romanize as Taidō or Taidou.
To have a bit more fun with this 躰 character, it has a 身 radical on the left, which sets it apart. The meaning doubles up on the “body” as 身 (shin) is a character that also means body in Japanese and Chinese. On the right is 本, which often means root, stem, origin, source, or fundamental (but can also mean “book” in some contexts). This has deviated from the original 體 which was 骨 (bone) + 豊 (vessel). Hence, the body was your “bone vessel” in ancient Asia.
The meaning of 躰, as well as 體 and 体, is usually translated as the body. When related to the physical body, it can also refer to the torso, trunk, build, physique, or the constitution of a person. As an extension of this, it can also refer to someone's health (good body = good health).
However, depending on the context, it can encompass other meanings such as form, style, system, experience, aspect, corpus, corporeal, substance, or essentials.
The second character, 道, is recognized and well-known as the “Way” and is the same “do” as in Karate-do or Aikido.
拳法 is a form of martial arts that can be translated in several ways.
Some will call it “fist principles,” “the way of the fist,” or even “law of the fist.” The first character literally means fist. The second can mean law, method, way, principle, or Buddhist teaching.
Kempo is really a potluck of martial arts. Often a combination of Chinese martial arts such as Shaolin Kung Fu with Japanese martial arts such as Karate, Jujutsu (Jujitsu), Aikido, and others. You may see the term “Kempo Karate,” which basically means Karate with other disciplines added. In this way, Kempo becomes an adjective rather than a title or school of martial arts.
These facts will long be argued by various masters and students of Kempo. Even the argument as to whether it should be spelled “kenpo” or “Kempo” ensues at dojos around the world (the correct Romaji should actually be “kenpou” if you precisely follow the rules).
The benefit of Kempo is that the techniques are easier to learn and master than pure Kung Fu (wu shu). Students are often taught basic Karate moves, kicks, and punches before augmenting the basic skills with complex Kung Fu techniques. This allows students of Kempo to achieve a level where they can defend themselves or fight in a relatively short amount of time (a few years rather than a decade or more).
Because the definition of this word is so fluid, I should make some notes here:
1. Purists in Okinawa will claim that “Okinawa Kenpo” or “Ryukyu Hon Kenpo” is the original and true version of this martial art from the old kingdom. It is actually little or no connection between Okinawa Kenpo and the way the word is used elsewhere.
2. In Chinese, where these characters are pronounced “quan fa” (sometimes Romanized as “chuan fa” because the Chinese-pinyin “q” actually sounds like an English “ch” sound), these characters do not hold the connotation of being a mixed martial art. It is simply defined as “the law of the fist.”
3. My Japanese dictionary oddly defines Kenpo as the “Chinese art of self-defense.” I personally don't feel this is the most common way that people perceive the word but just something you should know.
Chi Energy: Essence of Life / Energy Flow
This 氣 energy flow is a fundamental concept of traditional Asian culture.
氣 is romanized as “Qi” or “Chi” in Chinese, “Gi” in Korean, and “Ki” in Japanese.
Chi is believed to be part of everything that exists, as in “life force” or “spiritual energy.” It is most often translated as “energy flow” or literally as “air” or “breath.” Some people will simply translate this as “spirit,” but you must consider the kind of spirit we're talking about. I think this is weighted more toward energy than spirit.
The character itself is a representation of steam (or breath) rising from rice. To clarify, the character for rice looks like this:
Steam was apparently seen as visual evidence of the release of “life energy” when this concept was first developed. The Qi / Chi / Ki character is still used in compound words to mean steam or vapor.
The etymology of this character is a bit complicated. It's suggested that the first form of this character from bronze script (about 2500 years ago) looked like these samples:
However, it was easy to confuse this with the character for the number three. So the rice radical was added by 221 B.C. (the exact time of this change is debated). This first version with the rice radical looks like this:
The idea of Qi / Chi / Ki is really a philosophical concept. It's often used to refer to the “flow” of metaphysical energy that sustains living beings. Yet there is much debate that has continued for thousands of years as to whether Qi / Chi / Ki is pure energy or consists partially or fully of matter.
You can also see the character for Qi / Chi / Ki in common compound words such as Tai Chi / Tai Qi, Aikido, Reiki, and Qi Gong / Chi Kung.
In the modern Japanese Kanji, the rice radical has been changed into two strokes that form an X.
The original and traditional Chinese form is still understood in Japanese, but we can also offer that modern Kanji form in our custom calligraphy. If you want this Japanese Kanji, please click on the character to the right instead of the “Select and Customize” button above.
More language notes: This is pronounced like “chee” in Mandarin Chinese, and like “key” in Japanese.
This is also the same way to write this in Korean Hanja where it is Romanized as “gi” and pronounced like “gee” but with a real G-sound, not a J-sound.
Though Vietnamese no longer use Chinese characters in their daily language, this character is still widely known in Vietnam.
See Also: Energy | Life Force | Vitality | Life | Birth | Soul
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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Aikido | 合氣道 合気道 | ai ki dou / aikidou / ai ki do | hé qì dào he2 qi4 dao4 he qi dao heqidao | ho ch`i tao hochitao ho chi tao |
Heart of Aikido | 合気道の心 | ai ki dou no kokoro aikidounokokoro ai ki do no kokoro | ||
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 |
Aikido Yoshinkan | 合気道養神館 | ai ki dou you shin kan aikidouyoushinkan ai ki do yo shin kan | ||
Kodokan Aikido | 光道館合気道 / 光道館合氣道 光道馆合气道 | kou dou kan ai ki dou koudoukanaikidou ko do kan ai ki do | ||
Wado-Kai Aikido | 和道會合気道 和道会合気道 | wa dou kai ai ki do wadoukaiaikido wa do kai ai ki do | ||
Hapkido | 合氣道 合气道 | ai ki do / aikido | hé qì dào he2 qi4 dao4 he qi dao heqidao | ho ch`i tao hochitao ho chi tao |
Aikikai | 合気会 / 合氣會 合気会 | ai ki kai / aikikai | ||
Okami Hapkido | 狼合氣道 狼合气道 | okami ai ki do okamiaikido | láng hé qì dào lang2 he2 qi4 dao4 lang he qi dao langheqidao | lang ho ch`i tao langhochitao lang ho chi tao |
Takemusu Aiki | 武産合氣 | take musu ai ki takemusuaiki | ||
Daito-Ryu | 大東流 | dai tou ryuu daitouryuu dai to ryu | ||
Katsu Hayabi | 勝速日 | katsu hayabi katsuhayabi | ||
Takemusu | 武産 | take musu / takemusu | ||
Yoshinkan | 養神館 | you shin kan youshinkan yo shin kan | ||
Fighting Spirit | 闘氣 闘気气 | tou ki / touki / to ki | ||
Daito-Ryu Aiki-jujutsu | 大東流合氣柔術 大東流合気柔術 | dai tou ryuu ai ki ju jutsu daitouryuuaikijujutsu dai to ryu ai ki ju jutsu | ||
Isshin-Kai Isshinkai | 一心会 / 一心會 一心会 | isshin kai / isshinkai / ishin kai | ||
Wado-Kai | 和道會 和道会 | wa dou kai / wadoukai / wa do kai | ||
Kodokan | 光道館 讲道馆 | kou dou kan koudoukan ko do kan | ||
Heijoshin Presence of Mind | 平常心 | hei jou shin heijoushin hei jo shin | píng cháng xīn ping2 chang2 xin1 ping chang xin pingchangxin | p`ing ch`ang hsin pingchanghsin ping chang hsin |
Shihan | 師範 师范 | shi han / shihan | shī fàn / shi1 fan4 / shi fan / shifan | shih fan / shihfan |
Kyuki-Do | 擊氣道 击气道 | jī qì dào ji1 qi4 dao4 ji qi dao jiqidao | chi ch`i tao chichitao chi chi tao |
|
Sensei Master Teacher Mister | 先生 | sen sei / sensei | xiān shēng xian1 sheng1 xian sheng xiansheng | hsien sheng hsiensheng |
Taido | 躰道 | tai dou / taidou / tai do | ||
Kenpo Kempo Quan Fa Chuan Fa | 拳法 | kenpou / kenpo | quán fǎ / quan2 fa3 / quan fa / quanfa | ch`üan fa / chüanfa / chüan fa |
Life Energy Spiritual Energy | 氣 气 / 気 | ki | qì / qi4 / qi | ch`i / chi |
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. |
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as Aikido Kanji Kanji, Aikido Kanji Characters, Aikido Kanji in Mandarin Chinese, Aikido Kanji Characters, Aikido Kanji in Chinese Writing, Aikido Kanji in Japanese Writing, Aikido Kanji in Asian Writing, Aikido Kanji Ideograms, Chinese Aikido Kanji symbols, Aikido Kanji Hieroglyphics, Aikido Kanji Glyphs, Aikido Kanji in Chinese Letters, Aikido Kanji Hanzi, Aikido Kanji in Japanese Kanji, Aikido Kanji Pictograms, Aikido Kanji in the Chinese Written-Language, or Aikido Kanji in the Japanese Written-Language.
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