The names of Asian martial arts styles all have an exotic sound. But they are simply descriptions, rendered in the language of their country of origin, of something crucial about the art. Some are named after their place of origin, other after their inventor. Some are named after a central aspect of their technique of philosophy. Some are named after an animal whose fighting style inspired the art.
Place of Origin
Karate, when it is written using the original Japanese characters, means "China hand." Many of karate's techniques originated in China, the birthpalce of the Asian martial arts. Tang soo do also means "China hand way," acknowledging this Korean art's roots in Chinese martial arts. Shuri-te and shuri-ryu are both named after Shuri, a city in Okinawa and the former capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Muay thai means simply "Thai boxing." Shaolin boxing is named after the temple where it originated.
Founder
Shotokan, the name of a style of karate, means "house of Shoto." Shoto was Gichin Funakoshi's pen name, which he used to sign his poetry. His students called Funakoshi's style shotokan to honor their teacher. Motobu-ryu karate is named after Choki Motobu, and Gracie jiujitsu after Brazil's Gracie family. The various styles of tai chi chuan, a Chinese internal art, are named after the families who developed them: Yang, Chen, Sun and Wu.
Techniques
Some martial arts styles are named after techniques in the art. Tae kwon do means "the art of kicking and punching." Karate, when it is spelled with the modern Japanese characters for the word, means "empty hand," referring to the lack of weapons used in karate self-defense. Goju, a style of karate, is made up of two words: "go," which means "hard," and "ju," which means "soft." Goju contains both hard and soft techniques. Savate is French for "shoe," referring to the fact that practitioners of savate, a French martial art, kick while wearing shoes, unlike practitioners of some Eastern arts who train barefoot.
Animal
Some martial arts are named after animals. Legends from the history of the Chinese arts especially tell of old masters watching the fighting techniques of animals to learn to fight. White crane kung fu, drunken monkey boxing and southern dragon kung fu are all named after animals, real and mythic, whose fighting techniques are mimicked by the style.
Ideals
Some martial arts styles are named for the ideals the style holds. Chuck Norris chose the name chun kuk do for his style. It means "the universal way." Judo means "the gentle, or flexible, way." It is an acknowledgement of judo's desire never to meet force with force but to turn an attacker's own force into an effective defense. Baguàzhang, the name of a Chinese art, means "eight trigram palm." Trigram refers to the symbols of the I Ching, one of the texts of Taoism.
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