karate-do

English translation: THE WAY OF THE OPEN HAND OR THE WAY OF KARATE

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Japanese term or phrase:KARATE-DO
English translation:THE WAY OF THE OPEN HAND OR THE WAY OF KARATE

18:35 Mar 17, 2001
Japanese to English translations [Non-PRO]
Japanese term or phrase: karate-do
I need the meaning of karate-do please.
Combatkiti
The Way of the Open Hand or the Way of Karate
Explanation:
Let me explain this in very straight terms:

Kara - means open
Te - means hand
Do - means way or road

Therefore the meaning would be either the Way of Karate or the Way of the Open Hand.

In Japanese culture, there are numerous examples of Do. JuDo, KenDo (the Way of the Sword)... there are even those who say that Baseball is not a sport in Japan but a Do (Way). As in YakyuuDo.

Hope that helps.

Selected response from:

Pro-Japanese
Canada
Local time: 01:05
Grading comment
Thank you so much for all your help!
Thank you, combatkiti
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
naThe Way of the Open Hand or the Way of Karate
Pro-Japanese
naThe Art of Karate
yuriyama
naThe Way of Karate
Pro-Japanese
naWay of the Empty Hand
Anthony Kehoe
nathe philosophy of karate
Fidelio
naway of the empty hand
Jasper Sprengers


  

Answers


17 mins
The Way of the Open Hand or the Way of Karate


Explanation:
Let me explain this in very straight terms:

Kara - means open
Te - means hand
Do - means way or road

Therefore the meaning would be either the Way of Karate or the Way of the Open Hand.

In Japanese culture, there are numerous examples of Do. JuDo, KenDo (the Way of the Sword)... there are even those who say that Baseball is not a sport in Japan but a Do (Way). As in YakyuuDo.

Hope that helps.



Pro-Japanese
Canada
Local time: 01:05
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 79
Grading comment
Thank you so much for all your help!
Thank you, combatkiti
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

26 mins
The Art of Karate


Explanation:
"do" meaning "the way of" or "the art of" in a non^literal sense, "do" is added to something than is thought of as an art or system, i.e., something that is taught and/or learned.

yuriyama

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
Pro-Japanese
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31 mins
The Way of Karate


Explanation:
I thought that you might get a better understanding of the meaning by looking at this page:

http://www.stanford.edu/group/jkarate/karatedo.html

It will explain, in brief, the history of Karate and who coined the phrase, KarateDo.


    Reference: http://www.stanford.edu/group/jkarate/karatedo.html
    Reference: http://www.gojukai-canada.com/headquarters/history.htm
Pro-Japanese
Canada
Local time: 01:05
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 79
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs
Way of the Empty Hand


Explanation:
"Karate", in its modern meaning of empty hand, has only been around since the first half of the 20th century. Before that, the euphonic Karate meaning "Cathay Hand" was used (i.e., the pronunciation is the same, but the first character is different). Adding the suffix "-do" means "way of", indicating that it is a path to be studied, and a means to an end (in this case, spiritual enlightenment should follw as a result of the harsh physical conditioning. Compare: Sado, "the way of tea", shodo "Caligraphy, lit., way of the pen," etc.) Thus, Karate-do is the way of the empty hand, but was originally the way of the Chinese hand. Interestingly, the characters for the original "Way of Cathay hand" are still used in Korea today, where they are read as Tang-su do, which is a cousin of modern Tae Kwon do.
HTH,
Tony ("Kimpatsu")



    Contact me on [email protected] for more.
Anthony Kehoe
Local time: 16:05
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 47

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Pro-Japanese
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7 hrs
the philosophy of karate


Explanation:
Karate-do Literally means the way of karate, yet this ideogram, "do(or michi)", has a broader meaning of "way of life" or "philosophy".

Fidelio

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Pro-Japanese
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7 hrs
way of the empty hand


Explanation:
I do not speak Japanese, but practised karate myself. The empty hand means of course that karate is practised with bare hands and feet only. Secondly, the meaning is closely related to Zen, where achieving a state of mental purity (emptiness) is the way to Enlightenment. In karate the mental emptiness has a positive meaning: it means one can concentrate completely on the fight, even without fear of death.

Jasper Sprengers
Local time: 07:05

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Pro-Japanese
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