One thing is for sure.. While training in the Martial Arts, you are sure to run into a few things that will leave you scratching your head asking yourself… “What does that mean?”. Don’t Worry, it happens to us all. Below are a few of the most frequently asked questions that we get. If you have a question that isn’t answered below please ask us on our CONTACT PAGE HERE.
What does Goju mean?
Means hard (Go) soft (Ju). It refers to the external (Go) and internal (Ju) techniques of the System.
What does Shorei mean?
Means Clear Spirit, and refers to the proper attitude one must have in order to learn and train in the System. There is some confusion about Shorei meaning Shaolin, this is because of the similarity of the word shoreiji, which means southern Shaolin temple of China. Shorei is related to Naha-te (Naha hand) and in some old texts Shorei and Naha were used interchangeably when referring to the different te (hand) arts. (Naha is a seaport in Okinawa).
What does the Kanji mean?
The Chinese kanji on the Home Page and Banner is pronounced, bon chao ru chin and it translates to, ‘people that teach and train together become family’. We simply say, “Family First”. Why Chinese kanji? Although we identify our art as coming from Okinawa, it first came to that tiny country from China. Remember, the original kanji used for kara (as in kara-te) meant China. Later when Japan was at war with China the first kanji character was changed from China to empty, but it still retained the original pronunciation. So karate went from China-hand to empty-hand. Political correctness at its finest.
What does Soke mean?
Is a title which means head of family, head of system or system founder. In the case of Soke McNeill it refers to head of system and family.