One of the easiest arguments to find yourself having in mixed martial arts circles is not about ring control, or the right way to handle the calf kick, it’s about what you call that one move. And it can be a fun argument to have, but sometimes people take it a little too seriously and you’re left wondering if everything is okay at home. You may think, “It’s just a word, the move is the same.” Or you could be thinking, “You need to say it right, you need to understand what you are communicating.” And yeah, two things can be true. So what is up with martial terminology?
Terminology Gives Us Common Language to Recognize Complexities
By having more standardized words, we can differentiate between similar movements, tools, and concepts. At a beginner level, this is not too important, but as one moves into intermediacy it becomes more necessary. Details make the difference between a jab that connects and a jab that really hurts. So if you have a word to differentiate the two, you are ahead of someone who just understands the jab as one or the other. This extends to all aspects of martial arts. Footwork requires finesse, fight strategies need detail, even workouts need differentiation.
Terminology Allows Us to Communicate How We See a Topic
By exploring terminology, we can understand how different arts and teachers treat certain tools. For instance, we have the armbar. In English speaking arts like Catch, we generally call it an armbar, showing that the lock attacks the arm by straightening or “barring” it. It is a simple and effective way to explain the concept. The details will change from technician to technician, so don’t get bogged down when you first learn it. The same is true in BJJ, even in Brazilian it translates to armbar or armlock. In arts like Judo, it is termed juji-gatame, or ude-hishigi-juji-gatame.
We can learn a lot just from this single term. “Juji” is the same kanji for “jujika” or “cross”, which can denote the right angle one takes to the opponent’s body, but also the manner in which the arm is outstretched. The next part is even more interesting, “gatame” is used for pins and certain locks. Most joint locks in Judo use the term “garame”, but certain joint locks have the term “gatame” instead. So why is that? Well the principle is that locks like armbars (juji-gatame) and head and arm choke (kata-gatame) can be used to effectively pin an opponent as well as submit them. On the flip side, “garame” means to entangle or twist. On top of all of this, “ude-hishigi” (arm break) denotes that this movement is a type of arm submission, that it causes pain. Look at how much information and context is contained in essentially four words. This is just one movement and we can see what the priority is in each art.
Terminology Can Cause Separation Due to Interpretation or Similarity
Unfortunately, sometimes we get so focused on terminologies that we forget to actually focus on the techniques. Terminology can cause conflict among groups that at the end of the day, doesn’t even matter. You may call it a double-wristlock, I call it a figure-4, and someone else calls it a kimura. At the end of the day, we’re all ripping some guy’s arm out of its socket. But how much time is spent arguing over these words? What’s more important is discussing details of the movement or technique. You can call it whatever you want, but if you can’t do it, it doesn’t matter. As helpful as terminology is, it is just a tool for communication. It is not the Gospel truth.
Terminology Can be Used to Create In-Groups and Out-Groups
This phenomenon is particularly frustrating. I have seen it most in kung fu circles. To give an example, in Wing Chun we have a drill called chi sau. It’s a sticking hands game used to teach the trapping range. At the beginning stages you are just trying to learn how to feel your opponent and stick to them to trap or strike. As you advance you start including footwork, head movement and Wing Chun’s full range of tools. Advanced chi sau is not sparring or fighting, but it is closer than beginner chi sau. Where I train we just call that advanced chi sau or sheung (double) chi sao, but in Cantonese it is often called “gor sau.” But we’re already inundating the students with all sorts of terms from a language they don’t know. We don’t need to overcomplicate something that can be said in English.
Some other Wing Chun schools don’t like that and have implied that my Wing Chun is bastardized or inauthentic. And it’s not that I don’t know words like “gor sau,” just that I don’t use them in general parlance. But I can actually fight with my Wing Chun, so they can keep gor sau.
Terminology is a Tool
When we focus on the terminology, we can learn a lot about the art or curriculum we are studying. As a self-professed word nerd, I really recommend that people dig into the terminology of their arts. You can learn a lot about the art, the history of the art (which most people forget), and it can even improve your form. But I also have to caution against getting focused on what each person calls it. Unless you are the developer of a school’s curriculum, it’s not your job. Don’t argue whether it’s a “head and arm choke” or “arm triangle”. It’s both. It’s neither. No one cares, go train.