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Erick Mead wrote:
Josh prefers this because of its "nicely vague" quality. That is precisely the opposite of what the process of definition is about -- to move toward precision -- not away from it.
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Good point, but we all have different ideas of what aikido is, so in defining it, we have to use terms that can be applied broadly. Otherwise we have to explain why the definition doesn't apply across the board. Another thing is who are we defining aikido for? If it's for everyone, then it's not just the practitioners and linguists who need to be happy with the definition. For that reason, I favour keeping it simple.
Jim Breens now defines Aikido like this:
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合気道; 合氣道(oK) 【あいきどう】 (n) {MA} aikido
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Aikido is aikido. So if that isn't enough, people can consult the entry in an English dictionary. These are some results from dictionary.com
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ai•ki•do
--noun
a Japanese form of self-defense utilizing wrist, joint, and elbow grips to immobilize or throw one's opponent.
[Origin: 1960--65; < Japn aikidō, equiv. to ai to coordinate + ki breath control + dō way (< MChin; see JUDO) ]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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ai•ki•do
n. A Japanese art of self-defense that employs holds and locks and that uses the principles of nonresistance in order to debilitate the strength of the opponent.
[Japanese aikidō : ai, mutual + ki, spirit (from Middle Chinese khi) + dō, art (from Middle Chinese daw', thaw).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Aikido
Japanese art of self-defense, lit. "way of adapting the spirit," from Jap. ai "together" + ki "spirit" + do "way, art," from Chinese tao "way."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Aikido
noun
a Japanese martial art employing principles similar to judo
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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However, I'm starting to waver back towards "harmony" being an okay definition again just based on a couple of conversations I had with some Japanese teachers of English. I haven't found any that disagree with the idea that the character 合 can mean harmony, even in isolation from the
jukugo.
Going back to this statement…
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Joshua Reyer wrote:
Well, first, Kisshomaru was hardly an expert in English, let alone Japanese-English translation. I have no idea how involved he was in the editing process, and I doubt he had the bilingual knowledge necessary to comment authoritatively on various translations.
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…I can't help but think that by now, there are enough bilingual people on the Japanese side who would know whether or not "harmony" is acceptable. The English version of the Aikikai Hombu website gets regular updates in competent English.
The "What is Aikido" section of the English version of the
Yoshinkan Hombu website states…
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The principal of Aikido is not to resist the law of nature, but to harmonize without using physical strength.
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..and then this comes from their Q&A section:
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Q: Why is Aikido called "The Martial Art of Harmony"?
A: Aikido techniques don't have unnatural movements.
For example, if your enemy pulls you, the action you take will not be to resist the pull, but to harmonize with the movement, and lead the attacker to a naturally unbalance position. Aikido always applies a harmonizing technique and that is the reason why Aikido is called "the Martial Art of Harmony".
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Also for reference, this is a ki-society interpretation from their
Ontario site.
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Aikido is a relatively new spiritual martial art that emphasizes the importance of harmony in the world. Aikido is a non aggressive form of self defense. The translation for Aikido is "Ai" meaning harmony, "Ki" meaning energy and "Do" means the way, thus it is the art of harmonizing energy.
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I agree with the changing of Jim Breen's dictionary, simply because it isn't necessary to go any further than referring people to the exact same word in English. Also, I don't disagree with the other definitions ("matching" also sounds okay). Harmony is just one interpretation. I'm mainly concerned about the idea that the interpretation "harmony" is wrong.
I looked up the kanji 合 on
Chuck Muller's CJK Dictionary and came across this definition
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合
Meanings
• To unite, or combine two things. [同一] For two things to become one body. To gather, collect. To harmonize; [和] to fit, to match, to meet. [會] To mix with. [混]
• To marry. [婚]
• A partner, a spouse; the other half of a pair.
• To agree, to accord with.
• A unit of volume= 1/10 of a [升]
• To close, to shut.
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Yoroshiku
Carl