Quote:
Oisin Bourke wrote:
"Can't fight well." Since when was budo training about producing "fighters"? Anyone with a brain can see that there are better methods if you want to kick other people's asses. The Japanese and Chinese worked out that training just for ass kicking is juvenile years ago. "budo" doesn't even mean "martial art"!
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I'm not fluent in Japanese, but my references for the language certainly translate it that way.
武 -- BU -- of or pertaining to military matters
道 -- DO -- way, art, way of life
武道 -- budo -- martial way, martial art
What translation for budo would you prefer?
Whether a martial art/budo is only, or even primarily, about "kicking asses" is a valid question, of course. But it seems to me that if a field of study claims to be a budo, then asking about the martial effectiveness of either the art or an individual practitioner is completely legit.
Katherine