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拳禪一如 is a Japanese phrase that is often translated as “train both body and spirit.”
Here's the breakdown of the words in this phrase:
拳 means fist.
禅 is zen, which means meditation.
一如 is a word that means “to be just like,” “oneness,” “true nature,” or “true character.”
So to get to the translation of “train both body and spirit,” you must understand that “fist” is representing “body” and the idea of meditation is representing “mind.”
I have to say, this is not how I would translate this. To me, it's really about training with your mind and remembering that meditation is a huge part of training, not just your fist. As the Shaolin Buddhist monks show us, meditation is just as important as physical training in martial arts.
This Japanese title can be translated as “for this time only,” “chance meeting,” “one meeting, one opportunity,” “never again,” or “one chance in a lifetime.”
The characters literally mean “one time one meeting” - of course, the Kanji characters have meaning far beyond a direct translation like this.
Some might use this proverb to talk of an opportunity that presents itself just once in your life. It could also be a one-and-only chance meeting with your true soul mate. An expression of any event that might happen once in a lifetime.
This is primarily a Japanese title, however, there is also a Traditional Chinese (and old Korean) version of this proverb. Just the last character is different.
The traditional form was used in Japan before WWII and in Korea prior to 1900. This title is somewhat known in China.
If you want the older traditional form, just click on the character to the right.
一は全、全は一 means “One is all, all is one” in Japanese.
一は全、全は一 is a somewhat well-known modern proverb in Japanese. However, many will associate it with an episode of Fullmetal Alchemist, a popular Japanese anime series.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
In Japanese martial arts, this usually represents the first-degree black belt rank.
It can also be like a linguistic stair step of “more, much more, still more, all the more.” It can also be a step, rung, level, or rank.
Also sometimes used in the context of Buddhism to mean “first step” or “first stage.” This might presume the first step towards enlightenment etc.
吾道一以貫之 is a phrase from the Analects of Confucius that translates as “My Way has one thread that runs through it.”
Other translations include:
My Way is penetrated by a single thread.
There is one single thread binding my Way together.
My Way is run through with a unifying thread.
My Way is Consistent.
And sometimes poetic license is taken, and it is translated as:
My Way is the only one; I'll treasure it and stick to it with humility until the end.
After this was said, some 2500+ years ago, another disciple of Confucius clarified the meaning by stating, “Our master's Way is to be loyal and have a sense of reciprocity.”
In Japanese, this is purported to be romanized as “Waga michi ichi wo motte kore wo tsuranuku,” though some will argue the true pronunciation.
Note: Sometimes written 吾道以一貫之 instead of 吾道一以貫之 with no difference in meaning.
Spirit, Sword & Body as One
气剑体一致 often gets translated as “Mind Sword Body,” or “Spirit, Sword, and Body as One.” But I think these translations don't tell you enough about what this is really saying.
In this context, 気, which is the modern Japanese version of 氣, means spiritual and unseen energy or “life energy.” In some cases, 気 can be translated as spirit, feeling, or nature. If defined as the mind, it's more about the invisible or intangible parts of one's mind (or soul).
剣 is the Japanese version of 劍 meaning sword.
体 is the modern Japanese version of 體 meaning body.
The Kanji 一 means one, and in this case, suggests “all in one.”
The Kanji 到 means to send, deliver, or convey. But together, 一到 suggests all these things in agreement, union cooperation, or in concert.
Note: Arguments exist as to whether this should be romanized as Kikentaiitchi, Kikentaiicchi, or kikentaiichi. Technically, if you drop the last character, you get 気剣体一 and kikentaiichi (ki ken tai ichi), which is also a valid phrase.
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your ken zen ichi nyo search...
| Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
个 see styles |
ka か |
(counter) counter for the ichi-ni-san counting system (usu. directly preceding the item being counted); a noun read using its on-yomi |
個 个 see styles |
gè ge4 ko tsu つ ji ぢ chi ち ko こ ka か |
(classifier used before a noun that has no specific classifier); (bound form) individual (out-dated or obsolete kana usage) (counter) (kana only) counter for the hito-futa-mi counting system (forming hitotsu, futatsu, mitsu, and misoji, yasoji, etc.); (counter) (1) counter for articles; (2) counter for military units; (3) individual; (counter) counter for the ichi-ni-san counting system (usu. directly preceding the item being counted); a noun read using its on-yomi |
壹 see styles |
yī yi1 i ichi いち |
one (banker's anti-fraud numeral) (out-dated kanji) (num,pref) (1) one; (adj-no,suf) (2) best; (can be adjective with の) (3) first; foremost; (4) beginning; start; (5) bottom string (on a shamisen, etc.) |
箇 个 see styles |
gè ge4 ko ko つ |
variant of 個|个[ge4] (out-dated or obsolete kana usage) (counter) (kana only) counter for the hito-futa-mi counting system (forming hitotsu, futatsu, mitsu, and misoji, yasoji, etc.); (counter) (1) counter for articles; (2) counter for military units; (3) individual; (counter) counter for the ichi-ni-san counting system (usu. directly preceding the item being counted); a noun read using its on-yomi Each, every. |
重 see styles |
zhòng zhong4 chung juu / ju じゅう |
heavy; serious; to attach importance to (1) (abbreviation) (See 重箱) jūbako; multi-tiered food box; (prefix noun) (2) heavy; (prefix noun) (3) serious; extreme; (suf,ctr) (4) (counter for layers in the ichi-ni-san counting system) (See 重・え) -fold; -ply; (personal name) Munenori Heavy, weighty, grave, serious; to lay stress upon, regard respectfully; again, double, repeated. |
いち see styles |
ichi イチ |
(female given name) Ichi |
一偈 see styles |
yī jié yi1 jie2 i chieh ichi ge |
a single verse |
一印 see styles |
yī yìn yi1 yin4 i yin ichi'in |
A seal, sign, symbol. |
一尉 see styles |
ichii / ichi いちい |
captain (JSDF) |
一居 see styles |
ichii / ichi いちい |
(surname) Ichii |
一意 see styles |
yī yì yi1 yi4 i i ichii / ichi いちい |
focus; with complete devotion; stubbornly (1) one meaning; one thought; (adverb) (2) (See 一意専心) wholeheartedly; single-mindedly; devotedly; (adj-no,adj-na) (3) {comp} unique; (personal name) Hitoi |
一會 一会 see styles |
yī huì yi1 hui4 i hui ichi e |
a moment; a while; in a moment; also pr. [yi1 hui3] one meeting |
一業 一业 see styles |
yī yè yi1 ye4 i yeh ichi gō |
A karma; a 業困 karma-cause, causative of the next form of existence. |
一異 一异 see styles |
yī yì yi1 yi4 i i ichi-i |
Unity-cum-differentiation; monism and pluralism; one and many; ekatva-anyatva, oneness and otherness. |
一葦 see styles |
ichii / ichi いちい |
(1) one reed; (2) small boat; (3) (rare) one person; (given name) Ichii |
万一 see styles |
manichi(p); banichi(ok); manitsu(ok); banitsu(ok) まんいち(P); ばんいち(ok); まんいつ(ok); ばんいつ(ok) |
(1) (unlikely event of) emergency; the worst(-case scenario); 10000 to 1; (adv,adj-no) (2) (if) by some chance; by some possibility; in the unlikely event that; (given name) Man'ichi |
丹一 see styles |
tanichi たんいち |
(given name) Tan'ichi |
乾一 see styles |
kenichi けんいち |
(given name) Ken'ichi |
于一 see styles |
kanichi かんいち |
(given name) Kan'ichi |
井池 see styles |
ichi いち |
(personal name) Ichi |
亥一 see styles |
iichi / ichi いいち |
(given name) Iichi |
人一 see styles |
rén yī ren2 yi1 jen i jinichi じんいち |
(given name) Jin'ichi oneness of persons |
仁壱 see styles |
jinichi じんいち |
(personal name) Jin'ichi |
仙一 see styles |
senichi せんいち |
(given name) Sen'ichi |
仙壱 see styles |
senichi せんいち |
(personal name) Sen'ichi |
仙市 see styles |
senichi せんいち |
(given name) Sen'ichi |
仟一 see styles |
senichi せんいち |
(given name) Sen'ichi |
以一 see styles |
yǐ yī yi3 yi1 i i i ichi |
by means of one |
任市 see styles |
jinichi じんいち |
(given name) Jin'ichi |
伊市 see styles |
iichi / ichi いいち |
(given name) Iichi |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
| Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
| Ken Zen Ichi Nyo | 拳禪一如 拳禅一如 | ken zen ichi nyo kenzenichinyo | ||
| Once in a Lifetime | 一期一會 一期一会 | ichigo ichie ichigoichie | yī qī yī huì yi1 qi1 yi1 hui4 yi qi yi hui yiqiyihui | i ch`i i hui ichiihui i chi i hui |
| Niten Ichi Ryu | 二天一龍 二天 一流 | ni ten ichi ryuu nitenichiryuu ni ten ichi ryu | ||
| Ichi wa Zen, Zen wa Ichi | 一は全、全は一 | ichi wa zen zen wa ichi ichiwazenzenwaichi | ||
| Ichi-Dan First Degree | 一段 | ichi dan / ichidan | yī duàn / yi1 duan4 / yi duan / yiduan | i tuan / ituan |
| There is one single thread binding my Way together | 吾道一以貫之 吾道一以贯之 | ware dou tsurayuki waredoutsurayuki ware do tsurayuki | wú dào yī yǐ guàn zhī wu2 dao4 yi1 yi3 guan4 zhi1 wu dao yi yi guan zhi wudaoyiyiguanzhi | wu tao i i kuan chih wutaoiikuanchih |
| Energy Sword Body in Concert | 気剣体一致 / 氣劍體一致 气剑体一致 | ki ken tai icchi kikentaiicchi ki ken tai ichi | ||
| In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. | ||||
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Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
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