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yamatodamashii
25th September 2002, 00:47
I have a friend who's interested in Katori Shinto ryu. He's trying to find the correct translation of a specific technique; I got it all except the word "chidori" (he only had the Romaji). Isn't that like a cross-step?

Thanks!

ghp
25th September 2002, 01:00
Well, probably nothing to do with kenjutsu, but "chidori" is a Japanese bird. Maybe the kenjutsu stepping motion is similar to a chidori's?

Guy

Soulend
25th September 2002, 01:35
One can often replicate chidori-ashi with the help of generous quantities of scotch.

Guy LeSieur
25th September 2002, 01:48
Bonjour M. Diederich,

I suspect that your friend is trying to decipher the meaning of the iaijutsu kata "Zen Go Chidori no Tachi" and "Yukiai Migi Chidori no Tachi" of the Katori Shinto Ryu. "Chidori" means, according to Kodansha's Japanese dictionary "plover", perhaps referring a way walking as suggested by Soulend and Guy.

ghp
26th September 2002, 00:47
Guy#2,
perhaps referring a way walking as suggested by Soulend and Guy. Great! Now we have the "Drunken Plover" style!! :D

Regards (and a bit of a laugh :laugh: ),
Guy#1

pgsmith
26th September 2002, 00:58
But, I think the real question is did classical Plovers walk by swinging the same side or the opposite side wing before westerners came to Japan? (I just couldn't help myself!)

Cheers,

hyaku
26th September 2002, 05:30
A lot of Japanese women walk like that anyway!

Hyakutake Colin

Soulend
26th September 2002, 06:03
Well, as you all probably know, "chidori-ashi" used to be a common Japanese euphemism for 'very drunk', since they (the plover, not neccesarily the Japanese) walk so erratically along the seashore, avoiding getting their feet wet with the incoming surf.

As such, it is interesting to me that the plover appears in the names of some kata.

O.K., back to watching Jackie Chan ;)


Best Regards,

Jeff Hamacher
26th September 2002, 06:55
Originally posted by yamatodamashii
>> Isn't that like a cross-step? <<

chidori-ashi is used, at least in some arts, to mean "cross-step". the difficulty, of course, is finding out precisely what chidori means to practitioners of TSKSR. and names of kata in koryu arts are often nebulous-at-best references to the content of the techniques. best of luck to your friend with his translating.

and as to Paul's pressing question of western influences, what kind of effect do you suppose the african plover might have had? i mean, especially since european plovers simply aren't large or strong enough to carry coconuts all the way to south-east asia so that mounted samurai could make appropriate horse hoof noises ...:D

yamatodamashii
26th September 2002, 20:59
Originally posted by Jeff Hamacher
Originally posted by yamatodamashii
>> Isn't that like a cross-step? <<

the difficulty, of course, is finding out precisely what [i]chidori means to practitioners of TSKSR.

Exactly so! Does anyone know any usernames? I think some have posted here before... I really do appreciate the input, but I've already got a Japanese dictionary. Unfortunately, "plover" is not a commonly used word here in land-locked Missouri!

Ron Tisdale
27th September 2002, 16:21
Originally posted by yamatodamashii

Snip...
Unfortunately, "plover" is not a commonly used word here in land-locked Missouri!

Show me...:)
RT