Identify some Budo terms.

[MuMuLi]

I am having problems Id-ing the term "Tameshiai". Last time I heard of this word was used to describe a "Kendo match" where only full strokes count as points- no jerky snapping attacking. Anyone else familiar with this term?

[Brian Owens]

Well, I've heard of shiai (match) and tameshigiri (test cutting), but I've never heard of "tameshiai." I don't do Kendo, though, so that doesn't mean it isn't a legitimate term.

[gendzwil]

Sounds bogus to me.

[Steve Delaney]

Both terms shiai and tameshiai are interchangeable in some forms of budo and share the same kanji, it's just the difference in pronunciation -
(試合・ためしあい - Tameshiai) and (試合・しあい - Shiai)

[Brian Owens]

Both terms shiai and tameshiai are interchangeable in some forms of budo and share the same kanji, it's just the difference in pronunciation -
(試合・ためしあい - Tameshiai) and (試合・しあい - Shiai)
My kanji dictionary shows shi and tame(su) as readings for 試 , but not tameshi.

It's not an exhaustive dictionary, though.


I show the related tameshigiri rendered as 試し斬り in Obata Sensei's Crimson Steel.

Wouldn't tameshiai then be 試し合？

(And, uh, should this line of thought be in the Language, rather than the Sword Arts forum?)

[Eric Spinelli]

My kanji dictionary shows shi and tame(su) as readings for 試 , but not tameshi.

It's not an exhaustive dictionary, though.


I show the related tameshigiri rendered as 試し斬り in Obata Sensei's Crimson Steel.

Wouldn't tameshiai then be 試し合？

(And, uh, should this line of thought be in the Language, rather than the Sword Arts forum?)

When using the 連用形 (renyoukei, ~い stem) to conjoin verbs to other verbs, adjectives, and nouns, it is quite common to drop the okurigana. [Kamermans, An Introduction to Japanese Syntax, Grammar, and Language, 2005]

And keep in mind that a lot of budo terms contain irregularities. For example, 後 instead of 後ろ (Ushiro, ZKNR　and MJER) and 受流 instead of 受け流し (Ukenagashi, ZKNR and MJER) [Baba, Iaido-Traditional Japanese Budo, 2002; Kemp & Morrison, Iaido - Seiza no bu, 1999]. Ukenagashi doesn't appear in WWWJDIC in any form and the use of a lone kanji for Ushiro is listed as irregular okurigana usage, with standard readings of あと (ato) or のち (nochi) [Breen, WWWJDIC Monash].

Sincerely,