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5. American
7. American Soldier / American Serviceman
8. Kenpo / Kempo / Quan Fa / Chuan Fa
9. Kempo Karate / Law of the Fist Empty Hand
10. Law of the Fist Karate / Kempo Karate
11. North American Opossum / Possum
13. Nippon Kempo
アメリカン拳法 is the most common name for American Kenpo or American Kempo in Japanese.
You may also see this as アメリカ拳法 (dropping the “ン” or “N” sound from American) or 米国拳法 (uses the older Japanese name for America as “Rice Country” along with Kenpō).
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Katakana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
アメフト is a short word that means “American football” in Japanese.
It is supposed to sound like an abbreviated version, “ame futo” which sounds like “ah-may foot-oh” (American Football).
There's not a great standard way to say “football” in Japanese, as the sport is not popular in Japan. Other Japanese terms for football can be confused with soccer or rugby.
Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
See Also: Soccer
アメリカンフットボール is the full/long title for “American football” in Japanese Katakana.
It is “Amerikan Futtoboru” which is supposed to sound like “American Football.”
Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Katakana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
See Also: Soccer
美式橄欖球 is the Chinese title for “American football” (not to be confused with international football known as soccer in the USA).
If you are a player or fan of American football, this will make a great wall scroll for your home.
The first two characters mean “American style.”
The last three characters mean football or rugby (a game involving an oblong or ovoid ball).
The “American” adjective is needed in this title to differentiate between Canadian football, Australian rules football, and rugby.
See Also: Soccer
Person from the USA
This is the Chinese name for the territory of American Samoa (formerly known as Eastern Samoa).
This should not be confused with Independent Somoa which is to the west.
If you want just a general “Samoa” title, just use the plain “Samoa” entry, as it does not actually designate western, eastern, American, or independent.
See Also: Oceania
拳法 is a form of martial arts that can be translated in several ways.
Some will call it “fist principles,” “the way of the fist,” or even “law of the fist.” The first character literally means fist. The second can mean law, method, way, principle, or Buddhist teaching.
Kempo is really a potluck of martial arts. Often a combination of Chinese martial arts such as Shaolin Kung Fu with Japanese martial arts such as Karate, Jujutsu (Jujitsu), Aikido, and others. You may see the term “Kempo Karate,” which basically means Karate with other disciplines added. In this way, Kempo becomes an adjective rather than a title or school of martial arts.
These facts will long be argued by various masters and students of Kempo. Even the argument as to whether it should be spelled “kenpo” or “Kempo” ensues at dojos around the world (the correct Romaji should actually be “kenpou” if you precisely follow the rules).
The benefit of Kempo is that the techniques are easier to learn and master than pure Kung Fu (wu shu). Students are often taught basic Karate moves, kicks, and punches before augmenting the basic skills with complex Kung Fu techniques. This allows students of Kempo to achieve a level where they can defend themselves or fight in a relatively short amount of time (a few years rather than a decade or more).
Because the definition of this word is so fluid, I should make some notes here:
1. Purists in Okinawa will claim that “Okinawa Kenpo” or “Ryukyu Hon Kenpo” is the original and true version of this martial art from the old kingdom. It is actually little or no connection between Okinawa Kenpo and the way the word is used elsewhere.
2. In Chinese, where these characters are pronounced “quan fa” (sometimes Romanized as “chuan fa” because the Chinese-pinyin “q” actually sounds like an English “ch” sound), these characters do not hold the connotation of being a mixed martial art. It is simply defined as “the law of the fist.”
3. My Japanese dictionary oddly defines Kenpo as the “Chinese art of self-defense.” I personally don't feel this is the most common way that people perceive the word but just something you should know.
空手拳法 is the Kanji title for Kempo Karate.
The first two characters mean “karate” - technically they express “empty hand.”
The last two express “fist law” which is Romanized from Japanese as “Kenpo” or “Kempo.”
That “empty hand” translation can be understood better when you grasp the idea that karate is a martial art without weapons (other than the weapons organic to your body, such as your foot, hand, fist, etc). When you practice karate, you do so with empty hands (no weapons).
Note: There is also an antiquated way to write karate. It has the same pronunciation but a different first character which means “Tang” as in the Tang Dynasty. Some dojos use that form - let us know if you need that alternate form, and we'll add it.
The first two characters mean “fist law” which is Romanized from Japanese as “Kenpo” or “Kempo.”
The last two are a secondary way to express “karate.”
Notes:
The more common way to express “karate” is literally “empty hand” (meaning “without weapons in your hand”). This version would be translated literally as “Tang hand” (as in the Tang Dynasty) or “China hand” (sometimes “Tang” means “China” in Japanese). Even though the character for “Tang” is used instead of “empty,” it's still pronounced “kara-te” in Japanese.
拳法唐手 is not commonly used in China - so please consider it to be a Japanese-only title.
Many Japanese people will say the last two Kanji are the old and antiquated way of saying Karate. This fact does not stop this title from existing, as these four characters are often seen in Kenpo / Kempo Dojos around the western world.
北美負鼠 is the full title for North American Opossum (aphesis spelling: Possum). The first two characters mean “North American” as an adjective. The third character means “carries” and refers to the marsupial pouch. The last character means “rat.” You could say the literal translation is “marsupial rat.”
Chinese opossums vary from the North American variety. If you were to use the last two characters alone, it may suggest the species native to China.
See Also: Year of the Rat
印第安 is the Chinese title for (American) Indian or Native American.
For disambiguation, this refers only to the indigenous people of North America.
印第安 is a transliteration, so it is meant to sound like the English word “Indian” using Chinese sounds.
This is not a common selection for a calligraphy wall scroll.
少林寺拳法 is a specific type of martial art in Japan that claims origins in the Kung Fu practiced in the original Shaolin Monastery of China.
The first three characters mean “Shaolin Monastery,” and you might notice the Japanese is pronounced in a very similar way. The reason is, many words were “borrowed” from the original Chinese when Japan did not have a written language and simply absorbed Chinese characters into their language around the 5th century. When a Japanese word did not exist, the Chinese pronunciation was often absorbed as well as the written form.
The last two characters mean “fist law” or “method of the fist.” It has long been argued as to whether the Japanese for these characters should be Romanized as “kempo” or “kenpo.” The official method should be “kenpou” but it's common to drop the “u” that comes after the “o.”
I imagine if you are looking for this title, you already know what it means, so the above is simply extra information that a student of Shorinji Kempo might want to know.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
American Kenpo | アメリカン拳法 | amerikan kenpou amerikankenpou amerikan kenpo | ||
American Football | アメフト | ame futou / amefutou / ame futo | ||
American Football | アメリカンフットボール | a me ri kan fu tto bo ru amerikanfuttoboru | ||
Okinawa Kenpo | 沖縄拳法 | okinawa kenpou okinawakenpou okinawa kenpo | ||
American Football | 美式橄欖球 美式橄榄球 | měi shì gǎn lǎn qiú mei3 shi4 gan3 lan3 qiu2 mei shi gan lan qiu meishiganlanqiu | mei shih kan lan ch`iu meishihkanlanchiu mei shih kan lan chiu |
|
American | 美國人 美国人 | méi guó rén mei2 guo2 ren2 mei guo ren meiguoren | mei kuo jen meikuojen |
|
American Samoa | 美屬薩摩亞 美属萨摩亚 | měi shǔ sà mó yà mei3 shu3 sa4 mo2 ya4 mei shu sa mo ya meishusamoya | ||
American Soldier American Serviceman | 美國軍人 美国军人 | méi guó jūn rén mei2 guo2 jun1 ren2 mei guo jun ren meiguojunren | mei kuo chün jen meikuochünjen |
|
Kenpo Kempo Quan Fa Chuan Fa | 拳法 | kenpou / kenpo | quán fǎ / quan2 fa3 / quan fa / quanfa | ch`üan fa / chüanfa / chüan fa |
Kempo Karate Law of the Fist Empty Hand | 空手拳法 | kara te ken pou karatekenpou kara te ken po | kōng shǒu quán fǎ kong1 shou3 quan2 fa3 kong shou quan fa kongshouquanfa | k`ung shou ch`üan fa kungshouchüanfa kung shou chüan fa |
Law of the Fist Karate Kempo Karate | 拳法唐手 | ken pou kara te kenpoukarate ken po kara te | quán fǎ táng shǒu quan2 fa3 tang2 shou3 quan fa tang shou quanfatangshou | ch`üan fa t`ang shou chüanfatangshou chüan fa tang shou |
North American Opossum Possum | 北美負鼠 北美负鼠 | běi měi fù shǔ bei3 mei3 fu4 shu3 bei mei fu shu beimeifushu | pei mei fu shu peimeifushu |
|
Native American Indian | 印第安 | yìn dì ān yin4 di4 an1 yin di an yindian | yin ti an yintian |
|
Nippon Kempo | 日本拳法 | nippon kenpou / nihon kenpou nipon kenpo / nihon kenpo | ||
Shorinji Kempo Kenpo | 少林寺拳法 | shourinji kenpou shourinjikenpou shorinji kenpo | shào lín sì quán fǎ shao4 lin2 si4 quan2 fa3 shao lin si quan fa shaolinsiquanfa | shao lin ssu ch`üan fa shaolinssuchüanfa shao lin ssu chüan fa |
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. |
All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
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.
Some people may refer to this entry as American Kenpo Kanji, American Kenpo Characters, American Kenpo in Mandarin Chinese, American Kenpo Characters, American Kenpo in Chinese Writing, American Kenpo in Japanese Writing, American Kenpo in Asian Writing, American Kenpo Ideograms, Chinese American Kenpo symbols, American Kenpo Hieroglyphics, American Kenpo Glyphs, American Kenpo in Chinese Letters, American Kenpo Hanzi, American Kenpo in Japanese Kanji, American Kenpo Pictograms, American Kenpo in the Chinese Written-Language, or American Kenpo in the Japanese Written-Language.