Joined: 3/28/2008
Posts: 2
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During tonight's class, in a brief discussion of martial arts history, a question was posed to the group: "Where did the term 'pinion' come from"?
It is a good question. Pinion? What I know about the word 'pinion' is it has to do with bird feathers. When I was a teenager I worked in a pet store, and I clipped a lot of bird feathers. What do feathers have to do with Kenpo?
Nothing, as it turns out. Exercising a bit of Google-fu, I ferreted out the origin of the word 'pinion' as it relates to Kenpo. 'Pinion' is derived from the Japanese term pinan, which is pronounced heian.
The first part of the word, pin, means 'peace', while the second part, an, means 'tranquility' (each part, or kanji, have other meanings as well). Literally translated, 'pinan' means "Peace and Tranquility", but it more often translated as 'peaceful mind'.
So, 'pinion' is from pinan, which is pronounced heian. So where does heian nidan fit into all of this? I will work on understanding it better myself before I try to write it down here.
In the meantime, more reading can be done at practical-martial-arts.co.uk and karate.thepodcastnetwork.com, which includes a podcast on the subject, for those that are interested.
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Joined: 5/10/2008
Posts: 4
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Haha! This is pretty cool. None of us could figure it out. Yay internet!
Knowing the history behind the forms we learn is sweet, but I wonder if the names matter. I was having a discussion with someone a while ago, and he brought up that you should be able to go through your forms with total martial intent, as if you were being attacked (shadowboxing) but your mindset shouldn't be violent; it should be a useful, moving meditation. And maybe thats where the name stems from. Instructor Tess calls it the "zone". Haha.
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Joined: 10/5/2008
Posts: 8
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That is cool.
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