The martial art I practice is Tang Soo Do, and there are many other martial arts that have the same “Do” word: Ken-Do, Ju-Do, Kobu-Do, Hapki-Do, Taekwon-Do, Jeet Kune Do, etc. In most (if not all) of the translations, the word “Do” is translated as “The Way”. In Daoism, “Dao” is the Chinese equivalent of “Do”, and is meant to be the belief in “The Way”. But have you ever considered where this word came from? How did such a simple sound become so prominent in not only martial arts, but in philosophical beliefs?
The hanja (or kanji), which means the chinese character used for “Do”, is 道. If that just looks like a bunch of chicken scratches, don’t worry; I had the same thought when I first started learning Chinese characters in Japanese Saturday School. Many of the more complicated Chinese characters have what’s called a radical that provides a clue as to the meaning of the character. In the case of “Do”, the radical is the “辶” portion of the character. What does this character, which looks like a disfigured letter L, even mean? This character comes from 辵 which means “to walk”. This implies movement or direction and provides a clue to the definition of the combined character.
Now for the other character, 首. This character means “neck” but can also mean to encompass the entire head. This character provides the phonetic component of the character “Do”, and without having seen this word before, you can intuit the meaning and how it would be pronounced. Now with the two combined, you can see that the “Do” (道) is the “direction” (辶) in which your “head” (首) is facing. It is simple and profound; if you are constantly turning your head, i.e. getting distracted, being non-committal, or easily swayed, then your path will become arduous and confusing. If you keep your focus on a single goal, your path will be (relatively) less winding and more straightforward.
Digging deeper into the meaning of “Do”, there is a morbid etymology to the formation of the character. According to Shiragawa Shizuka and other prominent sinologists, the “Do” that is indicated is consecrated or warded by planting/staking the head of enemies along the path which will prevent the evil influence of spirits or other malicious effects to interfere. While this may not have much relevance in today’s culture, the importance of keeping one’s path (Do) clear and free of obstructions is a common thread.
So in summary: set your goal, keep your sights on your goal, and clear the path of anything that might distract you from said goal. Happy traveling!
References
Shiragawa, Shizuka Jitou (字統) 2017
