tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jan 09 13:00:55 2006

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Re: Klingon WOTD: tonSaw' (noun)

Steven Boozer ([email protected])



>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Saturday, January 7, 2006.
>
>Klingon word:   tonSaw'
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition:     fighting technique

Never used in a Klingon sentence.

Okrand discusses the martial arts:

   It should be pointed out that the vocabulary associated with
   rituals, martial arts, literature, opera, and the like, though
   some of it may be genuinely archaic, is not considered {mu'mey
   Doy'} ("tired words").  [KGT 35]

   Traditional Klingon music is generally performed only by those
   who have had a great deal of training. The study of this type
   of music, whether composition or performance, is considered a
   discipline not unlike a martial art.  [KGT 72]

   For example, the Klingon verb {mI'} may be translated "dance,"
   but it also means "exercise, do calisthenics, do martial arts
   movements." The central idea of {mI'} is that a physical activity
   is performed that results in no change, other than, perhaps, in
   the well-being of the person performing the action.  [KGT 207]

   The "finger verbs" are used when talking about specific ways
   of using a particular device ... or when describing specific
   ways to use fingers (as in movements in some martial arts).
   (HQ 10.2:8)

   The verbs {nan} "use the fourth toe" and {nan} "gouge" are
   probably etymologically related, since {nan} is used to refer
   to a particularly effective martial arts kick.  (HQ 10.2:11)

   The verb {lol} is also used frequently when talking about
   martial arts. In fact, there is a noun {lol} that refers to
   a specific position in the martial arts form Mok'bara.
   (HQ 11.2)]

Does anyone know whether {tonSaw'} is a general term for martial arts 
hand-to-hand fighting, or is it a name for a particular style, like 
{moQbara'} Mok'bara.  (Worf taught classes in Mok'bara aboard the 
Enterprise-D ("Birthright II", et al.).



--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons






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