Dojangs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Training halls where students of Korean martial arts such as taekwondo practice their techniques and discipline
2. Studios or gyms set aside for teaching and practicing Korean martial arts under the guidance of instructors
3. Places of instruction in Korean fighting disciplines, where practitioners drill forms, sparring and etiquette

Etymology: "Dojangs" is simply the plural of "dojang," a Korean noun for a training hall where martial arts such as taekwondo are practised. The Korean word 도장 (dojang) combines 道 (do, "way" or "path") with 場 (jang, "place" or "ground"), so it literally means "place of the way." The Chinese characters are the same ones that appear in Japanese "dojo," and the two English words are doublets, meaning they descend from one common source but reached English through different languages. The Japanese form, "dojo," is the more familiar of the pair in English, but the Korean "dojang" entered the vocabulary of martial arts through the same tradition of naming training spaces after the discipline itself. The shared characters explain why the two words look and sound so similar while belonging to separate national languages.

Synonyms: dojo