User blog comment:Njalm2/The Beauty of Zanjutsu/@comment-2089817-20150421232007/@comment-24384232-20150422154238

Im glad to see that our discussion has led to some breakthroughs in understanding Zanjutsu. On a side note, I wanted after reading a comment on another wall, that Hakuda was said to be used interchangeably with Taijutsu, and I thought that there has to be a difference. So to explain my thought process, I looked up the kanji that comprises Hakuda (白打), and not surprisingly it means "White Hits". So to expand on that, I had to think about the name from the creator's standpoint; why specifically white hits? So I looked up the symbolism of the color "white" in japanese culture. For those who don't know, the color of white is associated with "the  element Metal, Autumn, West, and death". To be more specific, white is associated with ghosts.

With that in mind a more literal translation of Hakuda is, "Strikes of the Ghost" or something similar. To some this change in translation might not mean much, but that change in meaning allows for a more... robust consideration with regards to Hakuda. Its not just a martial art, but its also quite literally the means of how a spirit manipulates the physical world, while lacking a physical body. That's pretty big, and could end up inspiring some new takes on how to approach Hakuda. Anyway just wanted to throw that out there, (mostly for you Sei, since you're a fellow martial artist).