Jargon-Jitsu

I'm not a big fan of jargon. That's the stuff that certain professions or groups use instead of ordinary English.

Sometimes, there is no way around creating and using an activity-specific vocabulary, but often it works against clarity.

Let me give you a Jiu-Jitsu example.

Let's say the instructors want some of us to act in a certain way for a particular drill. Let's say they want us to be an untrained attacker, and to do so with low intensity.

Do they say, “attack as if you are an untrained person, and do so with low intensity?” Don't be silly.

They have made codes for the different kinds of attackers, and for the different intensities. With this in mind, you'd think they'd say, “be a level-one attacker, and do so with level one intensity.”

They don't, because they can't. Even in a class that consists of mostly long-time students, there are always new people around, and visitors.

So that everybody can understand, they always have to say, “be a level-one attacker. A level-one attacker is an untrained opponent. Attack with level-one intensity. Level-one intensity is a low intensity attack.”

Does it seem that using number codes for types of attackers and for levels of intensity makes sense? It doesn't to me.

It is also confusing. They use numbers for far too many things, that always need explanation every time they are used.

They also use numbers from one-to-ten regarding how hard punches hit. They then always describe how the number scale works. Why not just call punches, “light enough to not matter,” or “dangerous?”

Could we have a level-one attacker, with level-three intensity, throwing level-five and above punches?

If we did, it would be immediately followed by a paragraph long explanation of what a level-one attacker is, and what level-three intensity is, and what level-five punches are.