Poll: How do you say "Ninja Star"

[CheesusCrust]

I say shuriken but ninja star doesn't bother me.

KENNY! USE YOUR NINJA STAR!

Yeah! Try this Professor Chaos
FEEL MY WRATH!

 

[NeedAUserName]

"Nin-ja St-are" Just how it looks.

Well considering half the people you talk to won't know what a shuriken is anyway, I'd just say ninja star. Theres no point using unnecessary techno-babble.

 

[Agayek]

It kinda bugs me when people do stuff like that. I can't really say why, but whenever someone refers to anything with a colloquialism, it bothers me. Especially when I know perfectly well that they do in fact know the proper name.

My best guess is that the deliberate imprecision is what bugs me, but I really can't say for sure.

 

[GundamSentinel]

My life would probably be a quite a bit less happy if I were to start worrying about that kind of thing. No, it doesn't bother me in the slightest.

 

[Jonluw]

Nah, doesn't bother me much when people call shuriken ninja stars.
It used to bother me when people called Japanese swords samurai swords instead of katanas though...
Then I learned that the Japanese word 'katana' actually just means sword. A Japanese person would probably use the word 'katana' to refer to any single-edged sword, Japanese or otherwise. A samurai sword, on the other hand, they would probably refer to as an Uchigatana.

 

[RuralGamer]

Samurai Sword is a ridiculous generalisation; there are many types of 'samurai swords'; Shinken, Nodachi, Ōdachi, Chokutō, Katana, Shin guntō, Tachi, Tsurugi, Uchigatana, Kodachi, Wakizashi, Zanbatō, Tantō and Yoroi tōshi

(Just to make it clear, I copied the names for Wikipedia, because I can't spell and have no idea of how to do those 'o's with the line above them.)

Its like calling the capital of Thailand Bangkok (which it isn't called) or saying that every weapon that looks like a Kalashnikov-pattern rifle and AK-47; sure some may be based on the AK-47, but they are unique!

And no, I don't call then ninja stars; shuriken sounds cool so I stick with that.

 

[Sovvolf]

Not really, its ignorant sure but well... If they don't have much knowledge on the weapons other than what has been heard from pop culture osmosis, then I don't expect them to know the official names. However it does annoy me when someone who is supposed to be an experienced martial artist in that field uses the wrong terminology or if I hear the wrong terms used on a martial art documentary where they shouldn't have any excuse for their ignorance.

 

[Jonluw]

OMG! Ninja nazis! Everybody run!

[sub]Yeah, I know the swastika has oriental roots far older than the nazi-use. It's just a joke.[/sub]

 

[Senaro]

I say it like "nin-jah s-tar." How else would you say it?

 

[Hessmn212]

I don't really care what people call them. I my mind both of them are right.

 

[Hessmn212]

I don't really care what people call them. I my mind both of them are right.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

I say it with a French accent. I don't know why.

 

[Geekosaurus]

I'm more annoyed when people call magazines clips.

 

[GeorgW]

Well, they're not wrong, but they're still not right, and that makes them HORRIBLE PEOPLE!! So, yeah, maybe it bothers me a little...
Also, it humours me that some people here obviously didn't read the OP, only the title. For shame!

OMG! Ninja nazis! Everybody run!

[sub]Yeah, I know the swastika has oriental roots far older than the nazi-use. It's just a joke.[/sub]

Damn ninjas! (see what I did thar?)

 

[kickyourass]

While I do hate it when people don't know that they're actually called shurikens, it makes sense to call it a ninja star or a throwing star. I mean they ARE usually depicted as star shaped and are thrown, mostly by Ninjas, so I don't really see it as something to get irritated at.

 

[Undercover]

The term "Shuriken" literally translated means "Hand Hidden Blade" & can mean anything from a "Throwing Star" to a simple needle. I only know this because I was 13 once, too.

Most westerners don't know and more to the point don't care what the proper names for any of this stuff are.

Why anyone would take offense at someone else's ingnorance over something as trivial as "Shuriken" vs. "Ninja Star" or "Katana" vs "Samurai Sword" or "Ninjato" says more about the complainer than it does the complainee.

In other words, get over yourselves. There's more important things in life than having to be right all the time. Stop being such Wapanese [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wapanese] douchebags and go talk to a girl.

 

[Jamash]

I would probably call them "Throwing Stars", since not all star shaped pieces of metal are used by Ninja and not all Shuriken are star shaped.

However, if a Ninja dropped down from a tree in front of me, then threw a star shaped piece of metal into my chest, I dare say I would be perfectly within my rights to think "Holy Fuck! I've just been hit with a Ninja Star"... before whipping out my Akimbo COD Deagles and going all Master Chief on my pyjama clad assailant.

P.S. I believe the proper term for "brain-dead jocks" is academically challenged athletes.

 

[shadyh8er]

I only call them by their "proper" names because "ninja star" just sounds stupid and "samurai sword" makes me tongue-tied.

 

[HandsomeJack]

Samurai sword is appropriot for Katana because for a long time only they were allowed to ude them and "Katana" does not have any meaning beyond being the proper name of the curved sword the samurai wielded.

Ninja star, however, is kinda silly. The origionaly term for what we call Ninja so generically was Shinobi ("Stealer-in"), and ther Shuriken ("Hand-hidden sword") was named for them. Shuriken came in all shapes and sizes, originally most like the kunai (which is just a specific type of shuriken), so its small, sword-like shape is where the name derrives. "Ninja Stars" are what most people think of, but are merely one kind (actually called "hira," meaning "flat" shuriken since that was how they were concealed on the body). Look up all the cool kinds!

What annoys me more than people missnaming them is that people seem to think they were deadly...they were never meant to be. They were meant to distract/annoy/impair people, usually to aid in escape or to gain enough of an edge to get a cheap kill in with a better weapon. Sure they COULD kill someone with excessive effort (Very precise shot with a lot of heft behind the throw, which would be too easily telegraphed)...the same could be said for gardening sheers but noone is going to rely on those if they can get away with something better either.

I love ancient weapons and could go on for pages...but I am shutting up now.