Lip Waza

originally posted 11/07/01

Brought to you by the Chicken Step Lady. I seized on this one partially because I like the word "waza." Say it a few times to yourself and you'll see why.

"Lip waza" (or "lip gong") is a made-up term used in some martial arts circles to describe exercising the mouth rather than the body — in other words, chatting, not practicing. To say that someone has good lip waza is to say that he or she has the gift of gab, which can be both good and bad. Sometimes you learn something new and interesting, and a bit of discussion is in order. Other times, however, you encounter someone who's simply talking and can't shut up, and it gets in the way of what you're there to do.

Anyone who has ever attended a meeting or lecture where the speaker keeps going long after the point has been made has encountered lip waza. Same goes for Q&A sessions where the person asking the question feels it necessary to reveal his or her entire life's story before finally asking the question. Or conversations where people talk because the alternative is silence. Or e-mails where the writer apparently has kept typing because the blue words look so pretty on the white screen.

So I leave you with the words of Mark Twain (I think): "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

And the Tao Te Ching: "Those who speak do not know; those who know do not speak."

And Shakespeare's Polonius: "Brevity is the soul of wit."

And . . .

Lip Waza Tour Poster