As I noted earlier and in fact already back in 2005, the honorific term for tī 手 (ティー) in the Okinawan language was ‘nchi ンチ.
Now, usually the syllables of Naihanchi have always and unanimously been considered to be Nai|han|chi.
But what if it is Nai|ha|‘nchi?
It so might be a corruption of the Chinese
- Nèifǎ 内法 meaning as much as “inside method”
plus
- nchi ンチ (手) meaning “(martial) skill”.
‘nchi means tī 手. Listen to it.
In any case, while it is impossible to prove this right, it is also impossible to prove this wrong. However, as long as it cannot be proven wrong, logic says it is also impossible to prove any other option to be solely right.
Prove it wrong if you can.
‘nchi: honorific term for tī 手 (ティー). Dictionary of Okinawan Language, Ryukyu University.
© 2017, Andreas Quast. All rights reserved.