Terminology
Part of the fun of learning karate is learning about a new language. The following terms are introduced gradually as you progress through different training levels.
Counting
| ichi |
one |
| ni |
two |
| san |
three |
| shi (yon) |
four |
| go |
five |
| roku |
six |
| shichi (nana) |
seven |
| hachi |
eight |
| ku |
nine |
| ju |
ten |
General Vocabulary
| jodan |
upper area |
| chudan |
middle area |
| gedan |
lower area |
| hajime |
begin |
| yame |
stop |
| kime |
focus |
| rei |
bow |
| yoi |
ready |
| hidari |
left |
| migi |
right |
| ushiro |
back |
| tanden (dantien) |
a point in the lower abdomen |
| kokyu donto |
respiration |
| karate |
empty hand |
| karate ka |
one who practices karate; karate student |
| goju |
hard soft |
| ryu |
style |
| shomen |
front wall of the dojo |
| shugo |
line up |
| seiza |
seated kneeling position |
| mokuso |
meditation |
| shomen ni rei |
bow to front wall |
| sensei ni rei |
bow to sensei |
| do |
way |
| sensei |
teacher (one who leads the way) |
| sempai |
senior student |
| dai |
great |
| gi |
karate uniform |
| obi |
belt |
| dojo |
training hall; school; (way place) |
| kiotsuke |
attention |
| kyu ranks |
below black belt |
| dan black |
belt ranks |
| ippon one |
(strike, point, etc) |
| waza |
technique |
| onegai shimasu |
please teach me |
| domo arigato gozaimashita |
thank you very much |
| kiai |
spirit yell |
| kumite |
fighting |
| seiken |
fist |
| ashi |
foot |
| te |
hand |
| bunkai |
application |
| kime |
focus |
| goshin jutsu |
self defense techniques |
| kamae |
on guard |
| tori |
attacker |
| uke |
blocker/defender |
| mae |
forward |
| yoko |
side |
| tate |
upward |
| hojo-undo |
supplementary training |
| junbi-undo |
preliminary exercises (warm-up) |
| makiwara |
punching board (literally a type of straw) |
| chishi |
strength stone |
| nigiri-game |
clay jars |
| ishisashi |
stone padlock (dumbbells) |
| tan |
length of wood (similar to modern barbell) |
| kongoken |
training tool (95 + pounds) |
| makiagi-gu |
wrist roll |
| jari-bako |
buckets of sand, rice, beans |
| kotekitae |
exercises performed against a partner |
| kakie |
sensitivity drill (2 man) |
Stances
| dachi |
stance |
| heisoku dachi |
closed foot stance (feet together) |
| musubi dachi |
formal attention stance (heels together, feet at an angle)
|
| heiko dachi |
parallel stance (feet shoulder width apart) |
| hachiji dachi |
natural stance (feet shoulder width, toes slightly pointed out) |
| shiko dachi |
sumo stance |
| kiba dachi |
horse stance |
| sanchin dachi |
three battles stance |
| zenkutsu dachi |
forward stance |
| han zenkutsu dachi |
half forward stance |
| neko ashi dachi |
cat foot stance |
| renoji dachi |
walking stance |
Hand Techniques
| zuki |
punch |
| seiken zuki |
two knuckle punch |
| age zuki |
upper cut punch |
| kage zuki |
hook punch |
| yama zuki |
mountain punch |
| heiko zuki |
parallel punch |
| uchi |
strike |
| soku zuki |
undercut |
| uraken uchi |
backfist |
| shuto uchi |
sword hand strike |
| yoko shuto uchi |
side sword hand strike |
| age hiji ate |
rising elbow strike |
| heito uchi |
ridge hand strike |
| hiji uchi (empi) |
elbow strike |
| tettsui uchi |
bottom fist strike |
| nukite zuki |
finger thrust |
| hira nukite zuki |
horizontal finger thrust |
| shotei zuki |
palm heel thrust |
| furi zuki |
circular swing punch |
| mawashi zuki |
round hook punch |
| tate zuki |
vertical fist punch |
| kizami zuki |
leading jab punch |
| oi zuki |
lunge punch |
| gyaku zuki |
reverse punch |
| nihon zuki |
double punch |
| sanbon zuki |
triple punch |
| sun zuki |
one inch punch |
| jun zuki |
leading punch |
| morote zuki |
two fisted punch |
| tsukami hiki |
grab pull |
| ashi dori |
leg takedown |
| nage waza |
throwing technique |
Foot Techniques
| geri |
kick |
| mae geri (keage) |
front snap kick |
| mae geri (kekomi) |
front thrust kick |
| kensetsu geri |
side knee joint kick |
| hiza geri |
knee kick |
| nidan geri |
double front snap kick (rear leg first) |
| ren geri |
double front snap kick (front leg first) |
| ashi barai |
foot sweep |
| tobi geri |
jumping kick |
| furi geri |
swing kick |
| kakato otoshi |
heel drop |
| mae fumikomi geri |
front stomp kick |
| kosa fumikomi geri |
cross stomp kick |
Blocking Techniques
| uke |
block |
| jodan uke |
rising block |
| chudan uke |
inside circular block |
| shotei harai uke |
palm heel sweeping block |
| shotei otoshi uke |
palm heel descending block |
| hojo uke |
augmented block |
| hari uke |
bow and arrow block |
| kuri uke |
circular elbow block |
| kosa uke |
cross block |
| kake uke |
hook block |
| shotei osae |
palm heel press |
| gedan uke |
downward block |
| hiki uke |
grasping block |
| shuto uke |
sword hand block |
| shotei uke |
palm heel block |
| ko uke |
wrist block |
| hiji uke |
elbow block |
| hiza uke |
knee block |
| mawashi uke |
round house block |
| soto uke |
inside forearm block |
| morote uke |
double handed block |
| tora guchi |
tiger mouth (block and strike) |
Practice Fighting
| kumite |
sparring |
| sandan gi |
basic sparring adapted from Geikisai kata |
| sanbon kumite |
three step sparring (3 jodan, 3 chudan, 3 gedan) |
| ippon kumite |
one point sparring where one blocks an attack and then counters |
| sandan kumite |
three step, three level sparring (1 jodan, 1 chudan, 1 gedan) |
| sanbon zuki kumite |
three step sparring blocking with one hand against a triple punch |
| kihon ippon kumite |
basic one step sparring |
| jiyu ippon kumite |
one step free sparring from stance |
| randori |
slow and soft free style with emphasis on technique |
| jiyu kumite |
hard and fast controlled free style fighting |
Parts of the Foot
| josokutei |
ball of the foot |
| sokuto |
edge of foot |
| kakato |
heel |
| haisoku |
instep |
| tsumasaki |
tip of the toes |
Foot Movements
| suri ashi |
sliding step |
| tsugi ashi |
shuffling step |
| ayumi ashi |
natural stepping |
| keri ashi |
kicking foot |
| tenshin |
moving |
| chakuchi |
landing |
Kamae
| kamae |
combative posture |
| morote no kamae |
middle level combative posture |
| shizen dachi no kamae |
natural combative posture |
| hanmi no kamae |
half forward facing combative posture |
| mugamae |
"No Posture" combative posture |
