Glossary
Numbers
| Ichi | One |
|---|---|
| Ni | Two |
| San | Three |
| Shi | Four |
| Go | Five |
| Roku | Six |
| Shichi | Seven |
| Hachi | Eight |
| Ku | Nine |
| Ju | Ten |
A training session´s opening ceremony
| Shugo | Line up (phonetically ‘shho-go’) |
|---|---|
| Ki o tsuke | Stand to attention (phonetically ‘kee-ut-skay’) |
| Seiza | Kneel (phonetically ‘say-zah’) |
| Mokuso | Meditate (phonetically ‘mok-so’) |
| Mokuso yame | Finish meditating |
| Shomen ni | Face the front of the dojo (phonetically ‘sho-men nee’) |
| Rei | Bow (phonetically ‘ray’) |
| Sensei ni | Face your teacher |
| Rei | Bow |
| Shomen ni | Face the front of the dojo |
| Kiritsu | Stand up (phonetically ‘kee-ree-tsoo’) |
A training session´s closing ceremony
| Shugo | Line up |
|---|---|
| Ki o tsuke | Stand to attention |
| Seiza | Kneel |
| Mokuso | Meditate |
| Mokuso yame | Finish meditating |
| Shomen ni | Face the front of the dojo |
| Rei | Bow |
| Sensei ni | Face your teacher |
| Rei | Bow and say aloud Arigato Gozaimashita (phonetically ‘ah-re-gah-toe go-zie-mahsh-tah’) |
| Otagai ni | Face your partner |
| Rei | Bow and say aloud Arigato Gozaimashita |
| Shomen ni | Face the front of the dojo |
| Kiritsu | Stand up and leave the dojo in order of descending rank |
Punches (tsuki or zuki)
| Jodan tsuki | Punch to the face |
|---|---|
| Chudan tsuki | Punch to the chest |
| Gedan tsuki | Punch to the groin |
| Age tsuki | Rising punch |
| Choku tsuki | Straight punch |
| Furi tsuki | Circular punch |
| Gyaku tsuki | Reverse punch |
| Kizame tsuki | Jab Punch |
| Oi tsuki | Lunge punch |
| Seiken tsuki | Forefist punch |
| Ura tsuki | Close range punch |
Blocks (Uke)
| Jodan uke | Upper level block |
|---|---|
| Age uke | Rising block |
| Chudan uke | Middle level block |
| Gedan harai-uke | Lower level sweep |
| Jodan uke | Upper level block |
| Hiji uke | Elbow block |
| Hiki uke | Pulling/grasping block |
| Hiza uke | Knee block |
| Ko uke | Wrist block |
| Shotei barai | Palm heel sweep |
| Shotei uke | Palm heel block |
| Soto uke | Forearm block (block from outside moving inward to the centre line of the body) |
| Sukui uke | Scooping block |
| Tora guchi uke | Tiger mouth block (sometimes called Mawashi Uke meaning ‘round block’) |
Strikes (Uchi)
| Uraken uchi | Back fist strike |
|---|---|
| Empi uchi | Elbow strike (hiji) |
| Haito uchi | Ridge hand strike |
| Hiraken uchi | Fore knuckle fist strike |
| Ko uchi | Wrist strike |
| Nukite uchi | Spear hand strike |
| Shuto uchi | Knife-edge hand strike |
| Sokuto uchi | Knife-edge foot strike |
| Teisho uchi | Palm heel strike (sometimes called shotei uchi) |
| Tetsui uchi | Bottom fist strike |
Kicking (Geri)
| Mae geri | Front kick |
|---|---|
| Mawashi geri | Roundhouse kick |
| Yoko geri | Side kick |
| Ushiro geri | Back kick |
| Hiza geri | Knee kick |
| Kensetsu geri | Stamping kick, joint kick |
| Mae ashi geri | Front leg kick |
| Tobi geri | Jumping kick |
Stances (dachi)
| Benzoku dachi | One foot crossed over diagonally in front of the other, prior to turning |
|---|---|
| Hachiji dachi | Natural stance |
| Han zenkutsu dachi | Half forward stance |
| Heiko dachi | Parallel stance |
| Heisoku dachi | Formal attention stance, feet together |
| Kokutsu dachi | Back stance |
| Musubi dachi | Formal attention stance, feet turned out |
| Neko ashi dachi | Cat stance |
| Reinoji dachi | tick stance |
| Sagiashi dachi | Crane leg stance |
| Sanchin dachi | Hour glass stance |
| Sesan dachi | Side facing straddle stance |
| Shiko dachi | Box stance |
| Zenkutsu dachi | Forward leg stance |
Sparring
| Kumite | sparring |
|---|---|
| Ippon kumite | one step sparring (block and counter) |
| San dan gi | Basic three step sparring |
| Randori kumite | Slow and soft free style sparring with emphasis on technique |
| Yakusoku kumite | Prearranged sparring |
| Iri kumite | Hard, fast but controlled continuous free style sparring |
| Go kumite | Full contact sparring |
Training Equipment
| Chi ishi | Lever weighted stone |
|---|---|
| Ishi sashi | Stone padlocks |
| Kongo ken | Iron ring |
| Makiwara | Striking board |
| Nigiri game | Gripping jars |
| Tan | Barbells |
Karate uniform (Gi)
| Obi | Belt |
|---|---|
| Uwagi | Top half of Gi |
| Zubon | Bottom half of Gi |
Kyu Grade Belt Colours
| 10th Kyu | White Belt |
|---|---|
| 9th Kyu | Yellow Belt |
| 8th Kyu | Orange Belt |
| 7th Kyu | Green Belt |
| 6th Kyu | Blue Belt |
| 5th Kyu | Purple Belt |
| 4th Kyu | Purple with White Stripe Belt |
| 3rd Kyu | Brown Belt |
| 2nd Kyu | Brown with black tag (or one white stripe) Belt |
| 1st Kyu | Brown with two tags (or two white stripes) Belt |
Grades
| Shodan | 1st Dan |
|---|---|
| Nidan | 2nd Dan |
| Sandan | 3rd Dan |
| Yondan | 4th Dan |
| Godan | 5th Dan |
| Rokudan | 6th Dan |
| Nanadan | 7th Dan |
| Hachidan | 8th Dan |
Parts of the Body (Tai)
| Ashinoyubi | Toes (Tsumasaki) |
|---|---|
| Danchin | Sternum |
| Ganchu | Below the nipples |
| Gansei | Eyeballs |
| Hiza | Knee |
| Jinchu | Region below the nose |
| Kinteki | Testicles |
| Kindama | Groin |
| Kote | Wrist |
| Miken | Bridge of nose |
| Mimi | Ears |
| Mikazuki | Jaw |
| Nodo | Throat |
| Onaka | Stomach |
| Seiken | Fist |
| Shuko | Back of hand |
| Suige tsu | Solar-plexus |
| Ude | Forearm |
| Yubi | Fingers |
General Terms
| Ashi barai | Foot sweep |
|---|---|
| Budo | Martial Way; Martial arts |
| Bunkai | Study of kata applications and techniques |
| Chudan | Middle level |
| Dan | Level |
| Do | Way; Path |
| Dojo | Training place |
| Dojo kun | Dojo rules |
| Gasshuku | Special karate training camp |
| Gedan | Lower level |
| Geri | Kick |
| Gi | Dojo uniform (Do-gi) |
| Go | Hard, unyielding |
| Go kumite | Hard sparring |
| Goju-Ryu Karate Do | Hard/Soft style, empty handed way |
| Hai | Yes |
| Hajime | Begin |
| Hara | Stomach |
| Heishugata | ‘Closed Fist’ kata (Sanchin and Tensho) |
| Hidari | Left |
| Hiji | Elbow |
| Hiza | Knee |
| Hojo undo | Supplementary exercises |
| Honbu dojo | Head dojo of an organisation |
| Ippon kumite | One step (prearranged) sparring |
| Jodan | Upper level |
| Ju | Soft, flexible |
| Junbi undo | Warm up exercises |
| Kaishugata | ‘Open fist’ kata (Gekisai, Saifa, etc.) |
| Kakie | Push hands |
| Kamae | Combative posture |
| Kamae te | Assume stance |
| Kanji | Chinese characters |
| Karate | Empty hand |
| Karate-do | The way of Karate |
| Kata | Forms |
| Keage | Snap action |
| Ken | Fist |
| Kenkon | The symbol of the IOGKF - Literally ‘Heaven and Earth’ |
| Ki o tsuke | Attention (phonetically ‘kee-ut-ski’) |
| Kiai | Focusing shout |
| Kihon | Basic techniques |
| Kokomi | Thrust action |
| Koshi | Ball of the foot (or Josokutei) |
| Kumite | Sparring |
| Mae | Front |
| Mawatte | Turn around |
| Migi | Right |
| Mokuso | Silent contemplation, meditation |
| Muchimi | Heavy, sticky action |
| Obi | Training uniform belt |
| Oyo bunkai | Study of techniques in kata (similar to Bunkai but including follow-up techniques not shown in kata) |
| Otagai | Training partner |
| Randori | Free sparring, relaxed sparring (sometimes called jiyu kumite) |
| Rei | Bow |
| Sandan gi | Three level sparring |
| Seiken | Fore fist |
| Seiza | Formal sitting position (kneeling on your haunches, feet crossed) |
| Semete | Attacking partner |
| Shime | Sanchin testing |
| Shomen | The front |
| Shugo | Line up |
| Soto | Outwards |
| Suri ashi | Sliding step |
| Tai | Body |
| Tai sabaki | Moving the body to avoid contact |
| Tanden | The body´s power centre |
| Te | Hand |
| Tsuki | Punch |
| Uchi | Strike |
| Ude | Forearm |
| Ude tanren | Forearm conditioning |
| Uke | Block |
| Uke harai | Blocking exercises |
| Uraken | Back fist |
| Ushiro | Back, rear |
| Waza | Techniques |
| Yakusoku kumite | Pre-arranged sparring |
| Yame | Stop |
| Yoi | Ready |
| Yoko | Side |
| Zanshin | Awareness |