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Glossary of Terms and Techniques
If you are weak at remembering the names of techniques, stances, commands etc., this section should help you. I found this glossary in a book called "The Complete Idiots Guide To Karate" (a good read wth a lot of useful information).
The first section defines terms or commands that you may hear during training, tournaments or competition. The second section gives the terms for parts of the body as well as different techniques within the art of karate.
Dojo To Competition
| Basic Sparring | kihon kumite | Bow | rei |
| Budo (boo-doh) | "Martial Way" | Distance | ma-ai |
| Do (doh) | Literally means way or path. Do is the way for the ultimate perfection of human character | Five step sparring | gohon kumite |
| Focus | kime | Formal exercise | kata |
| Free style sparring | jiyu-kumite | Gi (gee) | A karate uniform |
| Hai (hah-ee) | Used for affirmation, as in "yes" or "okay". It is also used to give commands, as in "okay, lets go!" or "Okay, line up!" | Hajime (HAH-jee-meh) | "Begin!" "start!" "GO!" |
| Hayaku (hah-ya-koo) | "Move with speed" | Kamaete (kah-MAH-eh-teh) | A command to move into a stance, ready for action. |
| Karategi (kah-rah-teh-gee) | A karate uniform | Karuku (kah-roo-koo) | A command to move lightly, but correct motion. |
| Kata (kah-tah) | Form or Formal Exercise. There are two major classifications o kata in trainging: 1) Godo-Kata: Group form in which a group of students perform the same kata in unison; 2) Kojin-Kata: A form performed alone by an individual student. | Kata-no-keiko (kah-tah-noh-keh-ee-koh) | Practice in formal exercise |
| Ki (kee) | "vital force" or "mental energy". | Kiai (keh-ah-ee) | A sharp sound made at the moment of kime to aid in the tensing of body muscles and focusing of the mind for a more effective kime |
| Kicking Techniques | keri-waza | Kihon-no-keiko (KEE-hon-noh-keh-ee-koh) | Practice in basic techniques. |
| Kime (KEE-meh) | Focus. The pinpoint concentration of mind and body to achieve maximum effectiveness. | Kiotsuke (kee-oht-soo-kay) | "Come to attention" |
| Kogeki (koh-geh-kee) | To attack. | Kohai (KOH-hah-ee) | A junior membor of the dojo. |
| Kumite-no-keiko (koo-mee-teh-noh-keh-eekoh) | Practice in sparring | Maai (mah-ah-ee) | Distancing. The correct distance between two oppwnents. |
| Mae ni (mah-ee-nah) | Move forward. | Makiwara (mah-keh-wah-rah) | A punching board that is padded and struck forcefully to develop focusing of body strength. |
| Mawatte (mah-waht-ee) | "Turn around" | "Mind like the Moon" | tsuki-no-kokoro |
| "Mind like Water" | mizu-no-kokoro | Modotte (MOH-doht-ee) | "Return to the original position" |
| Mokuso (moh-ku-SOH) | Quiet comtemplation.The purpose of mokuso is to achieve mental and physical tranquility. | Mukai atte (moo-kah-ee-aht-teh) | "Face each other." |
| Naotte (nah-oht-teh) | "Relax" or "At ease." | Narande (NAH-rahn-deh) | "Line up." |
| Obi (OH-bee) | Belt. | One-step sparring | kihon-ipon kumite |
| Opening | suki | Osu (ohss) | Traditional karate greeting. A contraction of Osae shinobu which means to press, or to keep patience. |
| Otagai-ni-ree (oh-tah-GAH-ee-nee-REH-ee) | "Bow to each other." | Punching techniques | tsuki-waza |
| Rei (REH-ee) | Bow. Other terms used with rei are: 1) Shomen ni rei: Bow to the front; 2) Sensei ni rei: Bow to the teacher; 3)Otagai ni rei: Bow to each other. | Ryu (ree-yoo) | School or "style" |
| Seiretsu (SEH-ee-reht-soo) | "Line up in an orderly fashion." | Seiza (SEH-ee-zah) | The Japanese formal method of sitting on the floor with the knees bent and the legs under the body. |
| Semi-free sparring | jiyu-ippon-kumite | Sempai (SEHM-pah-ee) | A senior person in the school or organisation. |
| Sensei (sehn-seh-ee) | Teacher. The term may be applied to anyone who guides or instructs another, such as a doctor or lawyer. Literally, sensei means "one who has gone before." | Shomen (SHO-mehn) | Front. In the dojo, the shomen is the front wall where a foundation of the school is placed. |
| Sparring | kumite | Stamping techniques | fumikomi-waza |
| Striking techniques | uchi-waza | Tatte (TAHT-ee) | "Stand up." |
| Techniques | waza | Three-step sparring | sanbon kumite |
| Throwing techniques | nage-waza | Tsuyoko (t'soo-yoh-koh) | "Execute strong, fast techniques." |
| Undo (oo'n-doh) | Exercises or callisthenics. | Ushiro ni (OO-shee-roh-nee) | "Move backward." |
| Yame (yah-meh) | "Stop." | Yasume (yah-soo-meh) | "Relax." |
| Yoi (YOH-ee) | "Be ready." | Yomaku (YOH-wah-koo) | "Move lightly." |
| Yukkuri (yoo-koo-ree) | "Move more slowly." | Zanshin | "Remain 'on guard'" |
Terms & Techniques
| Blocking (uke) | |||||
| Blocking techniques | Uke-waza | Circular block | mawashi uke | Downward block | gedan barai |
| Forearm block | ude-uke | Inside forearm block | uchi-uke | Knife-hand block | shuto-uke |
| Outside forearm block | soto-uke | Rising block | age-uke | Sweeping block | nagashi-uke |
| Hands, Feet and Fists | |||||
| Back fist | uraken | Ball of foot | koshi | Bottom fist | tettsui |
| Elbow | empi | Foot edge | sokuto | Forearm | ude |
| Fore-fist | seiken | Heel | kakato | Instep | haisuko |
| Knee | hittsui | Knife hand | shuto | Middle-finger one-knuckle fist | nakadate-ippon-ken |
| One-knuckle fist | ippon ken | Palm heel | teisho | Ridge hand | haito |
| Sole of foot | teisoku | Spear hand | yonhon-nukite | ||
| Kicks (keri) | |||||
| Back kick | ushiro-geri | Back thrust kick | ushiro-geri-kekomi | Front kick | mae-geri |
| Front snap kick | mae-geri-keage | Front thrust kick | mae-geri-kekomi | Roundhouse kick | mawashi-geri |
| Side kick | yoko-geri | Side snap kick | yoko-geri-keage | Side thrust kick | yoko-geri-kekmoi |
| Punches (Tsuki) | |||||
| Close punch | ura-zuki | Fore-fist straight punch | seiken-choku-zuki | Lunge punch | oi-zuki |
| One-knuckle fist punch | ippon-ken-zuki | Reverse punch | gyaku-zuki | Round punch | mawashi-zuki |
| Short punch | kizami-zuki | Spear hand thrust | nukite-zuki | Straight punch | choku-zuki |
| Stances (Dachi) | |||||
| Attention stance | musubi-dachi | Back stance | kokutso-dachi | Cat stance | neko-ashi-dachi |
| Front stance | zenkutsu-dachi | Half-front facing posture | hanmi | Horse stance | kiba-dachi |
| Hourglass stance | sanchin-dachi | Natural stance | shizen taii | Open-leg stance | hachiji-dachi |
| Ready position | kamae | Rooted stance | fudo-dachi | square stance | shiko-dachi |
| Strikes (Uchi) | |||||
| Back-fist strike | uraken-uchi | Elbow strike | empi-uchi | Hammer-fist strike | tettsui-uchi |
| Knife-hand stike | shuto-uchi | Ridge-Hand strike | haito-uchi | ||