Terms

Seal of the North American Beikoku Association

Karate Terminology

We use a lot of Japanese terms in the study of karate. These are the basic terms that you’ll commonly hear and use while training in the dojo. Make it a point to learn the words, their meaning and the correct pronunciation. As a karate student, you will learn many of these basic techniques. They are the foundation of our training.

Basic Stances
Attention stance -- musubi dachi
Natural stance -- hachiji dachi
Basic stance -- kihon dachi
Back stance -- ukiashi dachi
Straddle stance -- shiko dachi
Forward stance -- zenkutsu dachi
Horse riding stance -- kiba dachi

Basic Blocks
High block -- jodan uke
Outside block -- chudan uke
Inside block -- soto uke
Low block -- gedan barai
Circle or Hooking hand block -- kagite uke

Basic Punches & Strikes
High punch -- jodan zuki
Middle punch -- chudan zuki
Knife hand strike -- shuto uchi

Basic Kicks
Front snap kick -- mae geri
Side kick -- yoko geri
Roundhouse kick -- mawashi geri
Back thrust kick -- ushiro geri
Stomping kick -- fumikomi geri

Other Terms

karate-do	Way of the empty hand
sensei	Someone who has gone before you who is older and wiser	The head of a school is normally called sensei. Our Sensei is Robert Menders, Nanadan. In American culture it is about equivilant to saying Sir.
sempai	senior	Normally used to indicate the senior student of a teacher, who instructs when sensei is not available and helps with directing the dojo and its members.
kohai	junior	You will be kohai your first class! We line up in rank order facing the instructor. The senior student will be to the instructors left, you would be all the way to the right.
dohai	equal rank	Those wearing the same colored obi you do.
dojo	place to learn the way	We bow as we enter and leave the dojo floor.
rei	bow
yoi	ready	Usually said to insure everyone is ready to begin a kata. We raise up on our toes and back down so the instructor knows we are ready to start.
hajime	begin
yame	stop
hai	yes	"Hai, Sensei!" isn't a greeting! It is a respectful answer when taught something new or to indicate you understand what has been shared.
kime	focus
seiza	formal seated position	You'll be taught this in class.
mokuso	meditation
jodan	upper or high area
chudan	middle area
gedan	lower area
kamae	combative posture
kanji	executive secretary	The individual assigned as the secretary for the dojo.
kata	pre-arranged formal exercise, the root of our training is doing kata	There are over twenty kata that we routinely study, along with a few others that are occasionally taught. (See the Requirements page for the listing.)
kumite	pre-arranged drill or sparring	We learn 16, sometimes called one/two/three step drills in other styles.
bunkai	application of kata	These introduce some of the techniques the kata represents.
makiwara	Flexible punching board	A key part of Okinawan Karate, it is used to build strength and insure proper punching.
gi (sometimes dogi)	training uniform
obi	The colored belts
sensei rei	Bow to the instructor
one-gaishi-masu	Please help me or Teach me	Said as a greeting to your training partner and to the instructor at the beginning of class. The u at the end is almost entirely silent
domo arigato gozaimasu	thank you very much	Said at the end of class The u at the end is almost entirely silent

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