Japanese Karate Terms

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Basic Pronunciation

Japanese has a moderate inventory of consonants and only 5 vowels, and most of the sounds exist in English or have a close equivalent.

All vowels are short and pronounced as follows:

• “a” is similar to “ah”, as in “father” 
• “i” as in “teen” except shorter
•  ”u” is similar to “oo”, as in “boot” but without rounded lips
•  ”e” is similar to “ay”, as in “hay”
•  ”o” as in “orange”

Longer vowel sounds are the same sounds as above, but given more time.

• “aa,” a longer “a”
• “ii,” a longer “i”
• “uu,” a longer “u”
• “ei,” a longer “e”
• “ou,” a longer “o”

Except for the above, if you see two or more vowels in a row, they are each pronounced clearly without becoming a single diphthong. An apostrophe is used where a glottal stop occurs (like between the “n” and the second “a” when pronouncing “an apple”).

Most of the consonants are identical to the English spelling, or nearly so. Consonants always take their “hard” sounds. So “gi” is pronounced with a hard “g” (i.e., not “ji”). “Ch” is always as in “cheese.”

The hyphens don’t mean anything but serve to distinguish separate syllables when it might be ambiguous, or to separate a word into two semantic parts. There shouldn’t be a pause for hyphens.

Parentheses are used whenever a word might be omitted by some people, or if the translation could mean more than one thing. For example, “nukite,” literally only means “spear hand,” which is just the name of the “weapon” you form with your hand, but it is also often used to mean the attack, “spear-hand thrust.” So “thrust” is in parentheses.

Quotation marks are used on the English side to distinguish between literal translations of the Japanese terms from their more figurative meanings (quotes indicate literal translation).

1. ichi
2. ni
3. san
4. shi
5. go
6. roku
7. shichi
8. hachi
9. ku (kyuu)
10. juu

• hachinoji-dachi – ready stance
• zenkutsu-dachi – front stance
• kou-kutsu-dachi – back stance
• kiba-dachi – horse stance / saddle stance
• neko-dachi – cat stance
• sochin-dachi / fudou-dachi – sochin stance / “immovable” stance
• sanchin-dachi – “hourglass” stance
• hangetsu-dachi – “half moon” stance

• tsuki – punch
• oi-zuki – lunge punch
• gyaku-zuki – reverse punch
• kizami-zuki – jab punch
• nukite – spear-hand (thrust)
• ura-ken – back hand (strike)
• empi – elbow (strike)

• keri – kick
• mae-geri – front (snap) kick
• mawashi-geri – round house kick
• (yoko-geri) kekomi – side thrust kick
• (yoko-geri) keage – side snap kick
• ushiro-geri – back (thrust) kick

• jou-dan – “upper level” / face
• chuudan – “middle level” / stomach / solar plexus
• gedan – “lower level” / groin

• age-uke – rising block
• ude-uke – “arm block”, often used to mean outside block
• soto-uke – outside block (see above)
• uchi-uke – inside block
• gedan barai – down block / “lower level sweep”
• shuto-uke – knife-hand block
• nagashi-uke – “flushing block” / deflecting block
• kakiwake-uke – two-handed “separating” block
• juuji-uke – two-handed “cross” block

Translations are approximate transliterations of the Chinese characters used to “spell” the kata names.

• kata – form(s)
• heian shodan – “stable and secure” / “stable peace,” “first level”
• heian nidan – ditto, “second level”
• heian sandan – ditto, “third level”
• heian yondan – you get the idea
• heian godan
• tekki shodan – “iron horseman,” “first level”
• bassai dai – “destroying a fortress,” “greater” version *
• empi – “flight of the swallow”
• jion – “compassion and favor” (This is a Buddhist term and possibly the name of some temple.)
• kankuu dai – “observing the sky/emptiness,” “greater” version *
• jutte / jitte – “ten hands”
• hangetsu – “half moon”
• tekki nidan
• tekki sandan
• nijuushiho – “twenty-four steps”
• gankaku – “boulder crane” (the bird on a rock)
• sochin [sou-chin] – “strength and control”
• bassai sho [shou] – “destroying a fortress,” “lesser” version *
• kankuu sho [shou] – “observing the sky/emptiness,” “lesser” version *
• unsu [unsuu] – “cloud hands”
• gojuushiho (dai) –  “fifty-four steps,” “greater” version *
• gojuushiho sho [shou] – “fifty-four steps,” “lesser” version *
• meikyo [meikyou] – “bright mirror”
• ji’in – “compassion and shadow” (Possibly another temple.)
• chinte – “rare hands”
• wankan – “king’s crown”

* Kata with “lesser” or “greater” attached (“sho” or “dai”) don’t really mean “lesser” or “greater” in any quantitative sense. It’s just a way of distinguishing two different kata.

• kumite – sparring
• (kihon) gohon kumite – (basic) five-step sparring
• (kihon) sanbon kumite – (basic) three-step sparring
• (kihon) ippon kumite – (basic) one-step sparring
• jiyuu ippon kumite – semi-free one-step sparring
• (jiyuu) kumite – free sparring

• kihon – basic(s)
• ki-ai – “spirit focus” / a focusing yell
• kime – “decision” / focus
• rei – bow
• youi – “get ready” / often a command to stand in hachinoji-dachi
• yame – stop
• yasume – rest, relax
• maware / mawatte – turn
• hajime – begin
• mokusou – “quiet meditation”
• dojo [dou-jou] – “way place,”  the place where you train
• dojo kun – dojo desiderata
• seiza – “proper sitting” / kneeling
• sempai – senior student
• kou-hai – junior student