Karate vocabulary: Japanese words and techniques

In this article I share a list of words related to karate: the strikes, the commands, and the other terms you hear around the training. The copy I started from had been passed around the internet for years, and I never found the author. It also arrived without kanji or kana, so I added the Japanese script beside each reading.

Karate-dō means the way of the empty hand: the hands, the feet and the body, without a weapon. I keep the longer account of karate on its own page and stay here with the words you hear in class.

Contents 6

Commands you hear before anyone moves

Class usually starts and stops with a short set of orders. Rei is the bow, hajime tells you to begin, and yame tells you to stop. Yoi is ready, and yasume is the order to relax. Seiza means kneel and sit. Mokuso is the quiet moment at the start or the end of practice. Kiritsu means stand up, and kamaete means take your stance.

The bows have their own lines. Otagai ni rei is the bow to each other. Sensei ni rei is the bow to the teacher. Shomen ni rei is the bow toward the front of the dojo. In WKF kumite the referee opens the bout with shobu hajime and stops it with yame, so the class words and the competition words meet.

The tables run wide. On a phone, swipe sideways to read the kana and the English.

Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	English
礼	れい	rei	bow
始め	はじめ	hajime	begin
止め	やめ	yame	stop
用意	ようい	yoi	ready
休め	やすめ	yasume	relax
正座	せいざ	seiza	kneel and sit
黙想	もくそう	mokusō	quiet sitting before or after practice
起立	きりつ	kiritsu	stand up
構えて	かまえて	kamaete	take your stance
お互いに礼	おたがいにれい	otagai ni rei	bow to each other
先生に礼	せんせいにれい	sensei ni rei	bow to the teacher
正面に礼	しょうめんにれい	shomen ni rei	bow to the front
勝負始め	しょうぶはじめ	shōbu hajime	start the match

The main techniques

These names follow the first list I kept, with the spellings put back into ordinary Japanese. A punch is zuki in a compound, and tsuki when the word stands alone. A kick is geri in a compound, and keri on its own. Age-zuki rises toward the head. Gyaku-zuki is the reverse punch, the fist on the opposite side from the front leg. Gyaku-zumi is the misspelling that was circulating for that same punch. Oi-zuki steps in with the punch. Choku-zuki travels straight. Kizami-zuki is the short punch from the lead hand. Kagi-zuki hooks. Tate-zuki holds the fist vertically.

Empi-uchi is the elbow strike, and some classes still call the same hit hiji-ate. Shuto-uchi uses the knife edge of the hand. Teisho-uchi uses the heel of the palm. Tettsui-uchi is the hammer fist. Uraken-uchi is the back fist. Nukite uses the fingertips.

Mae-geri is the front kick, mawashi-geri the round kick, mikazuki-geri the crescent, ushiro-geri the back kick, and hiza-geri the knee. Yoko-geri keage snaps upward. Yoko-geri kekomi drives through. The spelling kekoge missed that split. Fumikomi-geri stamps in. Tobi-geri leaves the floor. Nidan-geri puts two kicks into one jump. Ashi-barai sweeps the leg. Nami-gaeshi, the returning wave, is a name you will meet on some sweeps and returning kicks.

Suri-ashi is the short sliding step. Yori-ashi slides both feet and keeps the stance while the distance changes. Ashi-waza groups the leg techniques, keri-waza the kicks, tsuki-waza the punches, and uchi-waza the strikes. Tsouki was a misspelling of tsuki.

Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	English
上げ突き	あげづき	age-zuki	rising punch
足払い	あしばらい	ashi-barai	foot sweep
足技	あしわざ	ashi-waza	leg techniques
直突き	ちょくづき	choku-zuki	straight punch
猿臂打ち	えんぴうち	empi-uchi	elbow strike, also called hiji-ate
踏み込み蹴り	ふみこみげり	fumikomi-geri	stamping kick
逆突き	ぎゃくづき	gyaku-zuki	reverse punch
膝蹴り	ひざげり	hiza-geri	knee strike
鉤突き	かぎづき	kagi-zuki	hook punch
蹴り技	けりわざ	keri-waza	kicking techniques
刻み突き	きざみづき	kizami-zuki	lead-hand punch
前蹴り	まえげり	mae-geri	front kick
回し蹴り	まわしげり	mawashi-geri	round kick
三日月蹴り	みかづきげり	mikazuki-geri	crescent kick
波返し	なみがえし	nami-gaeshi	returning wave
二段蹴り	にだんげり	nidan-geri	two kicks in one jump
貫手	ぬきて	nukite	spear hand
追い突き	おいづき	oi-zuki	lunge punch
手刀打ち	しゅとううち	shuto-uchi	knife-hand strike
すり足	すりあし	suri-ashi	sliding step
縦突き	たてづき	tate-zuki	vertical-fist punch
底掌打ち	ていしょううち	teisho-uchi	palm-heel strike
鉄槌打ち	てっついうち	tettsui-uchi	hammer-fist strike
飛び蹴り	とびげり	tobi-geri	jumping kick
突き技	つきわざ	tsuki-waza	punching techniques
打ち技	うちわざ	uchi-waza	striking techniques
裏拳打ち	うらけんうち	uraken-uchi	back-fist strike
後ろ蹴り	うしろげり	ushiro-geri	back kick
横蹴り蹴上げ	よこげりけあげ	yoko-geri keage	side snap kick
横蹴り蹴込み	よこげりけこみ	yoko-geri kekomi	side thrust kick
寄り足	よりあし	yori-ashi	sliding step that keeps the stance

Targets, distance and where the technique stops

Jōdan is the head and neck. Chūdan runs from the neck down to the belt. Gedan is below the belt. Schools draw those lines a little differently, so follow the line your own class teaches. Hidari is left, migi is right, mae is the front, yoko is the side, and ushiro is behind.

Maai is the distance between the two people. In a lot of traditional partner work the punch stops about one sun short of the target, roughly three centimetres. That habit is called sun-dome. WKF kumite uses another measure. The rules in force from 1 January 2026 allow skin touch, a touch that does not drive energy into the head or the helmet. Athletes under 14 still wear a helmet, and a score for them is given when a hand technique stops 5 cm short or a foot technique 10 cm short. The draw assigns aka, the red side, and ao, the blue side. A grade belt stays off during the bout. On that scoreboard yuko is one point, waza-ari is two, and ippon is three.

Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	English
上段	じょうだん	jōdan	head and neck
中段	ちゅうだん	chūdan	neck down to the belt
下段	げだん	gedan	below the belt
間合い	まあい	maai	distance
寸止め	すんどめ	sun-dome	stop about one sun short
左	ひだり	hidari	left
右	みぎ	migi	right
前	まえ	mae	front
横	よこ	yoko	side
後ろ	うしろ	ushiro	behind
赤	あか	aka	red competitor
青	あお	ao	blue competitor
有効	ゆうこう	yuko	one point in WKF kumite
技あり	わざあり	waza-ari	two points in WKF kumite
一本	いっぽん	ippon	one technique in class; three points on a WKF scoreboard
引き分け	ひきわけ	hikiwake	draw
判定	はんてい	hantei	decision when the score is level

Training words, rank and the people in the room

A class at the Japan Karate Association is built from three parts. Kihon is the basics. Kata is the form, a set sequence practiced alone, written 形 and also seen as 型. Kumite is the work with a partner. Bunkai is the study of what a movement in the kata is for. Kime is the finish, the moment the body and the attention arrive together. Kiai is the short shout that goes with that moment. Zanshin, 残心, is the mind that stays after the technique, still aware of the other person. Some printouts write 斬新 there. That word means novel, so it cannot stand in for zanshin.

Embusen, 演武線, is the line the kata travels. Ki, 気, is the dojo word for spirit or energy. The same idea is called qi in Chinese, which is why older lists sometimes say chi. Dōjō, 道場, is the training hall. The uniform is a dōgi, also called a karategi: jacket, trousers and the obi, the belt. Kamae is the guard. Hanmi turns the body halfway. Ai-hanmi means both people have the same leg forward. Shomen is the front of the room. Kamiza is the seat of honor, and shimoza is the lower side. The wall you bow toward is the one your teacher uses, because dojos do not all set those seats on the same compass point.

Tori is the person who performs the technique. Uke is the person who receives it, and the same word names a block. Reigi is the courtesy those bows belong to. Kyu is a grade below dan. In the JKA a new student starts at 9th kyu, and the black belt begins at shodan. Dan then continues through nidan, sandan, yondan and godan. Yūdansha, 有段者, names a person who holds a dan. The black belt is how that grade shows in the room. Mudansha, 無段者, names a person who has not reached dan yet. Dangai, and the characters 油断者, do not name that group. 油断 is carelessness, so 油断者 reads as a careless person.

Sensei is the teacher. Senpai is the senior student, and kōhai is the junior. Shihan is a title for a senior teacher. Organizations attach it to different grades, so the word by itself does not tell you the dan. Gohon kumite is five-step partner work, sanbon kumite is three steps, and ippon kumite is one attack and one reply. Jiyū ippon kumite keeps that single attack inside a freer exchange. Jiyū kumite is free sparring. In class, ippon still means one. The three-point meaning belongs to the WKF scoreboard.

Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	English
基本	きほん	kihon	basics
形	かた	kata	form
組手	くみて	kumite	partner work, sparring
分解	ぶんかい	bunkai	application of a kata movement
極め	きめ	kime	focused finish
気合	きあい	kiai	short shout with the technique
残心	ざんしん	zanshin	awareness that remains afterward
演武線	えんぶせん	embusen	line of the kata
道場	どうじょう	dōjō	training hall
道着	どうぎ	dōgi	training uniform
帯	おび	obi	belt
構え	かまえ	kamae	guard, posture
半身	はんみ	hanmi	half-facing body
相半身	あいはんみ	ai-hanmi	same leg forward on both sides
上座	かみざ	kamiza	seat of honor
下座	しもざ	shimoza	lower side of the room
取り	とり	tori	person who performs the technique
受け	うけ	uke	person who receives; also a block
礼儀	れいぎ	reigi	courtesy
級	きゅう	kyū	grade below dan
段	だん	dan	dan grade
初段	しょだん	shodan	first dan
二段	にだん	nidan	second dan
三段	さんだん	sandan	third dan
四段	よんだん	yondan	fourth dan
五段	ごだん	godan	fifth dan
有段者	ゆうだんしゃ	yūdansha	person who holds a dan
無段者	むだんしゃ	mudansha	person who does not yet hold a dan
先生	せんせい	sensei	teacher
先輩	せんぱい	senpai	senior student
後輩	こうはい	kōhai	junior student
師範	しはん	shihan	title for a senior teacher
五本組手	ごほんくみて	gohon kumite	five-step partner work
三本組手	さんぼんくみて	sanbon kumite	three-step partner work
一本組手	いっぽんくみて	ippon kumite	one attack and one reply
自由組手	じゆうくみて	jiyū kumite	free sparring

Kata names that travelled with the list

Some of the words in that copy were kata names, not techniques. Bassai, 抜塞, is often translated as breaking into a fortress. Shotokan calls the peace series Heian, 平安. Several Okinawan lines still say Pinan. Empi the kata, 燕飛, is the flying swallow, a different word from the elbow. Gankaku, 岩鶴, is the crane on the rock. The characters 眼科 belong to an eye clinic, so they never named this kata. The table below keeps the rest of those names: half moon, sky, ten hands, iron horse, cloud hands, the step counts, jion and the bright mirror.

Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	English
抜塞	ばっさい	bassai	kata; breaking into a fortress
平安	へいあん	heian	peace; Pinan in several Okinawan lines
燕飛	えんぴ	empi	flying swallow, the kata
岩鶴	がんかく	gankaku	crane on a rock
半月	はんげつ	hangetsu	half moon
観空	かんくう	kankū	looking at the sky
十手	じって	jitte	ten hands
鉄騎	てっき	tekki	iron horse
雲手	うんす	unsu	cloud hands
二十四歩	にじゅうしほ	nijūshiho	twenty-four steps
五十四歩	ごじゅうしほ	gōjūshiho	fifty-four steps
慈恩	じおん	jion	compassion and gratitude
明鏡	めいきょう	meikyō	bright mirror

The body words inside the technique names

The strikes are built from ordinary words for the body. Te is the hand, shutō the knife edge, teishō the palm heel, tettsui the hammer fist, uraken the back of the fist, and nukite the fingertips. Hiji is the elbow and hiza the knee. Kakato is the heel, sokutō the outer edge of the foot, and chūsoku the ball of the foot, the part a lot of front kicks use. Koshi is the hip. The longer list of body words sits on its own page, and the shapes of characters like these are the subject of the pictographic kanji guide.

Kanji	Kana	Rōmaji	English
手	て	te	hand
手刀	しゅとう	shutō	knife edge of the hand
底掌	ていしょう	teishō	palm heel
鉄槌	てっつい	tettsui	hammer fist
裏拳	うらけん	uraken	back fist
肘	ひじ	hiji	elbow
膝	ひざ	hiza	knee
踵	かかと	kakato	heel
足刀	そくとう	sokutō	outer edge of the foot
中足	ちゅうそく	chūsoku	ball of the foot
腰	こし	koshi	hip

I hope the script makes this easier to use than the copy I first found. When a spelling from an old printout looks strange, the kanji settles it. Gyaku-zuki is 逆突き. Yoko-geri keage snaps up, and yoko-geri kekomi drives through. Yūdansha is 有段者. Zanshin is 残心. Those four are the ones I most wanted written correctly.