| Japanese Term |
Pronunciation |
Description |
| KIOTHUKE |
Kee-oh-skee |
Attention |
| MOKUSO |
Mohk-soh |
Meditation |
| YAME |
Yah-may |
Finish, Return to attention |
| YOI |
Yoy |
Ready position, attention stance |
| HAJIME |
Hah-jeee-may |
Command to Begin |
| OREI |
Ray |
Command to Bow |
| SHOMENI |
Sho-meh-nee |
To the front (bowing) |
| SENSEI |
Sen-say |
Instructor |
| SEMPAI |
Sem-pai |
Senior Instructor or Senior student |
| OTAGAI |
Oh-tah-guy |
To each other (bowing) |
| DOJO |
Doh-joh |
Training Hall/school |
| KYU |
Cue |
Grade, lower belt rank |
| DAN |
Dahn |
Degree, Black belt rank |
| OSU |
Ohs |
A karate greeting, Yes, show of respect |
| HAI |
High |
Yes, A formal answer |
| ONEGAI SHIMASU |
Oh-neh-guy Shee-mahs |
Please . . . teach me |
| MAKIWARA |
Mah-kee-wah-rah |
Punching board |
| AGE UKE |
Ah-geh oo-keh |
Rising block |
| GEDAN BARAI |
geh-dahn-bah-rye |
Downward block |
| ZENKUTSU DACHI |
Zen-koot-sue-dah-chee |
Front stance |
| OI ZUKI |
Oy-zoo-kee |
Forward punch |
| GYAKU ZUKI |
Gee-yah-koo-zoo-kee |
Reverse punch |
| CHOKU ZUKI |
Cho-koo Zoo-kee |
Forefist straight punch |
| SAN BON ZUKI |
Sahn-bohn Zoo-kee |
Three alternating punches |
| JODAN |
Joh-dahn |
Upper level, face area |
| CHUDAN |
Choo-dahn |
Middle level, chest area |
| GEDAN |
Geh-dahn |
Lower level, below the belt area |
| SOTO UKE |
So-toh-oo-keh |
Outside middle block |
| UCHI UKE |
Oo-chee-oo-keh |
Inside middle block |
| MAE GERI |
My-geh-ree |
Front snap kick |
| YOKO GERI KEAGE |
Yoh-koh-geh-ree Keh-yah-keh |
Side snap kick |
| YOKO GERI KEKOMI |
Yoh-koh-geh-ree Keh-koh-mee |
Side thrust kick |
| MAWASHI GERI |
Mah-wah-shee Geh-ree |
Roundhouse kick |
| USHIRO GERI |
Oo-shee-roh Geh Ree |
Back kick |
| SHUTO UKE |
Shoo-toh Oo-keh |
Knife hand block |
| KOKUTSU DACHI |
Koh-koot-sue Dah-chee |
Back stance |
| KIBA DACHI |
Kee-bah Dah-chee |
Horse riding stance |
| URAKEN |
Oo-rah-ken |
Backfist strike |
| EMPI |
Em-pee |
Elbow strike |
| HAITO |
High-toh |
Ridgehand strike |
| JYUJI UKE |
Joo-gee Oo-keh |
X-block |
| KATA |
Kah-tah |
Form, A series of techniques executed in sequence |
| KUMITE |
Koo-mee-teh |
Fighting or Sparring in offense or defense |
| TAIKYOKU |
Tie-kee-yoh-koo |
“First Cause”, a beginner kata |
| HEIAN |
Hey-yahn |
“Peaceful Mind”, lower belt katas, an era in Japanese History |
| ICHI |
|
One |
| NI |
|
Two |
| SAN |
|
Three |
| SHI |
|
Four |
| GO |
|
Five |
| ROKU |
|
Six |
| SHICHI |
|
Seven |
| HACHI |
|
Eight |
| KU |
|
Nine |
| JU |
|
Ten |
|
Terminology