heisoku
dachi (ready stance) - Feet together, legs straight and
relaxed. |
| musubi dachi (ready stance) - Heels
together, with each foot pointing outwards 45º (forming a right angle
between the feet). |
| heiko
dachi (natural stance) - Feet parallel, shoulder-width
apart. |
| soto
hachiji dachi or just hachiji
dachi (natural stance) - Feet shoulder-width apart,
feet both pointing outwards at 45º. |
| uchi
hachiji dachi (natural stance) - As for soto-hachiji-dachi but
feet pointing slightly inwards. |
| zenkutsu
dachi (front stance) - Forward leg bent at the knee with
60% of weight on front leg and 40% on rear leg. Knee of rear leg
locked and extended approximately two shoulder-widths behind lead foot.
Torso erect. Feet facing outwards at 45º. |
| han
zenkutsu dachi (half front stance) - As for zenkutsu-dachi, but
feet only one shoulder-width apart. Weight is distributed evenly.
Front knee is bent so that toes are obscured. |
| sanchin
dachi (tension stance) - Feet shoulder-width apart, weight
distributed evenly over both legs. Kneeds tensed and pulled inwards.
Forward foot slightly ahead of rear foot, so that back of front foot
aligns with the front of the rear foot. Toes pointed slightly
inward. Back straight and hips tensed, with pelvis pulled forwards
and upwards. |
| gyaku
zenkutsu dachi (rear
defense stance) - As in zenkutsu-dachi but turned around so straight
leg points forward. Head and torso turned to face forward, leaning
to the rear. |
| neko
ashi dachi (cat stance) - Rear knee bent, with foot flat on
ground, and toes facing to the outside. Resting lightly (10%)
on the front leg, approximately one shoulder-width from the rear leg.
Toes of front foot facing forwards, flat on ground with heel of foot
raised. Crouching slightly, with front leg in centre of body,
bent a little at the knee. Torso erect. |
| kokutsu
dachi (back stance) - Rear knee bent, with foot facing
to the outside. Forward leg approximately two shoulder-widths
in front of and perpendicular to rear foot (i.e. facing forwards).
70% of weight on rear leg, 30% on foward leg. |
| hanmi
kokutsu dachi - as for
kokutsu dachi, but rear leg is placed
slightly to the side. Rear foot points directly sideways with
back of foot aligned with big toe of front foot. |
| kiba
dachi or naifanchi
dachi (horse stance) - Feet roughly two shoulder-widths
apart, parallel, toes pointed forwards. |
| shiko
dachi (straddle stance) - Feet spread approximately two
shoulder-widths apart, toes pointed outward at 45º. Weight distributed
evenly over both legs. Knees bent deeply and pulled back as far
as possible. Torso erect. Lower legs/shins approximately
vertical. |
| naname
shiko dachi (diagonal straddle stance) - as for shiko dachi but at a 45º angle. |
| yokomuki
shiko dachi (sideways
straddle stance) - As for shiko-dachi,
but looking directly to the side. |
| sesan
dachi (side facing straddle stance) - Similar to yokomuki shiko dachi, but leading
foot points directly forward and rear foot points directly outwards. |
| moto
dachi - Similar to naname shiko dachi, but leading foot points directly
forward and rear foot points directly outwards. |
| shirasagiashi
dachi or sagiashi dachi (one-legged or crane
stance) - Leg raised and tucked behind knee of supporting leg.
Supporting leg bent at knee and foot turned outward, weight shifted
back above supporting leg. |
| renoji
dachi (letter (Re) stance)
- Feet one shoulder width apart, front leg in centre of body pointing
directly forwards. Rear leg pointing outwards 45º. Legs
relaxed and straight. |
| kosa
dachi (crossed-leg stance) - One leg crossed over the other
with both knees bent. Front foot flat on ground. Rear leg
supported on ball of foot. Front foot facing to outside at 45º. |
| bensoku
dachi - similar to kosa dachi but both feet flat on ground. |
| naihanchi
dachi - as for sanchin
dachi but feet even (neither is further forward than
the other). |
| fudo
dachi or sochin
dachi (free/immovable stance)
Blocks (uke waza)
| uke - block | | barai - parry | | age
uke - rising block (particularly to jodan, jodan age uke) | | yoko
uke - side block (particularly to mid height, chudan yoko uke). Palm up, blocking
with thumb side of forearm, to the ouside. Also called soto ude uke, soto yoko uke, and ude uke. | | gedan
barai - downward circular block | | hiki
uke - pulling/grasping block | | uchi
yoko uke - inside forearm block | | sukui
uke - scoop block | | nagashi
uke - sweeping block | | kake
uke - hook block | | ko
uke - wrist block, wrist bent inwards, middle finger
touching thumb. Block with end of forearm (particularly jodan ko uke). Also called koken uke. | | kosa
uke (cross block) - arms crossed at wrist, with backs
of hands facing downwards and inwards towards each other. | | shuto
uke - knife hand block | | shotei
uke - palm heel block, particularly to gedan, also called shotei gedan barai. | | tetsui
uke - hammerfist block | | hiza
uke - knee block. hiza uchi uke (knee block from outside
to inside) and hiza soto uke
(knee block from inside to outside). | | osae
uke - pressing block | | otoshi
uke - descending block, eg shotei otoshi uke (palm-heel descending
block) | | kuri
uka - circular elbow block | | sokutei
osae uke - pressing block with sole of the foot. Pressing
down hard against the attacker's ankle, as in a yoko geri. | | sokutei
harai uke - block with the sole of the foot. Foot swung
from outside to inside. | | haisoku
barai - instep block. Foot swung from inside to outside. | | tora
guchi - highly circular block simultaneously to both gedan and jodan, ending with a push forward
(characteristic of Goju Ryu). |
Hand techniques
Note: zuki
is often pronounced more like the word ski.
-zuki techniques are
punches or thrusts. -uchi
techniques are other strikes.
| tzuki
(-zuki) - punch | | -uchi - strike | | ate - joint strike | | seiken
zuki or choku
zuki - basic punch with closed fist, striking with front
two knuckles. | | oi
zuki - lunge punch | | kizami
zuki - leading punch, jab | | gyaku
zuki - reverse (rear) punch, delivered with twist of hips. | | age
zuki - rising punch | | kagi
zuki - hook punch | | ura
zuki - short punch (palm side up) | | ura
ken uchi - back fist strike, snapping wrist, striking with
top of knuckles. | | mawashi
zuki - round hook punch, with top of hand facing outwards/upwards. | | furi
zuki - circular punch. Delivered in large circular
path with swing of hips, top of hand facing inwards. | | awase
zuki - U punch. Double fist punch consisting of
seiken zuki and ura zuki executed simultaneously. | | heiko
zuki - Parallel punch. Double fist punch consisting
of simultaneous left and right seiken zuki punch. | | yama
zuki (mountain punch) - Double punch as in awase zuki, but seiken zuki is higher and is delivered
in a circular over-arm fashion and ura zuki is lower and rises slightly. | | hiji
uchi or hiji ate
- elbow strike | | tateken
zuki - vertical fist punch. Top of hand faces out
to the side. | | nukite
zuki - finger thrust/spear hand. Straight hand, middle
finger slightly bent so first three fingers are roughly even in length.
Thumb bent and held tightly against palm. | | shuto
uchi - knife-hand strike, eg shuto hasami uchi (knife-hand strike
to neck). | | tettsui
uchi - bottom fist strike. Closed fist, strike with
bottom of fist. | | shotei
zuki - palm-heel thrust. Hand is open as in nukite, wrist bent back. Strike
made with bottom of hand, as in tettsui
(also called teisho zuki). | | haito
uchi - ridge-hand strike. Hand held as in nukite but strike is made with inside
of hand, a little below the index finger. | | keiko-ken
zuki - one knuckle fist. Index finger joint protrudes
slightly and is held firmly in place by thumb. | | nakadaka
ippon-ken zuki or just
nakadaka zuki - middle knuckle punch.
Similar to keiko-ken zuki,
but using second finger. Thumb and index finger press firmly
against middle finger to hold it in place. | | kaiko-ken
zuki - crab shell fist. Thumb bent and pressed against
palm. First knuckles straighted and fingers curled inwards
to touch edge of plam. Strike is made with middle bone of the
fingers. | | boshiken
zuki - similar to seiken zuki but thumb presses firmly against the bent
side of the index finger. Thumb is used to strike. | | ko
uchi - bent wrist strike, similar to ura ken uchi with open hand (wrist
is initially bent, but snaps out). | | kote
uchi - forearm strike. | | zu
zuki - headbutt. |
Foot techniques
| keri
(-geri) - kick | | mae
geri - front kick. mae geri keage
is a snap front kick, and mae geri kekomi
is a thrust front kick. The strike is made with
the ball of the foot (josokutei),
and with the toes pulled up and back. mae kakato geri is a kick that strikes with the heel. | | kin
geri - Gedan kick using kasokutei (top of foot ). | | mawashi
geri - roundhouse kick | | ushiro
geri - back thrust kick | | yoko
geri - side kick. yoko geri keage
is a snap side kick, and yoko geri kekomi
is a thrust side kick. The strike is with sokuto, the outside edge of the foot. | | kansetsu
geri - stamping kick, joint kick | | kake
geri - hook kick | | ashi
barai - foot sweep. Either a hooking sweep using
the inside/instep of the foot (sokko)
or a larger sweeping of the leg. | | mae
tobi geri - jumping front kick | | yoko
tobi geri - jumping side thrust kick | | hiza
geri or hiza ate
- knee kick | | tobi
geri - jumping kick | | tobi
nidan geri - jumping double kick | | ushiro
tobi geri - jumping back kick | | yoko
tobi geri - jumping side kick | | ura
yoko geri - spinning side kick | | ura
yoko tobi geri - spinning jumping side kick | | ura
ushiro tobi geri - spinning
jumping back kick | | ura
mawashi geri - spinning roudhouse kick | | kakatoto
oshi - heel kick/heel drop | | fumikomi
geri - stamping kick, strike is made by stamping inwards
(the kansetsu geri
is similar but towards the outside). | | gyaku
mawashi geri - reverse roundhouse kick. Delivered from inside
to outside of body. | | mikazuki
geri - crescent kick (inside to outside). Also called
soto mikazuki geri. | | kakato
geri - inside crescent kick (outside to inside). Also called
uchi mikazuki geri. | | ura
mikazuki tobi geri -
spinning jumping crescent kick | | otoshi
geri - descending kick, or axe kick (also otoshi kake geri) |
Movements
| sabaki - general term for body moving/shifting techniques | | tai
sabaki - body movement | | te
sabaki - hand movement | | ashi
sabaki - foot movement | | suri
ashi - sliding step | | tsugi
ashi - shuffling step | | tenkai
ashi - pivot | | kaiten
ashi - forward step pivot | | tenkan
ashi - pivot backstep | | ayumi
ashi - natural stepping/walking | | yori
ashi - dragging step | | keri
ashi - kicking foot | | tenshin - moving, shifting | | chakuchi - replacing |
Sparring
| kumite - sparring | | san
dan gi - basic three step/three level sparring | | sanbon
kumite - three step sparring | | ippon
kumite - one step sparring (block and counter) | | jiyu
ippon kumite - free one step sparring, emphasis on technique | | randori
kumite - slow and soft free style sparring with emphasis
on technique | | yakusoku
kumite - prearranged sparring | | jiyu
kumite - hard and fast controlled continuous free fighting
(iri kumi in
the Okinawan dialect) | | go
kumite - full contact sparring | | sanbon
shobu kumite or shiai kumite - three point competition karate |
Supplementary Training (hoju undo)
| chishi - stone lever weight. Flat stone or concrete
weight with a straight handle (typically 3-6kg). Originally an
Okinawan tool for packing soil. | | nigiri-game - gripping jar | | makiwara - striking post. A post with the striking area
wrapped in rope (hence the name) or leather. | | temochi-shiki
makiwara - hanging striking
post | | ishisashi - stone padlock, with uses similar to a dumbell. | | tan - barbell. Originally the wheels of a trolley. | | tou - cane or bamboo bundle | | jari
bako - sand-box | | tetsu
geta - iron clogs | | kongoken - oval metal weight (invented by Chojun Miyagi, typically
30-40kg) | | sashi-ishi - natural stone weights | | makiage
kigu - wrist roller | | tetsuarei - dumbell |
Other terms
| age - upper/rising | | ashi
tanren - leg conditioning | | bunkai - techniques and applications of a kata | | gasshuku - training camp | | gyaku - reverse | | hara - centre, centre of mass | | hoju
undo - supplementary exercises utilising aids to develop
strength, stamina, speed and coordination (see above) | | honbu
dojo - central dojo of an organisation/region | | junbi
undo - warmup and preliminary exercises | | junbi
owarimasu - end of warmups | | kakie - a type of hand/arm exercise and associated applications
used mostly for close combat. Also for improving strength, control
and muchimi. | | kamae - stance and distancing as assumed for sparring | | karate-do - the way of karate. do means way or path (from the chinese
tao). | | karateka - a karate practioner | | kata - a sequence of pre-arranged movements and techniques | | ki - spirit and energy | | kiai - shout given as techniques are delivered to focus
energy | | kihon - basics | | kime - focus | | ma-ai - correct distancing or timing with respect to one's
partner | | morote - both hands simultaneously | | muchimi - heavy/sticky but still flowing (a desirable feature
of many techniques) | | mushin - to do something automatically or without having
to think about it. | | ritsurei - standing bow | | seiken - normal fist (front two knuckles) | | seiza - kneeling | | shihan - chief/master instructor. For IOGKF Goju Ryu
this is Morio Higaonna. | | shime - testing of sanchin kata | | soto - outside (inside to outside) | | tako
ashi - gripping the floor with spread toes. | | uchi - inside (outside to inside) or strike | | ude
tanren - forearm conditioning | | zarei - sitting bow |
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