Karate terminology (Yōgo)

Every command Sensei Zad calls on the floor is Japanese, and every technique carries a name that describes exactly what the body is doing. You do not need to memorise all of it before your first class — but the more of it you recognise, the faster you move, because you are reacting to the word instead of waiting to be shown.

Below is the working vocabulary of Shitō-ryū (糸東流), grouped the way it comes up in training: numbers first, then the commands that shape a session, then the technical language of stances, strikes, kicks and blocks. Romaji is written the way it is spoken; where a term changes sound in a compound — tsuki becoming -zuki, keri becoming -geri — both forms are noted.

Counting — Ichi to Jū

Warm-ups, repetitions and kata counts are all called in Japanese. These first ten are non-negotiable; the rest follow a simple pattern once you have them.

Japanese 日本語	Rōmaji	Meaning
一	Ichi	One
二	Ni	Two
三	San	Three
四	Shi / Yon	Four
五	Go	Five
六	Roku	Six
七	Shichi / Nana	Seven
八	Hachi	Eight
九	Kyū	Nine
十	Jū	Ten
二十	Nijū	Twenty
百	Hyaku	One hundred

Commands — Reigi & the floor

These open, run and close a session. From lining up and bowing to hajime and yame, they are the punctuation of a class — learn them and you will always know what is being asked of you.

Japanese 日本語	Rōmaji	Meaning
整列	Seiretsu	Line up by rank
正座	Seiza	Kneel / sit correctly
黙想	Mokusō	Meditate — silent focus
正面に礼	Shōmen ni rei	Bow to the front
先生に礼	Sensei ni rei	Bow to the teacher
御互いに礼	Otagai ni rei	Bow to each other
気を付け	Kiotsuke	Attention
用意	Yōi	Ready
構えて	Kamaete	Take your posture / guard
始め	Hajime	Begin
止め	Yame	Stop
直れ	Naore	Return to ready / at ease
待て	Mate	Wait
休憩	Kyūkei	Rest / break
回れ	Mawatte	Turn around
押忍	Osu	Yes / understood (used sparingly in Shitō-ryū — the tradition favours hai)
はい	Hai	Yes
御願いします	Onegai shimasu	Please (train with me) — said before practice
有り難う御座いました	Arigatō gozaimashita	Thank you — said after practice

Stances — Dachi (立ち)

Everything in karate is built on the stance. Power has nowhere to come from without a base, so Shitō-ryū drills a wide range of them — from the natural, ready postures to the deep, structural stances of kata.

Japanese 日本語	Rōmaji	Meaning
自然体	Shizentai	Natural posture
結び立ち	Musubi dachi	Heels-together, feet open — formal stance
閉足立ち	Heisoku dachi	Closed-feet stance
平行立ち	Heikō dachi	Parallel stance
外八字立ち	Soto hachiji dachi	Open “figure-eight” stance
基立ち	Moto dachi	Foundation / basic stance
前屈立ち	Zenkutsu dachi	Front-bent (forward) stance
後屈立ち	Kōkutsu dachi	Back-bent stance
猫足立ち	Nekoashi dachi	Cat-foot stance — weight on the rear leg
四股立ち	Shiko dachi	Square / straddle stance
三戦立ち	Sanchin dachi	Three-battle stance
内八字立ち	Naihanchi dachi	Inner “clamping” stance

Punches & strikes — Tsuki (突き) & Uchi (打ち)

A tsuki is a thrust that travels straight to the target; an uchi is a strike that arcs or snaps. In compounds the sound softens — tsuki becomes -zuki.

Japanese 日本語	Rōmaji	Meaning
追い突き	Oi zuki	Lunge punch — same side as the front leg
逆突き	Gyaku zuki	Reverse punch — from the rear side
刻み突き	Kizami zuki	Jab — lead-hand snap
中段突き	Chūdan zuki	Middle-level punch
上段突き	Jōdan zuki	Upper-level punch
裏突き	Ura zuki	Close-range inverted punch
縦拳突き	Tateken zuki	Vertical-fist punch
鉤突き	Kagi zuki	Hook punch
裏拳打ち	Uraken uchi	Back-fist strike
手刀打ち	Shutō uchi	Knife-hand (chop) strike
肘当て	Hiji ate	Elbow strike
膝当て	Hiza ate	Knee strike

Kicks — Geri (蹴り)

A kick is keri on its own and -geri in a compound. The name tells you the line of the kick and, often, the part of the foot that strikes.

Japanese 日本語	Rōmaji	Meaning
前蹴り	Mae geri	Front kick
回し蹴り	Mawashi geri	Roundhouse kick
横蹴り	Yoko geri	Side kick
足刀蹴り	Sokutō geri	Knife-foot (edge-of-foot) kick
後ろ蹴り	Ushiro geri	Back kick

Blocks — Uke (受け)

Uke means “to receive”. A block is never just defence in Shitō-ryū — it deflects, absorbs and sets up the next technique in the same motion.

Japanese 日本語	Rōmaji	Meaning
上げ受け	Age uke	Rising block
横受け	Yoko uke	Side block
下段払い	Gedan barai	Lower-level sweeping parry
手刀受け	Shutō uke	Knife-hand block
腹受け	Hara uke	Abdomen / hooking block
四方受け	Shihō uke	Four-direction blocking drill

Directions & levels

These modifiers attach to almost everything — a punch, a block or a step. They tell you the height of a target or the line of a movement.

Japanese 日本語	Rōmaji	Meaning
上段	Jōdan	Upper level (head / neck)
中段	Chūdan	Middle level (torso)
下段	Gedan	Lower level (below the belt)
前	Mae	Front
後ろ	Ushiro	Back / rear
横	Yoko	Side
内	Uchi	Inside / inward
外	Soto	Outside / outward
上げ	Age	Rising
落とし	Otoshi	Dropping
正中線	Seichūsen	Centre line of the body

General terms — the language of training

The words that frame the art itself: the parts of practice, the people in the room, and the concepts Sensei Zad returns to when explaining why a technique works.

Japanese 日本語	Rōmaji	Meaning
空手道	Karate-dō	The way of the empty hand
糸東流	Shitō-ryū	Our style of karate
道場	Dōjō	Training hall — “place of the way”
先生	Sensei	Teacher / instructor
先輩	Sempai	Senior student
後輩	Kōhai	Junior student
空手家	Karateka	A karate practitioner
稽古	Keiko	Practice / training
帯	Obi	Belt
道着	Dōgi / Karategi	Training uniform
基本	Kihon	Fundamentals / basics
型	Kata	Prescribed forms
組手	Kumite	Sparring — “meeting of hands”
分解	Bunkai	Application drawn out of a kata
技	Waza	Technique
体捌き	Tai sabaki	Body shifting / movement
間合い	Maai	Distance / engagement range
決め	Kime	Focus — total commitment at impact
気合い	Kiai	Spirited shout unifying breath and technique
残心	Zanshin	Sustained awareness after a technique
呼吸	Kokyū	Breath / breathing
乱取り	Randori	Free, continuous sparring practice
寸止め	Sundome	Controlled stop just short of contact

Do not try to swallow this whole. Pick up the counting and the floor commands first — they turn up in every class — and let the technical names attach themselves to movements as you learn them. Before long the Japanese stops being a glossary and becomes the natural language of your training.

Adapted from Sensei Zad Datu’s original glossary, Karate Terminology on KarateDatu.