Karate Terminology

If a karateka learns the Japanese karate terminology, she/he will be able to enter any karate dojo in the world and able to understand and workout.  

Many Japanese letters sound the same as they do in English, but some letters are pronounced or written differently.  To learn the Japanese sounds of these letters, study the following chart.

JAPANESE SOUND           ENGLISH SOUND         EXAMPLE

               a                                           ah                       aka (ah-ka)

 

               ai                                          i                          Shotokai                       

                                                                  (as in eye) (show-toe-keye)                       

 

               e                                           eh                         hajime           

                                                                           (as in let) (haw-gee-meh)

 

               ei                                         ay                         Sensei

                                                                              (as in day) (sehn-say)

 

               i                                          ee                    Obi (oh-bee)

    

 

               o                                         oh                     dojo  (doh-joh)

 

               oi                                        oy                   kiiroi (key-roy) (as in boy)  

                                                       

               u                                         oo                   uchi (oo-chee)

                                                                                                                                

In Japanese, the letter “r” is never emphasized.  It is pronounced like a soft “d”.  The letter “g” is always pronounced like the “g” in go.

GENERAL TERMS

 

MAJOR CONCEPTS

 

COMMANDS

 

DIRECTIONS

 

DACHI WAZA (STANCES)

 

UKE WAZA (BLOCKS)

GERI WAZA (KICKS)

 

TSUKI WAZA (PUNCHES)

 

UCHI WAZA (Strikes)

KATA (Forms)

 

BODY PARTS

 

COUNTING

 

COLORS

 

WEAPONS (Kobujutsu Training)