Japanese Terms used in Daily Practice

The following terms are commonly used in Aikido training, and in the standard techniques tested during Aikikai examinations for a higher rank.

The names of Aikido techniques (waza) consist of two parts:

• First half, the name of the attack
• Second half, the name of the throw

Examples: mune tsuki + ikkyo, katate tori + shiho nage, shomen uchi + irimi nage.

Thus the first two parts of the table are Attacks and Throws. Any attack combines with any throw to become a waza: For example, a partner can attack with mune tsuki and be thrown with ikkyo, shiho nage, kote gaeshi, irimi nage or one of many kokyu nage.

Attacks

aikido term	definition	examples or description
hanmi handachi	half sitting, half standing	Standing uke attacks seated nage
kata tori	shoulder grab	kata tori ikkyo, ushiro kata tori sankyo
katate tori	one hand grab (same side, as in left hand grabs partner's right wrist)	katate tori shiho nage
katate kosa tori	one hand grab (opposite side)	As in, left hand grab of partner's left wrist. katate kosa tori ikkyo
katate (tori) ryotemochi [morote tori]	attacker grabs one wrist with both hands	katate tori ryote mochi kokyu nage
mune tsuki	punch or thrust to the chest	mune tsuki kotegaeshi
ryote tori	both hands grabbed	ryote tori tenchi nage
shomen uchi	direct strike to the face or front of the head	shomen uchi ikkyo
ushiro (ryo) kata tori	grab (both) shoulder(s) from behind	ushiro kata tori sankyo
ushiro tekubi / hiji / kata tori	grab wrists / elbows / shoulders from behind	ushiro tekubi tori kotegaeshi, ushiro hiji tori, ushiro kata tori
yokomen uchi	strike to the side of the face or head	yokomen uchi shiho nage

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Throws

aikido term	definition	examples or description
ikkyo [ude osae] (omote and ura)	first "form" throw	Basic pin of the opponent's arm
nikyo [kote mawashi] (omote and ura)	sceond "form" throw	Turning of the wrist (forearm) pin
sankyo [kote hineri] (omote and ura)	third "form" throw	Twisiting of the wrist (forearm) pin
yonkyo [tekubi osae] (omote and ura)	fourth "form" throw	Wrist pressure pin
gokyo (omote and ura)	fifth "form" throw	Pin usually used against knife attacks
irimi nage	"entering" throw	Thow by sliding past the opponent's line of attack, letting his momenum pass
jo nage (or tori)	Throwing with, or taking away, the jo	set of throwing techniques with a wooden staff
jiyu waza	"free" style techniques	Basic: perform any throw against ryotetori (both hands grasped) attack
toshu henka waza	"change" style/form techniques	Any throw against any attack
kaeshi waza	"reversal" throw	Techniques for countering nage's throw
kaiten nage (omote and ura)	"revolution" throw	Turn of the wheel "revolution", not the overthrowing of governments kind
kokyu nage	breath throw	Throws relying on timing, body movement and attacker's speed, and strength, rather than joint locks
kote gaeshi	Turing in of the wrist (reversing the wrist)	Similar to a nikyo pin, but used to throw
randori	attack by multiple (usually 4) uke	lit. "passing through chaos" Free techniques against multiple opponents
shiho nage (omote and ura)	four directions throw
sumi otoshi (omote and ura)	"corner" throw
tachi (bokken) tori	sword waza	deal with (wooden) sword attacks
tanto tori	knife waza	deal with (wooden) knife attacks
suwari waza	seated techniques	actually techniques executed while kneeling
tenchi nage ( omote and ura )	heaven-earth throw	One hand goes up, the other comes down (from ryote tori)

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Exercises

aikido term	definition	examples or description
fune kogi undo	rowing exercise
hojo walk	posture, moving, and breathing exercise during warmups
kokyu ho	breath exercise	done in a kneeling position (seiza) at the end of every class
misogi (okinaga)	purification breathing	done at the end of every class
shikko	samurai (knee) walking	preparation for suwari waza

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Other Japanese Words & Phrases

aikido term	definition	examples or description
ashi hakobi	move the feet	martial way of walking by sliding the feet rather than stepping
bokken	wooden sword	tachi, generic name for a (real) sword
hara	center of the body, just below the navel
hanmi	half-stance	lit., half body, as in facing forward with left or right foot forward, in left or right hanmi, respectively
hantai	opposite, other side
jo	wooden staff	originally a thrusting spear
kaiten	pivot 180o in place	turn 180o without moving feet
kamae	stance	formal posture for attacking or awaiting attack
kokyu	breath or breathing	kokyu nage, kokyu ho
kote	wrist / lower arm	lit. small hand
kyu & dan	rank, level or grade in martial arts:	kyu - colored belts, 6th or 5th through 1st kyu (descending) dan - black belts, shodan (1st), nidan (2nd), sandan (3rd), yondan (4th), godan (5th), etc. through 10th dan (ascending)
ma'ai	interval	proper distance between nage and uke for attack and defense
men	face or head
metsuke	Eye line	Keep head erect and focus eyes on the middle distance
mochi	hold, have	ryote mochi: hold with both hands
nage	throw or person throwing (the latter also called tori, or taker)	shiho nage, irimi nage
onegai shimasu	please	as in, "please work (train) with me"
omote	front entry	shiho nage, omote
ryo	both	ryote tori, ryote mochi
sabaki	body movement
seiza	formal Japanese sitting, on the knees
sensei	teacher	Head instructor is Sensei; all other instructors are only addressed as Sensei when they are teaching and on the mat
tanto	knife, lit. short sword	tanto tori waza deal with knife attacks
te	hand
tekubi	wrist	lit. neck of the hand
tenkan	turn	pivot (kaiten) and step back
tori	take, grasp (also person performing the throw)	katate tori, ryote tori
uchi	strike	shomen uchi, yokomen uchi attacks
uke	receiver, i.e. person being thrown, the attacker or striker (from utsu - to strike (also uchi, ukemi))
ukemi	the art of attacking, following and taking the fall	"Partner's ukemi is good"; "we have to work on our ukemi"
ura, ushiro	entry to the back	ikkyo ura, ushiro tekubi tori
waza	technique
zanshin	connection	maintain zanshin with your partner throughout the waza or training session

Notes: For correct pronunciation some vowels, especially "o" and "u", are doubled ("oo" is pronounced as in low, not book)

The words from the list that are affected:

kokyuu hoo, shikkoo, ryoo, randoori, joo, shihoo nage, undoo, jiyuu waza, tantoo, kyuu (the rank). The rest of the words are pronounced phonetically, except pronounce the following words without the "u": onegai shimass (not "shimasoo"); munetski (not "munetsooki")

Also, see An English-Japanese Aikido Lexicon for a similar exercise from a different perspective back to top