Common Terminology used in KarateÂ
Numbers
ichi - one
ni - two
san - three
shi - four
go - five
roku - six
shichi - seven
hachi - eight
kyu - nine
ju - ten
Levels and directions
jodan - upper level (head height)
chudan - middle level (stomach height)
gedan - lower level (groin height)
hiza shita - below the knee
hidari - left
migi - right
mae - forward
yoko - sidewards
ushiro - backwards
uchi - inside
soto - outside
Hand Techniques
ken - fist
seiken - fore fist
ippon ken - one knuckle fist
uraken - back fist
tettsui - iron hammer fist
shuto - sword hand
haito - sword ridge (opposite of shuto)
nukite - spear hand
teisho - palm heel Â
tsuki, zuki = a punch
age zuki - rising punch
awase zuki - 'U' punch
choku zuki - straight punch
gyaku zuki - reverse punch
kizami zuki - jab
kagi zuki - hook punch
oi zuki (jun zuki) - lunge punch
Foot Techniques Â
keri, geri = a kick
hiza = knee
ashi = foot
soku = foot (you guessed it, two different pronunciations of the same character)
mae geri - front kick
mawashi geri - roundhouse kick
fumi komi - stamping kick
ashi barai - foot sweep
hiza geri - knee kick
kakato geri - heel kick
ushiro geri - back kick
yoko geri keage - sside snap kick
yoko gero kekomi - side thrust kick
Miscellaneous
kyu = class (as in "first class")
dan = level (as you know, this comes after the word it applies to, so "jodan" is "upper level", "nidan" is "second level" or "two levels", and so on)
kata = form, shape


