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Nihongo (Japanese) Words Used in Aikido
Although
all classes in our dojo are taught in English, all of
the terms in aikido are taught in nihongo, the Japanese language.
Here is a guide to some of the words and phrases we use in our
classes.
(Please
note that this is a work in progress. Sections marked with "???"
are under construction. Until they are completed, an excellent
resource is the online Encyclopedia
of Aikido at Aikido Journal.))
Basic
Aikido Terms
| aikido |
-- |
literally ai (joining) ki (spirit, energy,
soul) doh (way, method, art), or "The Art
of Joining Energies" |
| dojo |
-- |
a meeting place to study martial arts |
| |
|
|
| nage |
-- |
the person executing a technique |
| uke |
-- |
the person receiving the technique |
| |
|
|
| rei |
-- |
to bow |
| seiza |
-- |
the traditional sitting or kneeling position |
| kokyu ho |
-- |
a kneeling exercise, usually done at the end of class, where
one student, with wrists held, tries to unbalance the other
(kokyu = breathing, ho = method, as the exercise
promotes proper breathing) |
| |
|
|
| jo |
-- |
a wooden staff roughly 3/4 the height of the user, representing
either a staff or short spear during training |
| bokken |
-- |
a wooden sword used for training (ken = sword) |
| tanto |
-- |
a wooden knife used for training |
| |
|
|
| suwari waza |
-- |
attack and defense while both the nage and uke are
kneeling (suwari =
seated, waza =
technique) |
| hanmi-handachi |
-- |
attack and defense while the nage is kneeling and
the uke is
standing (hanmi = foot position, handachi = ???) |
| |
|
|
| jiyu waza |
-- |
freestyle attack and defense with one uke (jiyu =
free) |
| ran dori |
-- |
freestyle attack and defense with four uke |
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Basic
Aikido Techniques
Techniques
are usually described with two phrases; the first is the style
of the attack, and the second is the style of the defense. The
phrases are all simple Japanese, making it easy for the Japanese
student to remember but presenting a challenge to the non-Japanese
student.
| Attack Styles |
| sho-men uchi |
-- |
a vertical chop to the head (sho = front, men = face, uchi = strike) |
| yoko-men uchi |
-- |
a diagonal chop to the neck (yoko = side) |
| |
|
|
| mune tsuki |
-- |
a punch to the stomach (mune = torso, tsuki = thrust) |
| |
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| kata tori |
-- |
shoulder grab (kata = ???, dori = grab) |
| kata-te tori |
-- |
single hand wrist grab (kata = single, te = hand, dori = grab) |
| ryo-te tori |
-- |
double hand wrist grab (ryo = both) |
| ushiro te-kubi tori |
-- |
arm grab from behind (ushiro = behind, kubi = arm) |
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|
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| Defense Styles |
| ikkyo |
-- |
unbalancing the uke through pressure on the elbow,
followed by a pinning movement which immobilizes the uke's arm
with pressure applied to both wrist and elbow (ikkyo =
first teaching) |
| nikkyo |
-- |
??? (nikkyo = second teaching) |
| sankyo |
-- |
??? (sankyo = third teaching) |
| yonkyo |
-- |
??? (yonkyo = fourth teaching) |
| gokyo |
-- |
??? (gokyo = fifth teaching) |
| |
|
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| irimi nage |
-- |
??? (irimi = ???, nage = throw) |
| shiho nage |
-- |
??? |
| kaiten nage |
-- |
??? |
| kokyu nage |
-- |
??? |
| tenchi nage |
-- |
"heaven and earth" throw (ten = heaven, chi =
earth) |
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| kote gaeshi |
-- |
??? |
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Sensei
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