Karate-Do Techniques and Terminology
The following is a partial list of the many terms used in Shotokan Karate with their common English interpretations. Those listed here are only the most common terms.
Numbers
| ichi | 1 | roku | 6 | ||||
| ni | 2 | shichi | 7 | ||||
| san | 3 | hachi | 8 | ||||
| shi | 4 | ku | 9 | ||||
| go | 5 | ju | 10 |
Dachi (Stances)
| Fudo Dachi | Rooted stance (sometimes called Sochin dachi) | |
| Hachiji dachi | Open leg stance (a.k.a. - Yoi position) | |
| Hangetsu dachi | Half-moon stance (wide hourglass) | |
| Heisoku dachi | Informal attention stance (closed feet) | |
| Kiba dachi | Straddle leg stance (a.k.a. - side or horse stance) | |
| Kokutsu dachi | Back stance | |
| Kosa dachi | Crossed-feet stance | |
| Neko ashi dachi | Cat stance | |
| Sanchin dachi | Hourglass stance (small) |
|
| Shizen tai | Natural stance | |
| Sochin dachi/fudo dachi | Rooted stance | |
| Zen kutsu dachi | Front stance |
Uke (Blocks) |
Uchi (Strikes) |
||||||
| age uke | rising block | empi uchi | elbow strike | ||||
| gedan barai | lower level sweeping block | shuto uchi | knife hand strike | ||||
| soto ude uke | outside forearm block | teisho uchi | palm heel strike | ||||
| shuto uke | knife hand block | tettsui uchi | hammer fist strike | ||||
| teisho uke | palm heel block | uraken uchi | back fist strike | ||||
| uchi ude uke | inside forearm block | (tate-vertical yoko-horizontal) | |||||
Tsuki (Punches) |
Geri (Kicks) |
|||||||
| gyaku zuki | reverse punch | mae geri |
front kick | |||||
| oi zuki | step-in punch | mae geri keage | front snap kick | |||||
| oi zuki sanbon zuki | 1 step, 3 punches | mae geri kekomi | front thrust kick | |||||
| kage zuki | hook punch | mawashi geri | roundhouse kick | |||||
| kizami zuki | jab punch | yoko geri |
side kick | |||||
| nukite | spear hand | yoko geri keage | side snap kick | |||||
| yoko geri kekomi | side thrust kick | |||||||
| ushiro geri | back kick | |||||||
| rengeri | double kick | |||||||
| tobi geri | jumping kick | |||||||
Kumite (Sparring)
| jo dan | head level | |
| chu dan | stomach level | |
| ge dan | lower level | |
| sanban kumite | three-step sparring | |
| ippon kumite | one-step sparring | |
| jiyu ippon kumite/ | semi-free sparring | |
| jiyu kumite |
