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| The Harvard Aikikai Glossary |
| Dogi |
道着 |
A uniform made of thick woven cotton, used in Aikido, Judo, and other martial arts |
| Dojo |
道場 |
Practice hall; the place where a martial art is taught and practiced |
| Ki |
気 |
A central concept in East Asian systems of thought
and medicine, as well as many other martial arts aside from Aikido.
A kind of “life force” that governs the way living beings move
and operate. |
| Nage
(or Tori) |
投げ or 取り |
The partner executing a technique in paired or multiple
partner practice |
| O-sensei |
大先生 |
Reference of respect to Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), the founder of Aikido, whose picture adorns the front of the dojo |
| Rei |
礼 |
A bow |
| Sensei |
先生 |
Teacher |
| Uke |
受け |
Receiver of a Technique, that is, the “attacker” who
is then thrown or pinned |
| ashi |
足 |
foot/leg |
| atama |
頭 |
head |
| hiji |
肘 |
elbow |
| hiza |
膝 |
knee |
| kata |
肩 |
shoulder |
| koshi |
腰 |
hip |
| kote |
小手 |
forearm |
| kubi |
首 |
neck |
| mune |
胸 |
chest |
| te |
手 |
hand |
| tekubi |
手首 |
wrist |
| ude |
腕 |
arm |
While not all dojo use these
terms, they are some common ones that you will here either in this club
or at other dojo or at seminars.
| Arigato gozaimashita |
有難うございました |
Thank you |
| Hajime |
始め |
“Begin” or “Start” |
| Matte |
待って |
“Wait” or “Stop” |
| Onegai shimasu |
お願いします |
A standard Japanese phrase used when asking for a favor or request. In Aikido, one says this while bowing to the sensei at the beginning of class and to one’s partner before practicing a technique. |
| Shomen ni rei! |
正面に礼 |
Bow to the front! Command used to signal formal seated bow by students at end of practice |
| Ai-hanmi |
相半身 |
Stance where the Nage and Uke are both standing with either both right feet or both left feet forward. |
| Atemi |
当て身 |
Strikes to the body at vulnerable points. Used in techniques to distract or unbalance the attacker and thereby increase the effectiveness of a technique |
| Gyaku-hanmi |
逆半身 |
A mirror hanmi stance where the Uke and Nage have different feet forward (Uke has left foot forward and Nage has the right foot forward or visa versa) |
| Hanmi |
半身 |
A triangular stance where one foot is in front and pointing forward and the rear foot is placed perpendicular to the front foot. |
| Hanmi-handachi |
半身半立 |
The Nage is seated in seiza and the Uke is standing. |
| Hidari-hanmi |
左半身 |
Hanmi stance with left (hidari) foot forward |
| Hito-e-mi or Hitoe-irimi |
一重身 or 一重入り身 |
An entering move in which Nage slides forward on the
front foot and then pivots reversal (see below), so that Nage
is standing at Uke’s back in the same hanmi stance (right or left)
as Uke is. |
| Jiyu-waza |
自由技 |
“Free-style” techniques performed usually with one
Uke and usually with a pre-decided attack. |
| Jo-nage |
杖投げ |
Throws done when the Nage holds the jo and the uke tries to take it from him. |
| Jo-dori |
杖取り |
Defenses by the Nage when attacked by the Uke with a jo |
| Kaiten |
回転 |
Forward Step-Pivot |
| Kokyu-dosa |
呼吸動作 |
A breathing exercise |
| Kokyu-ho |
呼吸法 |
Breathing exercise usually done at the end of a practice
session either seated or standing. |
| Ma-ai |
間合い |
Space between the Nage and the Uke |
| Mae Ukemi (or Zenpo Kaiten) |
前受身 (or 前方回転) |
The forward roll. |
| Migi-hanmi |
右半身 |
Hanmi stance with right (migi) foot forward |
| Omote |
表 |
Front or in front of, used to describe techniques executed
by moving across Uke’s front |
| Randori |
乱取り |
Free-style exercise where two or more Uke attack the
Nage using any attack of their choice. |
| Seiza |
正座 |
Formal Japanese way of sitting on the floor with one sitting with knees pointed forward and rear end on one’s feet and ankles. For men, the knees should be one to two fist lengths apart with one big toe resting on top of the other. For women, knees are one fist apart with one foot resting on top of the other. |
| Shikko |
膝行 |
Walking on one’s knees. |
| Suri-nuke |
An entry where one takes a step forward and then executes
a pivot. |
|
| Suwari-waza (or Zagi) |
坐り技 or 座技 |
Techniques where both Nage and Uke are seated in seiza |
| Tachi-dori |
太刀取り |
Defenses
to a sword attack, sword takeaways |
| Tachi-waza |
立ち技 |
Techniques done while standing |
| Tai-sabaki |
体捌き |
The general term for body movements used in Aikido to avoid an attack and unbalance the attacker in the process |
| Tanto-dori |
短刀取り |
Defenses to a knife attack, knife takeaways |
| Tenkan (or Tai-no-henko) |
転換 or 体の変向 |
A turn in which the back leg of the hanmi stance is pulled back 180 degrees to reverse one’s direction. The front foot of the stance is used as the pivot point. Unlike a pivot, one’s stance is the same as before the move, but one is facing the opposite direction. |
| Tenshin |
転身 |
Movement where one steps back and off-line of the incoming
attack. |
| Ukemi |
受け身 |
Tumbling or breakfalls. |
| Ura |
裏 |
Rear or in back of, used to describe techniques executed
by moving around behind the Uke |
| Ushiro Ukemi (or Koho kaiten) |
後ろ受身 (後方回転) |
The backwards roll. |
| Ushiro-waza |
後技 |
Defenses to attacks from the rear |
| Waza |
技 |
A technique |
As all forms in Aikido consist
of an attack and a defense (or a combination of defenses and attacks),
you should become familiar with the various kinds of attacks common
to Aikido. While this is not
a comprehensive list, this covers all of the most common (and a few
uncommon) attacks used in Aikido.
| Shomen-uchi |
正面打ち |
Strike to the front of the face with the te-gatana |
| Yokomen-uchi |
横面打ち |
Strike to the temple with the te-gatana |
| Mune-zuki |
胸突き |
Punch to the abdomen |
| Katate-dori |
片手取り |
Single-handed grip to the wrist (Uke grabs Nage’s right
wrist with his left hand) |
| Gyaku katate-dori or Ai-dori or Ai-hanmi katate-dori |
逆片手取り or
相取りor 相半身片手取り) |
Cross-handed grip to the wrist (Uke grabs Nage’s right
wrist with his right hand) |
| Morote-dori (or Katate-ryote-dori) |
諸手取り (or 片手諸手取り) |
Uke uses two hands to grab one of the Nage’s wrist. |
| Ryote-dori |
両手取り |
Uke uses both hands to grab both of the Nage’s wrists |
| Mune-dori |
胸取り |
Uke grabs Nage by the lapel of dogi |
| Kata-dori |
肩取り |
Uke grabs one of the Nage’s shoulder with one hand |
| Ryokata-dori |
両肩取り |
Uke grabs both of the Nage’s shoulders |
| Kata-dori shomen-uchi |
肩取り正面打ち |
Uke grabs one of the Nage’s shoulder with one hand
and strikes at the Nage with the other hand |
| Ushiro ryote-dori |
後両手取り |
Uke grabs both Nage’s wrists from behind. |
| Ushiro ryokata-dori |
後両肩取り |
Uke grabs both Nage’s shoulders from behind. |
| Ushiro eri-dori |
後襟取り |
Uke grabs the back of Nage’s collar from behind |
| Ushiro kubi-jime |
後首締め |
Uke reaches around with one arm, grabs the Nage’s lapel
to strangle the Nage and holds on to one of Nage’s wrists with
the other hand |
| Ushiro-kakae |
後抱え |
Uke embraces Nage’s torso from behind, so that Nage’s
arms are trapped |
The first step in mastering a
technique is knowing its name.
To that end, we provide you with a list of the basic techniques
or kihon waza. There are many more techniques (some with names,
and some without), however these are the ones most common in practice.
We realize that a simple list of techniques doesn’t give anyone
much of a clue of what each technique looks like, however, without regular
practice, the association of movement with name cannot be achieved.
| Shiho-nage |
四方投げ |
Four Direction Throw |
| Irimi-nage |
入り身投げ |
Entering Throw |
| Kote-gaeshi |
小手返し |
Throw from outward wrist twist |
| Tenchi-nage |
天地投げ |
Heaven and Earth Throw |