Below is an alphabetical list of terms commonly used in DanZan Ryu Jujitsu. To skip to a particular letter, click below. A PDF version of this glossary, which also includes the kanji and additional details, can be downloaded here.
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| ba |
horse |
| bajitsu |
horsemanship; literally, "horse
techniques" |
| barai |
spelling of harai
when following another word |
| basami |
spelling of hasami
when following another word |
| bo |
long staff |
| bojitsu |
art of the long staff |
| bokken |
wooden sword
used in kendo and kenjitsu |
| bu |
military; martial |
| budo |
martial arts of late medieval and
post-medieval Japan emphasizing spiritual, health, and sport aspects over combat and self-defense;
literally, "martial way"; compare to bujitsu |
| budokai |
martial way organization |
| bunkai |
application of form |
| bushi |
warrior class of medieval Japan; also, a
member of this class (synonymous with samurai2) |
| bushido |
unwritten moral and ethical code of
conduct practiced by the bushi; similar
to European chilavry; literally, "way of the
warrior" |
| bujitsu |
fighting arts of the warrior class of medieval Japan; literally, "martial techniques"
or "martial arts";
compare to budo |
|
|
| ebi |
lobster; shrimp; prawn |
| ebi jime |
lobster choke |
| eku |
oar, used as a weapon in
Okinawan karate |
| empi |
elbow; literally, "monkey arm",
but considered synonymous with hiji in Japanese martial arts |
| empi uchi |
elbow strike |
| eri |
lapel; collar |
|
|
| kaeshi (gaeshi) |
counter; reversal; return; answer |
| kagi |
hook |
| kagi zuki |
hook punch |
| kakato |
heel |
| kakato geri |
heel kick |
| kake (gake) |
hooking or clipping action |
| kakiwake |
pushing one's way through
|
| kakiwake uke |
pushing through
block |
| kakuto |
crane head |
| kakuto uke |
bent wrist block; literally, "crane head
block" |
| kama |
sickle, used in pairs in Okinawan karate |
| kamae |
posture with attitude and intention. Uses & history
|
| kami |
1. god;
spirit; divine |
| 2. upper body; top |
| kami shiho gatame |
upper
four-direction hold |
| kan |
China |
| kana |
the Japanese
phoenetic alphabets, i.e., hiragana and katakana |
| kani |
crab |
| kani sute |
crab
sacrifice; another name for kani basami |
| kani
basami |
crab scissors; flying scissors throw of judo
which is sometimes also called kani sute |
| kanji |
Japanese system of writing
utilizing characters from Chinese writing; a single character in this
system; literally, "the character kan" |
| Kano, Jigoro |
founder of judo |
| kansetsu |
knuckle or joint |
| kansetsu
waza |
joint-locking techniques in judo |
| kara |
1.
empty; emptiness |
| 2. China; literally, "T'ang", as in the T'ang dynasty of China |
| karami (garami) |
entanglement; entwined |
| karate |
martial art emphasizing striking; literally, "empty hand" or
"Chinese hand" (see kara) |
| kata |
1. stylized form; pre-arranged techniques used to practice many martial arts |
| 2. shoulder; e.g., kata
guruma |
| 3. one-sided; one (of two); e.g., kataha jime |
| kata gatame |
shoulder hold |
| kata guruma |
shoulder
wheel; throw in judo |
| kata juji jime |
half cross choke |
| kataha |
single edge; single wing |
| kataha jime |
single wing choke |
| katakana |
angular phonetic script used mainly for writing foreign words in Japanese |
| katame (gatame) |
hardening;
fortifying; tightening; used in judo to mean grappling
or a hold or lock |
| katame waza |
grappling techniques of judo; often used interchangeably with ne waza4 |
| katana |
long sword of the
daisho; the primary sword of the samurai
worn tucked into the belt with its curved blade facing upward; successor of the tachi; synonymous with to |
| katate |
one hand; single hand |
| katate dori |
one hand pull |
| katsu |
revival techniques |
| keage |
upwards kick |
| kekomi |
thrusting kick |
| kempo (kenpo) |
fist way; Japanese word for (and
hence synonymous with) chuan fa |
| ken |
1.
fist; e.g., kenpo |
| 2. any generic straight-bladed sword; e.g., kendo |
| kendo |
modern Japanese sport martial art of
fencing; literally, "way of the sword"; descendant of kenjitsu |
| kenjitsu |
combat swordfighting practiced
by the bushi; literally, "art of the sword"; predecessor of kendo |
| kenpo |
alternative
spelling of kempo |
| keri (geri) |
kick |
| keri waza |
kicking techniques |
| kesa |
scarf; in
particular, the scarf of a Buddhist monk |
| kesa gatame |
scarf hold |
| ki |
inner energy; spirit |
| kiai |
loud shout or yell which focuses one's ki when striking hard1; literally,
"harmonized inner energy" |
| kiba |
horse-riding |
| kiba dachi |
horse
stance; literally, "horse-riding stance" |
| kime |
focus |
| kiotsuke |
to
command someone to pay attention |
| ko |
1. minor; compare to
o; e.g., kosoto
gari |
| 2. old; ancient; e.g., koryu |
| 3. behind; back; backwards; e.g., kokutsu |
| Kodokan |
headquarters of judo in Japan; iterally, "school for studying the
way"; also used when referring to judo, as in
Kodokan Judo. |
| koko uchi |
tiger mouth strike |
| Kokua |
To cooperate; to help one-another |
| kokutsu |
backward leaning |
| kokutsu dachi |
back
stance; literally, "backward leaning stance" |
| komi |
to be inserted, crowded, or mixed |
| koryu |
traditional schools of Japanese martial arts; literally, "ancient or old stream" |
| koshi (goshi) |
1. hip; waist; loin |
| 2. ball of the foot |
| koshi guruma |
hip
wheel; throw in judo |
| koshi jime |
hip choke |
| koshi waza |
hip techniques |
| kosoto gake |
minor outer
clip; throw in judo |
| kosoto gari |
minor outer
reap; throw in judo |
| kouchi gari |
minor inner
reap; throw in judo |
| ku |
nine (see numerals) |
| kubi |
neck |
| kuchiki |
a decayed/dead tree |
| kuchiki taoshi |
to fell or knock down a decayed/dead tree; throw in judo |
| kudan |
ninth degree;
ninth degree black belt (see belt ranks) |
| kumikata |
methods of holding |
| kumite |
sparring |
| kuruma (guruma) |
wheel |
| kusarigama |
sickle with a rope or chain attached |
| kutsu |
lean; stoop; bend
|
| kuzure |
broken; collapsed |
| kuzure kesa gatame |
broken scarf
hold |
| kuzushi |
unbalancing (in judo, there are eight directions of unbalancing,
corresponding to the eight directions of the compass) |
| kyu |
class; grade; rank; in
Japanese martial arts, used for ranks under black belt (see belt ranks) |
| kyusho |
vital or
pressure points |
| kyusho jitsu |
the art of striking the vital points of the body |
|
|
| tachi (dachi) |
1. stance; standing |
| 2. curved sword worn hung from the belt with the blade down; predecessor of the katana |
| tachi waza |
standing
techniques (techniques done from the standing position) |
| tai |
the body |
| tai otoshi |
body
drop; throw in judo |
| tama |
ball; sphere |
| tameshiwari |
breaking demonstration |
| tanden |
point just below the navel |
| tani |
valley |
| tani otoshi |
valley
drop; throw in judo |
| tanto |
knife |
| taoshi |
to fell or knock down
|
| tatami |
a rice
straw mat commonly used in traditional Japanese homes to soften the hard wooden
floors; also used in some Japanese martial arts to provide a relatively soft
surface to take hard falls |
| tate |
vertical |
| tate zuki |
boxer's
jab; literally, "vertical punch" |
| tatsu |
1.
dragon |
| 2. standing; rising up |
| tatsumaki |
tornado; whirlwind; literally,
"dragon roll" |
| tatsumaki jime |
dragon
choke; literally, "dragon roll choke" |
| tawara |
straw rice bag; bale |
| tawara
gaeshi |
rice bag reversal; throw in judo |
| te |
hand |
| te waza |
hand techniques |
| tei |
1. street; ward; town |
| 2. bottom; e.g., shotei |
| teiji |
the letter "T"; literally, "the
kanji tei" (whose shape is that of the roman letter "T") |
| teiji dachi |
T-stance |
| teisho |
same as
shotei |
| teisho uchi |
| same as shotei uchi |
| teisho uke |
same as shotei uke |
| tekubi |
wrist;
literally, "neck of the hand" |
| tekubi tori |
wrist pull |
| tensho |
rolling hand; fluid hand |
| tettsui |
iron hammer |
| tettsui uchi |
hammer-fist strike; literally, "iron hammer strike" |
| to |
alternative
pronunciation of the kanji which is also read
katana; e.g., haito |
| tomoe |
comma-like design or shape |
| tomoe nage |
circular throw;
literally, "comma-like throw"; throw in judo |
| tonfa |
wooden rod with handle at right angle, used in pairs |
| tora |
tiger |
| tora nage |
tiger throw |
| tori (dori) |
pull; grab; grasp; take; take away; in Japanese martial arts,
the one who performs or demonstrates ("takes") a technique; compare to uke |
| tsuki (zuki) |
1. thrust; punch; e.g., kagi zuki |
| 2. moon; month; e.g., mikazuki |
| tsuki
waza |
thrusting techniques |
| tsukuri |
stepping into the throw |
| tsuri |
fishing; to
lift up (as when hooking a fish) |
| tsuri goshi |
lifting
hip; throw in judo |
| tsurikomi |
lifting and pulling up in a circular motion
(as when hooking a fish); taking in |
| tsurikomi goshi |
lifting pulling
hip; throw in judo |
|
|
| zen |
1. Japanese sect of Buddhism which places heavy
emphasis on meditation and which significantly influenced the Japanese martial
arts |
|
| 2. in front; before; forwards; e.g., zenkutsu |
| zenkutsu |
forward leaning |
| zenkutsu dachi |
front
stance; literally, "forward leaning stance" |
| zuki |
spelling of tsuki
when following another word |
|
|
| 1 |
ichi |
| 2 |
ni |
| 3 |
san |
| 4 |
yon, shi5 |
| 5 |
go |
| 6 |
roku |
| 7 |
nana, shichi5 |
| 8 |
hachi |
| 9 |
ku |
| 10 |
ju |
| 11 |
ju-ichi |
| 12 |
ju-ni |
| 13 |
ju-san |
| 14 |
ju-yon, ju-shi5 |
| 15 |
ju-go |
| 16 |
ju-roku |
| 17 |
ju-nana, ju-shichi5 |
| 18 |
ju-hachi |
| 19 |
ju-ku |
| 20 |
ni-ju |
| 21 |
ni-ju-ichi |
| 30 |
san-ju |
| 40 |
yon-ju, shi-ju5 |
| 50 |
go-ju |
| 100 |
hyaku |
|
|
| kyu6 - Colored Belts |
| rokkyu |
6th kyu (White Belt)
|
| gokyu |
5th kyu (Blue Belt)
|
| yonkyu |
4th kyu (Green Belt)
|
| sankyu |
3rd kyu (Brown Belt)
|
| nikyu |
2nd kyu (Brown Belt)
|
| ikkyu |
1st kyu (Brown Belt)
|
|
|
| dan - Black Belt |
| shodan |
1st dan
|
| nidan |
2nd dan |
| sandan |
3rd dan |
| yondan |
4th dan |
| godan |
5th dan |
| rokudan |
6th dan |
| shichidan, nanadan |
7th dan |
| hachidan |
8th dan |
| kudan |
9th dan |
| judan |
10th dan |
1 Aiki and kiai are reverse arrangments of the
same two kanji, ki and ai. Therefore, it is not unexpected that they should have similar
meanings. In fact, both aiki and kiai can be considered different manifestations of the same concept--the
former a mental or static manifestation and the latter a vocal or dynamic manifestation. Needless to say,
these definitions are intended only to be guidelines as they are very open to interpretation.
2 Some experts in Japanese medieval history differentiate
between bushi and samurai, considering the latter to be a subset of the former. However, this
is not clear and invovles a detailed understanding of Japanese history and culture. Thus, most consider the
two words to be synonymous.
3 Technically, jitsu
should be spelled jutsu according to the most recent (post-World War
II) standards for converting kanji into romaji. The reasons for the
variations in its spelling are due to the fact that when the word was first
used in the West by Japanese immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, there was no standard for romaji. Further, even if there was,
those who heard Japanese usually had no understanding of the Japanese
language and were not aware of any standard and simply tried to
transliterate what they heard the best they could. Thus, many modern
Japanese jujitsu clubs which were established in the West in the 20th
century, have inherited a name for their art
that is technically incorrect. However, since the usage of jitsu is so
widespread, it is usually accepted as legitimate and actually serves to
identify modern styles of jujitsu from more traditional styles. Hence, the
Stanford Jujitsu Club has chosen to retain the spelling jitsu while
recognizing it is technically incorrect.
4 In the traditional judo
curriculum, katame waza consists of three sub-categories: joint-locking
techniques (kansetsu waza), strangling/choking techniques (shime waza), and
pinning techniques (osae komi waza). Except for the pinning techniques (which are
by definition done on the ground), the other two waza can be done either on
the ground or standing. Ne waza (ground techniques), however, refers solely
to techniques performed on the ground. Hence, some katame waza (e.g., an armbar
from the standing position) are not ne waza and katame waza and ne waza
should technically be considered distinct. However, since most katame waza
are in fact done from the ground, it has become acceptable to use katame
waza and ne waza interchangeably.
5 The Japanese word shi also translates as "death".
Hence both shi and shichi (a combination of shi and chi) and all numbers which
use them are sometimes avoided for superstitious reasons. However, there is no steadfast rule and both
spellings can usually be used. Check out Wikipedia's entry on Japanese numerals to see
this more clearly (and obtain more info on Japanese numerals).
6 The original kyu/dan belt ranking system created by Jigoro
Kano, founder of judo, in the early 20th century only had 6 kyu ranks. Some systems use more.
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