Terminology

Here are some of the key Japanese words, commands and terminology used in Karate. This page will also help you to pronounce these Karate terms and phrases.

Pronunciation keys of Japanese terms are given in parentheses.

A listing and phonetic spelling of core punches, kicks, blocks, strikes, stances, and other general terms used in Traditional Japanese Shotokan Karate.

Karate can be tricky. Especially when we use Japanese terms. Just like Medicine has Latin, and Mathematics has numbers, Karate has Japanese. Unfortunately, many people are confused by the Japanese words in Karate…. But if you don’t understand the terminology of Karate, you cannot learn or teach it optimally. That’s why I want to explain 10 Japanese words everyone misunderstands in Karate …

Helpful page which details how to pronounce common karate terms.

List of Japanese words, phrases and titles commonly used in our karate dojo. The page can also be downloaded as a PDF file and printed.