Intermediate Vocabulary
Notes:
White belts are not required to know these intermediate vocabulary words for promotion to yellow belt.
A reminder on pronunciation:
- i should always be pronounced with a long-ē sound (as in "me")
- o should always be pronounced with a long-ō sound (as in "boat")
- u should always be pronounced with a ōō sound (as in "suit")
- a should always be pronounced with a soft-a sound (as in "halt")
- ei should both be pronounced with a long-ā sound (as in "day")
- double-letters like oo, uu, or ss indicate a slight lengthening of the sound
Learning the general terms, positions, and weapons first will make it far simpler to remember the technique names.
General Terms
| Techniques | Waza |
| Block | Uke |
| Strike | Uchi (also Ate) |
| Punch | Tsuki |
| Kick | Keri (becomes Geri at the end of a word) |
| Sweep, parry | Harai (becomes Barai at the end of a word) |
Positions
| Upper area | Jyoo dan |
| Middle area | Chyuu dan |
| Lower area | Ge dan |
| Front | Mae |
| Side | Yoko |
| Back | Ushiro (also Ura) |
| Upward | Age |
| Downward | Kuda |
| Inside | Uchi |
| Outside | Soto |
| Turning, rotating around | Mawashi (also Kai) |
| Right | Migi |
| Left | Hidari |
Weapons
| Hand | Te (also Shyu) |
| Fist | Ken |
| Front of the first two knuckles | Sei ken |
| Back of the first two knuckles, backfist | Ura ken |
| Palm | Shyoo |
| Elbow | Empi |
| Knee | Hiza |
| Foot | Ashi |
| Ball of the foot | Koshi |
| Heel | Kakato |
Strikes
| Straight punch | Sei ken tsuki |
| Same-side (as the forward leg) punch | Sei ken oi tsuki |
| Reverse (from the forward leg) punch | Sei ken gyaku tsuki |
| Uppercut | Age tsuki (also Jyoo dan tsuki) |
| Spear hand | Nuki te |
| Backfist | Ura ken |
| Knife hand, Sword hand | Shyu too |
| Roundhouse punch | Mawashi tsuki |
| Ridge hand | Hai too |
| Palm heel strike | Shyoo tei (also Tei shyoo) |
| Elbow strike | Empi uchi |
| Hammerfist | Te tsui |
Blocks
| Head block | Jyoo dan uke |
| Side block | Chyuu dan uke |
| Leg block | Ge dan uke (also Ge dan barai) |
| Open hand block | Shyu too uke (also Te gata barai) |
| Inside palm heel block | Uchi shyoo tei uke (also Uchi tei shyoo uke) |
| Ridge hand block | Hai too uke |
Kicks
| Straight kick | Mae geri |
| Snapping straight kick | Mae geri keage |
| Side kick | Yoko geri |
| Roundhouse kick | Mawashi geri |
| Heel thrust kick | Mae geri kekomi (also Mae kon ate) |
| Heel stomp kick | Fumikomi |
| Angle kick | Fumikiri geri (also Shyoba kon ate) |
| Back kick | Ushiro geri |
| Crescent kick | Mikazuki geri |
| Outside-to-inside crescent kick | Uchi mikazuki geri |
| Inside-to-outside crescent kick | Soto mikazuki geri |
| Hook kick | Kagi geri |
| Jumping straight kick | Mae tobi geri |
| Knee strike | Hiza geri |
