Basic Vocabulary
One of the biggest (non-physical :) challenges in studying Aikido is learning all the Japanese terminology; this page is designed to make that challenge a little easier to overcome. (The explanations below the table were/are originally posted as an occasional column in the newsletter; as new entries are written they will be copied here after their newsletter debut.)
Onegai shimasu, Sensei | said when bowing in | Doumo arigatou gozaimashite, Sensei | said when bowing out |
rei | bowing | zarei | seated bowing |
nage | partner performing the technique | uke | partner "receiving" the technique |
ukemi | falling, rolling or otherwise accepting the technique | nage-waza | performing the technique |
mae | forward | ushiro | back/behind, backward |
kaiten | straight rolling | yoko | side (roll or strike) |
migi | right | hidari | left |
ai | same | gyaku | opposite |
hanmi | aiki stance | shizen-tai | "natural" stance |
tai-sabaki | body movement | irimi | entering |
omote | front | ura | behind |
zengo undo | turning in place | tenkan | turning and stepping back |
tenshin | stepping back on 45 degrees | ||
seiza | sitting formally | shikko | knee walking |
suwari waza | training with both partners on their knees | hanmi handachi | training with nage kneeling and uke standing |
1. It seems logical to start this series of columns by 'bowing in', metaphorically speaking; and so we begin with a 2-for-1 special, this week only... what we say when we bow in and out of class. As it happens, these phrases are ones that we use *every single class*, and they also happen to be about the longest Japanese terms we will use on a regular basis. Go figure.
A more detailed analysis can be found here: http://www.aikiweb.com/language/onegai.html.
I once saw the levels of politeness in this phrase explained brilliantly in an email, and would like to share that here:
* Doumo arigatou gozaimasu = thank you very much (the "-shite" ending above indicates that the action is completed)
* arigatou gozaimasu = thank you
* arigatou = thanks
* doumo = cheers!
BONUS TERMS:
Doumo aritagou gozaimashite, mina-san!
- Onegai shimasu, Sensei (Oh-neh-guy she-mahss, sen-say)
A more detailed analysis can be found here: http://www.aikiweb.com/language/onegai.html.
- Doumo arigatou gozaimashite, Sensei (doh-moh ah-ree-gah-toh go-zah-ee-mah-shteh, sen-say)
I once saw the levels of politeness in this phrase explained brilliantly in an email, and would like to share that here:
* Doumo arigatou gozaimasu = thank you very much (the "-shite" ending above indicates that the action is completed)
* arigatou gozaimasu = thank you
* arigatou = thanks
* doumo = cheers!
BONUS TERMS:
- Rei (ray)
- Mina-san (Mee-nah-sahn)
Doumo aritagou gozaimashite, mina-san!
2. This week I'd like to keep the paired theme going and bring you another matched set of words: nage and uke.
(This week's column is very brief because I'm writing it at the eleventh hour... next week's will be longer, I promise.)
BONUS TERMS:
Next week: (much) more on ukemi!
(This week's column is very brief because I'm writing it at the eleventh hour... next week's will be longer, I promise.)
- Nage (nah-geh)
- Uke (oo-keh)
BONUS TERMS:
- Ukemi (Oo-keh-mee)
- Nage-waza (nah-geh-wah-zah)
Next week: (much) more on ukemi!
3. As promised, today’s column is about the various types of ukemi. (Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’…)
There are four critical terms related to ukemi, that get combined in various ways to describe everything we do.
Combinations
As we can see, all of these terms combine in various ways to describe the different ukemi we can take.
* Ushiro ukemi - a back sit-fall, where you fall back and then rock back up to your feet
* Ushiro kaiten ukemi – a regular back roll over the shoulder
* Ushiro yoko ukemi – a back fall, but instead of rolling over the shoulder come down on one hip, roll across the backs of the shoulders to the other hip and come to “butterfly” position, then continue around to standing, facing back the way you came from (DON’T reverse direction when you go to stand up!)
* Mae kaiten ukemi – a regular front roll
* Mae yoko ukemi – a front roll, but instead of coming to your feet… see above :)
Next time: standing!
There are four critical terms related to ukemi, that get combined in various ways to describe everything we do.
- Mae (“my”... well, really ma-eh, but “my” in practice here)
- Ushiro (oo-she-row)
- Yoko (Yo-ko)
- Kaiten (Ky (like “sky”)-ten)
Combinations
As we can see, all of these terms combine in various ways to describe the different ukemi we can take.
* Ushiro ukemi - a back sit-fall, where you fall back and then rock back up to your feet
* Ushiro kaiten ukemi – a regular back roll over the shoulder
* Ushiro yoko ukemi – a back fall, but instead of rolling over the shoulder come down on one hip, roll across the backs of the shoulders to the other hip and come to “butterfly” position, then continue around to standing, facing back the way you came from (DON’T reverse direction when you go to stand up!)
* Mae kaiten ukemi – a regular front roll
* Mae yoko ukemi – a front roll, but instead of coming to your feet… see above :)
Next time: standing!
4. This week's constellation of terms centers on the fine art of standing up...
All these terms describe how you are standing in relation to yourself; the last two terms refer to how you stand in relation to your partner.
Next week - kneeling and movement.
- Hanmi (ahn-me)
- Migi (me-ghee)
- Hidari (he-dah-ree)
- Shizen-tai (she-zen-tie)
All these terms describe how you are standing in relation to yourself; the last two terms refer to how you stand in relation to your partner.
- Ai ("I")
- Gyaku (gyah-koo)
Next week - kneeling and movement.
5. In the last column I said that this issue would be about kneeling and movement; in the interest of keeping these columns more bite-sized, I am going to break things out a bit. So – this week: movement, part 1!
I tend to think of movement-related terms in two categories –
(1) those that describe my movement alone, and
(2) those that are relative to my partner.
The first term we should visit, though, is one that denotes the entire category:
These are the essential terms for movement with a partner:
BONUS TERM:
I tend to think of movement-related terms in two categories –
(1) those that describe my movement alone, and
(2) those that are relative to my partner.
The first term we should visit, though, is one that denotes the entire category:
- Tai sabaki (Tie sah-bah-kee)
These are the essential terms for movement with a partner:
- Irimi (ee-ree-me)
- Omote (Oh-moe-teh)
- Ura (oo-rah)
BONUS TERM:
- Ushiro (again). Recall from column #3 that ushiro also means “back/behind”, and describes uke’s motion when rolling. It is also used to describe an attack that is initiated from behind rather than face-to-face (again, describing uke’s action rather than nage’s).
6. In the last column I gave you terms for movement relative to a training partner. Here are the most common terms that denote your independent movement…
BONUS TERMS:
Next time: knees!
- Zengo undo (zen-go oon-doh)
- Tenkan (ten-con)
BONUS TERMS:
- Irimi tenkan. Recall from the last column that irimi means “entering”; in irimi tenkan, you first step forward with the back foot, then pivot on that foot and turn tenkan as described above.
- Tenshin (ten-shin)
Next time: knees!
7. Blue Öyster Cult famously declared, "On Your Feet or On Your Knees!". Either way, we can do Aikido... :)
This week, we're talking about the knees. Most of the names for the things we do from our knees are the same as from standing, but there are a handful of special terms that you will need to be aware of.
Next time: attacking.
This week, we're talking about the knees. Most of the names for the things we do from our knees are the same as from standing, but there are a handful of special terms that you will need to be aware of.
- Seiza (say-zah)
- Shikko (she-koh)
- Suwari waza (sue-wah-ree wah-zah)
- Hanmi handachi (han-me han-dah-chee)
Next time: attacking.