Dojo Etiquette

Glossary

Kendo Tips
1. Shinai Maintenance

Glossary

1. Start and End of Class
Start of Class
1 chakuza sitdown
2 seiza attention
3 mokuso meditation
4 naore eyes front
5 shinden ni rei bow to the shrine
6 sensei ni rei bow to the teacher
7 otagai ni rei bow to each other
8 onegai shimasu please practice
9 men tsuke put on the men
End of Class
1 chakuza sitdown
2 seiza attention
3 men tore take off the men
4 mokuso meditation
5 naore eyes front
6 sensei ni rei bow to the teacher
7 shinden ni rei bow to the shrine
8 otagai ni rei bow to each other
9 domo arigato gozaimashita thank you very much

2. Counting
1 ichi one 6 roku six
2 ni two 7 shichi, nana seven
3 san three 8 hachi eight
4 shi, yon four 9 kyu nine
5 go five 10 ju ten

3. Common Words
A aiuchi tie, draw, simultaneous scoring of points
  ashi, ayumi normal walking to cover great distances
  ashi, fumikomi a jump step for making strikes
  ashi, okuri short-range kendo footwork for making strikes
  ashi sabaki footwork
B bokuto wooden sword
  bogu kendo armor
C chudan no kamae position of the shinai with the shinai's kissaki pointed at the center of an opponent's chest
D dan black belt rank
  datotsu strike
  dogu entire kendo equipment
G gedan no kamae position of the shinai when the shinai 's kissaki is pointed towards the Ćoor
  gomen excuse me, (gomen nasai, very polite)
H hachimaki headband
  hai yes, acknowledgment
  hajime begin
  hansoku violation of a kendo rule
  hidari left
  himo strings, used in tying on kendo armor
I iaido sword exercises using a series of cuts and thrusts with drawing and returning the sword
  ippon one point, single blow, one-point match
J jodan no kamae position of the shinai held above the head
K kamae basic kendo shinai positions, on guard positions
  kata old-style form of kendo employing steel blades
  katana sword, long sword
  keiko practice
  ki o tsuke attention
  kiai shout of self-encouragement or self-assertion
  kyu white belt rank
  kissaki point of the shinai of sword
M ma ai distance between two kendoist
  ma, chika close distance
  ma ai, issoku itto no one sword one step distance
  ma ai, to far distance
  mae front, forward
  migi right
  mune chest
R rei manor, etiquette, courteous, bow
  rei, ritsu standing bow
  rei, za setting bow
S sage-to stand with a shinai
  seiza sit quietly
  sei-retsu line-up
  sensei teacher, master
  shiai tournament
  shinai bamboo sword
  shinpan referee
T tachi long sword
  taito shinai to the waist
  take bamboo
  tenugui towel
U uchi to strike, to hit
  ushiro back, behind
W waza technique, form in delivering blows
Y yame halt, stop
Z Zen-Nippon Kendo Renmei All-Japan Kendo Federation
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