Glossary
Counting
Ichi - one Ni - two San - three Shi - four Go - five Roku - six
Hichi - seven Hachi - eight Kyu - nine Jyu – ten
Class Commands
Seiretzu - Line-up
Mokuso(黙想) and Seiza(静座) - Start meditation or silent contemplation. This is a nonreligious mental exercise designed to relax and focus before exercise begins.
Mokuso yame(黙想⽌止め) or Seiza yame (静座⽌止め) - Stop meditation.
Sensei ni rei (先⽣生に礼) - Face Sensei and bow.
Otagai ni rei (お互いに礼) - Greet (start) or thank (end) each other by bowing
Men-tsuke (⾯面を付け) - Put on men.
Men-tore (⾯面(を)取れ) - To remove the men
Kamae-to (構え) - Prepare for keiko; Following through all postures(Rei-Taito-Kamae) together and finished by formation of Chudan-no-kamae.
Chudan no Kamae (中段の構え) - Most common stance with tip of sword pointing at your opponents throat.
Tei-to (提刀) - To bring your shinai to your hip as if it was a sword in a scabbard.
Osame-to (納⼑刀) - To return your sword to the sheathed position (end of each drill or session)
Sonkyo (蹲踞) - Squatting posture
Hajime (始め) - Start
Yame (⽌止め) - Stop
Yasume (休やすみ) - Break or rest period. From military term similar to “at ease”
Footwork
Ashi-sabaki (⾜足捌 ) - General footwork
Ayumi-ashi (歩み⾜足) - Sliding step with alternating feet (like normal walking)
Okuri-ashi (送り ⾜足) - Sliding step with right foot leading (like normal kendo footwork))
Hiraki-ashi (開き⾜足) - Sideway step used to turn the body diagonally
Tsugi-ashi (継ぎ⾜足) - Fast footwork; left foot is pulled in close to the right foot before advancing forward with the right foot.
Fumikomi-ashi (踏み込み⾜足) - To stamp on the floor with the front foot so as to move the body with stability when striking.
Chisai (⼩小) - Small (short distance move)
Mae (前 (まえ) - Front (forward movement command)
Ato (後 (うしろ) - Back (backward movement command)
Migi (右 (みぎ) - Right
Hidari (左 (ひだり) - Left
Standing Posture
Omote (表 (おもて)) - Forward-facing, or in the front side of the opponent
Ura 裏 (うら) - Backward-facing direction or in the rear side of the opponent
Chudan no Kamae (中段の構え) - Most common stance with tip of sword pointing at your opponents throat; analogous to the element of “water”- fluid and versatile
Jodan no Kamae (上段の構え(じょうだんのかまえ) - High position of the sword over one’s head; analogous to the element of “Fire”–aggressive and purely offensive stance, usually only an option for higher level kendo practitioners.
Gedan no Kamae (下段の構え) - Least common stance, almost never used in keiko; sword tip should be below kneecap level.
Ma-ai (間合い) - Distance between two opponents
Seme (攻め ) - To take initiative to close the distance with opponents with full spirit
Fundamental Philosophy
Ki-ken-tai-ichi (気剣体⼀一 致) - Literally “the spirit, sword, body as one.” In practice, this means that the kiai, cut and footwork should all land in the same instant
Sutemi(捨身) - In kendo, sutemi means committing yourself one hundred per cent to an attack without fearing the consequences.
Zanshin (残⼼心) - Literally “remaining heart.” Shin (⼼心) also means mind or spirit. In this context, it means that the state of your heart/mind/spirit should be maintained immediately after executing an attack in order to be ready to meet any subsequent situation. Quite simply, it means “follow through”
Reiho (礼法) - Etiquette, Dojo Manner
Basic Practice
Kakarite – In partnered drills, kakarite is the one who performs the technique being practiced
Motodachi – Motodachi is the partner that has the technique performed on him/her.
Kiri-kaeshi – A striking drill consisting of 3 shomen and 18 sayu-men
Tsuba-zeriai : (鍔迫り合い) - Where the two opponents are pressed against each other at the tsuba (sword hilt) with a pocket of open space and the hips to provide the driving force. Both opponents are waiting for the optimum moment to either go through or strike while going backward.
Tai-atari (体当たり) Ramming attack, body blow; usually in succession after tsuba-zeriai
Yuko-datosu (有効打突) Valid strike or thrust
Ippon-shobu (⼀一本勝負) A one-point-scoring situation
Keiko 稽古 (けいこ) Practice
Keiko,The word keiko means “to practice”, “study,” or “training.” It consists of two kanji, 稽 (kei, to think/consider) 古 (ko, old). Roughly translated, keiko means to study the past or reviewing.
Jigeiko (地稽古) - The general methods of practice in which the trainee polishes techniques, disciplines the mind, and make an effort to overcome weak points.
Kakarigeiko (掛かり稽古) - The all-out attack practice method where the trainee practices striking the motodachi with all their waza (technique) to learn without thinking of being struck or dodging.
Uchikomi geiko (打ち込み稽古) An exercise where motodachi will provide openings for kakarite to strike with big and powerful movements.
Kakari geiko (懸かり稽古) Create openings or break through motodachi’s defense. Kakarite will do a continual series of attacks like in uchikomi geiko but motodachi will not open up targets.
Mawari geiko (回り稽古). Exercises performed with two people, for a set amount of time or strikes after which one rotates towards the next partner. After each short practice the lines move one position and you meet another partner. There is no sonkyo before or after each bout.
Enjin geiko (円陣稽古) Students form a circle (enjin) around one kenshi in the center. Either the person in the center fights everybody in turn or, with every quick fight, the winner stays in the center while the loser switches out.
Yakusoku geiko (約束稽古) Keiko in which the motodachi allows kakarite to execute a series of pre-planned strikes. The word yakusoku means “promise.”
Tachikiri geiko (⽴立ち切り) A practice where motodachi engages with one opponent after another for a fixed and continual time period (anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours). The goal is to exceed physical limitations and enter a sublime state where all action comes from the spirit.
Shiai geiko (試合稽古) Like free practice but the focus is on winning. A shiai (試合) is a competitive match, usually against other clubs in tournaments.
Mitori geiko (⾒見見取り稽古) Actively observing the practice of others. This is not passively viewing others but, rather, closely watching others in keiko and mentally processing what one sees.
