Glossary of Terms in Kendo Stephen Quinlan May 21, 2021
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Glossary of Terms in Kendo Stephen Quinlan May 21, 2021 Pronunciation Aids. Many Japanese terms have been artificially hyphenated to aid in pronunciation, and some common rules for writing terms in English have been replaced, e.g., writing a Latin ō vs. an ou for a long oh sound. Also, the IPA convention for indicating a silent or voiceless vowel, e.g., u̥ for a voiceless u, is used. This is not nor- mally done when writing Japanese terms in English and is purely a convention used here. Any errors are solely those of the author. Dojo Commands Fukushō : 副将 Fourth player on a team match. Fusen-gachi : 不戦勝ち Player wins a match by default Hajime : 始め Begin/start. or disqualification. Kamae-tō : 構え刀 Assume your stance. Gōgi : 合議 Judges conference. Players osame-tō, step back to the inner edge of the court and assume sonkyo in Men (w)o tore : 面を取れ Take off your men. tai-tō until the gōgi is over. 面を付け Men (w)o tsu̥ke : Put on your men. Hajime : 始め Begin a match. 黙想 Moku̥sō : Begin meditation. Hansoku : 反則 Penalty. Match stops, and players re- turn to their starting positions. Osame-tō : 納め刀 Put away your weapon. Hansoku ikkai : 反則一回 First penalty. Otagai ni rei : お互いに礼 Bow to your peers. Hansoku nikai : 反則二回 Second penalty. A second 整列 penalty results in one point being awarded to the oppo- Seiretsu : Line up. nent and the penalty count is reset. 正座 Seiza : Assume seiza. Hantei : 判定 Judges decision. Sensei ni rei : 先生に礼 Bow to the sensei. Hiki-wake : 引き分け Match is a draw. Shōmen ni rei : 正面に礼 Bow to the shōmen. Sonkyo : 蹲踞 Assume sonkyo. Jihō : 次鋒 Second player on a team match. Jikan desu̥ : 時間です The time keeper’s signal to indi- Tai-tō : 帯刀 Bring your weapon to the ready position at cate to the shushin “time-up”. Players return to starting your hip. positions. Yame : 止め Stop. Mejirushi : 目印 Colored flag worn on the backs of the players. Also termed a tasu̥ki. Yasume : 休め Break/rest period. Nihonme : 二本目 Begin round two. Shiai TeRms & Commands Senpō : 先鋒 First player on a team match. 審判 Chūken : 中堅 Third player on a team match. Shinpan : A judge or referee in a tournament. Shinpan-chō : 審判長 The referee director of the tourna- Enchō : 延長 Overtime. Enchō is “sudden death”, i.e., ment; the head referee. the first point wins. There is usually no time limit during 審判主任 enchō. Shinpan-shunin : The court specific referee director. Fukushin : 副審 A sub-referee in a court during shiai. Shōbu : 勝負 Begin final round of a match. 2 stephen 葥inlan Shōbu-ari : 勝負あり Match point. Players assume Bōgu : 防具 “Kendō armor.” Consisting of the men, kote, sonkyo, osame-tō, ritsu-rei, and exit the court. dō, and tare. See kendō-gu. Shushin : 主審 The lead judge during a match. Budō : 武道 “Martial art” or “martial way.” Budō are martial arts where the focus is placed on bettering one- self instead of pure combative victory. Taishō : 大将 Fifth player on a team match. 武術 Tasu̥ki : See mejirushi. Bujutsu : “Martial art” or “military art.” Bujutsu is a martial art where the focus is placed on effective combat skills for defeating an opponent. Wakare : 分かれ Players separate to issoku ittō no maai, but maintain relative court positions. Bushi : 武士 “War/military gentleman.” A samurai. Of- ten translated simply as warrior however this translation overlooks the meaning of the character shi 士: one who Yame : 止め Stop the match. Players return to center. serves or does in a polite context. Bushidō : 武士道 “The way of the samurai”. A code of ethics, morals, and conduct for samurai. GeneRal TeRms Chi no kamae : 地の構え The “kamae of earth.” See Age-tō :(上げ刀) “Raised sword”. A katate variant of gedan no kamae. jōdan no kamae. Chiisai : 小さい “Small.” Ai : (1) (prefix) 相 “Mutual, balanced, joint.” (2) (suffix) Chiisai waza : 小さい技 “Small techniques.” A term 合い “Union, integration, match (together).” used to refer to small strikes. Ai-chūdan : 相中段 “Mutual chūdan”. Both opponent’s Chika-mḁ : 近間 “Short interval.” A distance that is face each other in chūdan no kamae. shorter than issoku ittō no maai. Ai-kakari geiko : 相掛稽古 “Mutual attack practice.” Chōtan–itchi–mi :(長短一身) “Strong point, weak Two kendōka do kakari geiko simultaneously. point, one body.” The concept that everything has both strengths and weaknesses in the same package. Ai-te : 相手 “Opponent.” Chūdan hanmi no kamae : 中段半身の構え A vari- Ai-uchi : 相打ち “Mutual strike.” Commonly translated ant of chūdan no kamae used in the kodachi kata. See as “simultaneous strike(s).” hanmi kamae. Ashi : 足 “Foot” or “leg.” Chūdan no kamae : 中段の構え “Mid level stance.” Chūdan is known as the “kamae of water” due to its Ashi-gamae : 足構え “Foot Position.” adaptability for offensive and defensive waza. Chūdan is the fundamental kamae in kendō. Ashi-sabaki : 足捌き (lit.) “Handle” or “deal with” the “foot/leg”, i.e., “footwork”. See also ayumi-ashi, fukumi- Connection : En in Japanese, meaning a “bond, link, re- ashi, fumi-komi, hiraki-ashi, nusumi-ashi, okuri-ashi, lationship, or connection.” In kendō this implies a mental suri-ashi, and tsugi-ashi. and physical connection to the opponent. The mental connection implies one has a perception as to how the Ayumi-ashi : 歩み足 “Walking foot.” A normal walking opponent will act, their intents, their level of focus, ki– motion where the feet cross. ken–tai–itchi, and zanshin. The physical connection allows one to respond to physical movements, maintain Bokken : 木剣 “Wooden sword.” See boku̥tō. distance, adjust kamae, etc… A connection is essential to understanding the rhythm. Boku̥tō ni yoru kendō kihon waza keiko hō : 木刀による剣道基本技稽古法 “Practice of fundamental Daitō : 大刀 The name used to refer to the “long sword” kendo techniques with a boku̥to.” See boku̥tō waza. when using nitō. Boku̥tō waza : 木刀技 “Wooden sword techniques.” Ab- Dan : 段 “Step” or “level.” breviation for boku̥tō ni yoru kendō kihon waza keiko hō. A series of forms created to practice fundamental Dan-i : 段位 “Rank.” This refers to the set of dan ranks shinai kendō techniques with boku̥tō. in kendō, commonly equated with the rank of “black belt”. Dan ranks range from first to eighth. Boku̥tō : 木刀 “Wooden sword.” The boku̥to, tachi and kodachi, are primarily used to practice nihon kendō no Datotsu : 打突 A “strike” or “thrust.” Shinai kendō is a kata. The tachi is also used in the boku̥tō waza and can datotsu style of fencing as compared to a zantotsu style also be used to practice shinai kendō basics. if a katana were used. glossaRy of teRms in Kendo 3 Datotsu-bu : 打突部 “Striking section.” The portion of ashi-gamae. It is done by slowly creeping toward the the shinai strikes are made with; the mono-uchi. opponent by, e.g., curling and uncurling the toes, to pull oneself forward. This is an advanced application of Datotsu-bui : 打突部位 “Striking position.” Portion of footwork. the bōgu where one may strike. Fumi-komi : 踏み込み The shortened, and almost exclu- De : 出 From the verb deru, “start, begin, (just) coming sively used, term for fumi-komi ashi meaning “stepping” out”, i.e., something is being initiated or started. or “rushing into footwork.” Fumi-komi is a large, lunging Dead : A term used to describe one’s weapon when the okuri-ashi style step where one momentarily forgoes us- ability for offensive and defensive techniques has been ing suri-ashi as the leading foot leaves the ground near eliminated. This can be the result of improper gripor the end of the fumi-komi step. This type of footwork is striking technique, but most commonly this is caused by well known as the one that makes the stomping sound as one’s strike being effectively parried via some type of the foot claps the floor. defensive technique. Furi-kaburi : 振り被り “To hold aloft (e.g. a sword); to Dead hands : Similar to your weapon becoming dead, brandish.” This refers to raising one’s weapon over one’s however in this case it is caused specifically by your head in preparation to strike; the upswing prior to a hands or forearms being in an improper position to con- strike. trol one’s weapon or strike/cut effectively. Gedan hanmi no kamae : 下段半身の構え A variation Debana : 出ばな From de “Come out, start, begin.” and of gedan no kamae used in the kodachi kata. See hanmi bana “moment, situation”, i.e., the moment something kamae. begins. Gedan no kamae : 下段の構え The “low level” kamae, Debana waza : 出ばな技 Techniques used to strike as also known as the “kamae of earth.” Gedan is considered the opponent’s attack is being initiated. a physically defensive kamae but a strong and aggressive spirit is required for it’s success. Dō : (1) 道 “The way”, i.e. a way of enlightenment, or of bettering oneself, e.g., kendō. (2) 胴 The abdominal Geiko : 稽古 See keiko. protector worn in kendō. See kendō-gu. (3) The name of Gi : 着 The traditional practice jacket worn in kendō. the target when striking the abdomen. Also known as a kendō-gi, dō-gi, or keiko-gi. Dō-chikawa : 胴乳皮 Leather loops on the dō-kawa Go no sen : Also termed go sen no sen. See mitsu no used to attach the dō-himo. sen. Dō-himo : 胴紐 The strings used to tie the dō. Gyaku : 逆 “Reversed” or “opposite.” Dōjō : 道場 “Practice hall.” A place where one practices Gyaku-dō : 逆胴 “Reverse dō.” Specifically this refers to budō. the left datotsu-bui of the dō. Formerly this was consid- Dō-kawa : 胴皮 The lower portion of the dō covering ered a non-standard target and strikes to it were rarely the abdomen, the left and right sides of which makes up awarded ippon.