Waza Book

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    Glossary

    The Japanese words you hear on the mat, in plain English. Every grading asks for some of these by name, so they are part of the syllabus rather than an extra.

    The last group is the useful one: learn the pieces technique names are built from and most names explain themselves.

    Referee commands

    What the referee says, and what you do when you hear it.

    Hajime始め
    Begin. The referee starts or restarts the contest with it, and nothing counts before it is said.Referee commands and signals
    Hantei判定
    Decision. The referee asks the officials to decide a contest that has no other result.Referee commands and signals
    Matte待て
    Wait. The referee stops the contest temporarily; both judoka stop where they are and return to their starting places.Referee commands and signals
    Osaekomi抑え込み
    Holding. The referee calls it when a hold-down is properly on, and the clock for the hold starts.Referee commands and signals
    Sono-mamaそのままalso written Sonomama
    Do not move. Both judoka freeze exactly as they are, usually so the referee can adjust something, and neither may improve their position.Referee commands and signals
    Sore-madeそれまでalso written Soremade
    That is all. The referee ends the contest with it.Referee commands and signals
    Toketa解けた
    Broken. The hold-down no longer counts and the clock stops; the contest continues.Referee commands and signals
    Yoshiよし
    Carry on, after sono-mama. The pair resume from the position they were frozen in.Referee commands and signals

    Scores and penalties

    How a contest is won, lost and stopped.

    Golden score
    The extra time played when a contest is level on both waza-ari and yuko: no time limit, and the first score of any kind - a yuko will do - or the other contestant's third shido settles it.Competition rules: the basics
    Hansoku-make反則負け
    Disqualification. Awarded for a serious infringement, or for a third shido, and it ends the contest immediately.Competition rules: the basics
    Hikiwake引き分け
    A draw. Not a result in IJF competition, where a level contest goes to golden score, but used in team events, kohaku-shiai and some domestic rule sets that allow a contest to be tied.Competition rules: the basics
    Ippon一本
    One full point, and the end of the contest. Awarded for a throw largely on the back with control, speed and force, a twenty-second hold-down, or a submission.Competition rules: the basics
    Maitta参った
    I submit. Said aloud, though tapping twice on your partner, on yourself or on the mat is the usual and safest way to submit.Competition rules: the basics
    Shido指導
    A penalty for a rule infringement, such as non-combativity or a false attack. Three of them mean the contest is lost.Competition rules: the basics
    Waza-ari技あり
    A half point in everything but name: a throw missing one of the elements of ippon, or a hold of ten to nineteen seconds. Two of them make ippon and end the contest, and nothing smaller ever adds up to one.Competition rules: the basics
    Waza-ari-awasete-ippon技あり合わせて一本
    Two waza-ari combined into ippon. The contest ends there.Competition rules: the basics
    Yuko有効
    The smallest score, below waza-ari: a landing on the side or further forward, on the upper back, on a buttock or the neck, or a hold-down of five to nine seconds. Removed from international judo in 2017 and brought back for the current Olympic cycle. Yuko are counted but never add up to a waza-ari; they separate contestants otherwise level, and the first one wins golden score.Competition rules: the basics

    Etiquette

    The bows and the words that frame every practice.

    Arigato gozaimashitaありがとうございました
    Thank you, said after practising with a partner.
    Onegaishimasuお願いします
    Please, or literally "I make a request": said to a partner before practising together.
    Rei礼
    The bow. Judo begins and ends with it, on entering and leaving the mat and before and after practising with a partner.Bowing, the judogi and dojo etiquette
    Ritsurei立礼
    The standing bow: from a straight standing position, bending forward from the waist about thirty degrees with the hands sliding down the thighs.Bowing, the judogi and dojo etiquette
    Seiza正座
    The formal kneeling position, sitting back on the heels with a straight back, from which zarei is made.Bowing, the judogi and dojo etiquette
    Zarei座礼
    The kneeling bow, made from seiza with both hands placed on the mat in front of the knees.Bowing, the judogi and dojo etiquette

    People

    Who is who, on the mat and beside it.

    Judoka柔道家
    A person who practises judo, at any grade.
    Kohai後輩
    A junior member of the club, behind you in experience, whom a sempai is expected to help.
    Sempai先輩
    A senior member of the club, ahead of you in experience.
    Sensei先生
    Teacher. The coach on the mat.
    Shimpan審判
    The referee.
    Tori取り
    The one performing the technique. Every description in this reference is written from tori's side unless it says otherwise.
    Uke受け
    The one receiving the technique. Being a good uke is a skill of its own: staying safe, giving honest resistance, and taking the fall well.

    Kit and place

    The suit, the belt, the mat and the room.

    Dojo道場
    The place of training, literally "the place of the way". The room the mat is in, and by extension the club that trains there.Bowing, the judogi and dojo etiquette
    Judogi柔道着
    The judo suit: jacket, trousers and belt. Cotton, loose enough to grip, and always clean.Bowing, the judogi and dojo etiquette
    Obi帯
    The belt. It holds the jacket closed, carries the grade, and gives several techniques their name and their grip.Obi-otoshiObi-tori-gaeshiTying your belt
    Tatami畳
    The mat. Firm enough to move on and soft enough to land on.
    Zori草履
    Sandals, worn to and from the mat so that bare feet, and therefore the mat, stay clean.Bowing, the judogi and dojo etiquette

    Training

    What the parts of a session are called.

    Kake掛け
    The execution: the moment the throw is completed.
    Kata形
    A prearranged form, performed with a partner to a set pattern. Kata teaches the principle behind a technique rather than how to win with it.
    Kumi-kata組み方
    Gripping: how you take hold of your partner, and how you stop them taking hold of you.
    Kuzushi崩し
    Breaking the balance. The first of the three parts of a throw, and the one that decides whether the rest will work.
    Nagekomi投げ込み
    Throwing practice: repeating a throw all the way to the mat with a partner who takes the fall.
    Ne-waza寝技also written Newaza
    Groundwork: everything that happens once the contest goes to the mat. Also the name for practice restricted to the ground.
    Randori乱取り
    Free practice: both judoka attacking and defending freely, at a pace they agree. Not a contest, and the place most learning happens.
    Shiai試合
    Contest. Judo under the competition rules, with a referee.
    Tandoku-renshu単独練習
    Practice on your own, without a partner: the movement of a technique rehearsed solo.
    Tsukuri作り
    Fitting in. Placing your body where it needs to be while your partner is off balance.
    Uchikomi打ち込み
    Repetition entries: turning in to a throw again and again without completing it, to make the entry automatic.
    Ukemi受け身
    Breakfalling: the skill of landing safely. The first thing anyone learns, and the reason judo can be practised at speed.

    Grades

    The words for the grades themselves.

    Dan段
    A black-belt grade, counted upwards from 1st Dan (shodan).
    Kai階
    JudoScotland's grades for children aged five to seven, nine of them, marked with a coloured stripe or tab on the belt rather than a new belt each time.
    Kyu級
    A grade below black belt, counted downwards: 6th Kyu is the first, 1st Kyu the last before dan grades.
    Mon紋
    The British Judo Association's junior grades, eighteen of them, taken by judoka under sixteen.
    Mudansha無段者
    A judoka who does not yet hold a dan grade.
    Shodan初段
    First dan: the first black belt.
    Yudansha有段者
    A judoka who holds a dan grade.

    Groups of techniques

    How judo sorts its own techniques.

    Ashi-waza足技
    Foot and leg techniques: sweeps, hooks and reaps.
    Gokyo no waza五教の技
    The five sets of throws, forty in all, that the Kodokan arranged as a teaching order in 1895. It is the backbone of this reference, and not the whole of judo.
    Kaeshi-waza返技
    Counter techniques: turning your partner's attack into your own throw.
    Kansetsu-waza関節技
    Joint locks. In judo these are applied to the elbow only, and are restricted by age.
    Katame-waza固技
    Grappling techniques, the ground family as a whole: hold-downs, strangles and joint locks together.
    Koshi-waza腰技
    Hip techniques: throws that load your partner across your hips.
    Ma-sutemi-waza真捨身技
    Rear sacrifice techniques: you fall straight onto your own back to throw.
    Nage-waza投技
    Throwing techniques: everything that puts a standing partner on the mat.
    Osaekomi-waza抑込技
    Hold-downs: pinning your partner's back to the mat and keeping it there.
    Renraku-waza連絡技
    Combination techniques: one attack linked into another with a change of direction, so the answer to the first opens the second.
    Renzoku-waza連続技
    Continuation techniques: a second attack in the same direction as the first, riding the movement your opponent gives you rather than turning it around.
    Shime-waza絞技
    Strangles. Restricted by age in every federation, and always released the instant a partner taps.
    Shinmeisho no waza新名称の技
    The techniques the Kodokan recognised after the Gokyo was set: names like Obi-otoshi, Kuchiki-taoshi and the -gaeshi counters, real techniques that simply post-date the list.
    Sutemi-waza捨身技
    Sacrifice techniques: throws where you give up your own standing position to make the throw work.
    Tachi-waza立技
    Standing techniques: judo done on the feet.
    Te-waza手技
    Hand techniques: throws driven mainly by the arms and hands.
    Waza技
    Technique. It ends the name of every group of techniques in judo.
    Yoko-sutemi-waza横捨身技
    Side sacrifice techniques: you fall onto your own side to throw.

    Reading a technique name

    The pieces every Japanese technique name is built from. Learn these and most names read themselves.

    Eri襟
    Lapel or collar.Okuri-eri-jime
    Gaeshi返also written Kaeshi
    Reversal or counter: their attack becomes your throw. It is the ending that marks a counter technique.Uchi-mata-gaeshiO-uchi-gaeshi
    Gake掛
    Hook: the leg hooks and stays, rather than sweeping through.Ko-soto-gakeO-soto-gake
    Garami緘
    Entanglement: the limb is bent and wound rather than straightened.Ude-garami
    Gari刈
    Reap: the leg cuts your partner's leg away, like a scythe through grass.O-soto-gariO-uchi-gari
    Gatame固also written Katame
    Hold or lock: it ends the name of a hold-down and of an armlock alike. Written katame on its own.Kesa-gatameJuji-gatame
    Goshi腰also written Koshi
    Hip. Written koshi on its own, and goshi at the end of a name: O-goshi, Harai-goshi.O-goshiHarai-goshi
    Guruma車
    Wheel: your partner rotates over a fixed point, as a wheel turns on its axle.Hiza-gurumaKoshi-guruma
    Harai払also written Barai
    Sweep: the leg brushes your partner's leg away along the mat. Often romanised "barai" inside a name, as in De-ashi-barai.De-ashi-haraiHarai-goshi
    Jime絞also written Shime
    Strangle. Written shime on its own, and jime at the end of a name: Hadaka-jime.Hadaka-jimeOkuri-eri-jime
    Juji十字
    Cross, from the shape of the character for ten. The arms cross in Juji-gatame and in the cross strangles.Juji-gatameNami-juji-jime
    Kata-片
    One, or single, as in Kata-gatame (single shoulder hold). Not the same word as kata, the prearranged form.Kata-gatameKata-ha-jime
    Ko-小
    Minor, or small. Ko-soto-gari is the minor outer reap, the smaller cousin of O-soto-gari.Ko-soto-gariKo-uchi-gari
    Kubi首
    Neck.
    Kuzure-崩
    Modified or broken: a variation on the standard form of a hold, as Kuzure-kesa-gatame is of Kesa-gatame.Kuzure-kesa-gatameKuzure-kami-shiho-gatame
    Mae前
    Front, or forward.
    Makikomi巻込
    Wrapping: you trap your partner's arm and roll them over with you as you fall.Soto-makikomiO-soto-makikomi
    Migi and hidari右・左
    Right and left. Every description in this reference is written in the standard right-handed (migi) form.
    Morote双手
    Two-handed, as in Morote-gari, the two-hand reap.Morote-gari
    Nage投
    Throw.Seoi-nageTomoe-nage
    O-大
    Major, or big. O-soto-gari is the major outer reap; O-uchi-gari the major inner one.O-soto-gariO-uchi-gari
    Otoshi落
    Drop: your partner is dropped rather than lifted.Tai-otoshiSeoi-otoshi
    Ryo-両
    Both, as in Ryote-jime, the two-hand strangle.Ryote-jime
    Sankaku三角
    Triangle: the shape the legs make around head and arm.Sankaku-jimeSankaku-gatame
    Shiho四方
    Four quarters, or four directions: the shiho holds control your partner from above across all four.Yoko-shiho-gatameKami-shiho-gatame
    Sode袖
    Sleeve.Sode-tsurikomi-goshi
    Soto外
    Outer, or outside. In O-soto-gari the reap comes round the outside of the leg.O-soto-gariKo-soto-gake
    Te手
    Hand.Te-gatame
    Tsurikomi釣込
    Lifting and pulling: the fishing-rod action of the hands that draws your partner up and forward onto their toes.Tsurikomi-goshiSasae-tsurikomi-ashi
    Uchi内
    Inner, or inside. In O-uchi-gari the reaping leg comes from inside your partner's legs.O-uchi-gariUchi-mata
    Ushiro後
    Rear, or backward.Ushiro-kesa-gatame
    Yoko横
    Side, or sideways.Yoko-shiho-gatameYoko-otoshi