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 final group breaks technique names into their component words, which helps you interpret names you have not met yet.

    Showing all 120 terms.

    Referee commands

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

    Hajime始め· はじめ
    Begin. The referee starts or restarts the contest with it, and nothing counts before it is said.Referee commands and signals
    Hantei判定· はんてい
    Decision. The referee asks the officials to decide a contest that has no other result.Referee commands and signals
    Matte待て· まて
    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· おさえこみ
    Holding. The referee calls it when a hold-down is properly on, and the clock for the hold starts: yuko at five seconds, waza-ari at ten, ippon at twenty, which ends the contest.Referee commands and signals
    Sono-mamaそのまま· 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· 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· とけた
    Broken. The hold-down no longer counts and the clock stops; the contest continues. Whatever the clock had reached still scores: five seconds is a yuko, ten a waza-ari.Referee commands and signals
    Yoshiよし· 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.

    Fusen-gachi不戦勝· ふせんがち
    Win by default, given when the other contestant does not appear for the contest.Competition rules: the basics
    Golden score· ゴールデンスコア
    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· はんそくまけ
    Disqualification. Awarded for a serious infringement, or for a third shido, and it ends the contest immediately.Competition rules: the basics
    Hazumi弾み· はずみ
    Skilfulness with impetus: the sharpness or rhythm of a throw rather than its power. The companion to ikioi in the IJF's own gloss on the ippon criteria.Competition rules: the basics
    Hikiwake引き分け· ひきわけ
    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
    Ikioi勢い· いきおい
    Momentum: force and speed together. One of the two Japanese words the IJF uses to fix what "speed and force" mean when a referee weighs a throw for ippon.Competition rules: the basics
    Ippon一本· いっぽん
    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
    Kachi勝ち· かち
    Win. Heard as the ending of the ways a contest can be won without a score, such as fusen-gachi and kiken-gachi, and it names the referee's gesture towards the winner.Competition rules: the basics
    Kiken-gachi棄権勝ち· きけんがち
    Win by withdrawal, given when the other contestant retires during the contest, through injury or otherwise.Competition rules: the basics
    Maitta参った· まいった
    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· しどう
    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· わざあり
    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· わざありあわせていっぽん
    Two waza-ari combined into ippon. The contest ends there.Competition rules: the basics
    Yuko有効· ゆうこう
    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· 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· おねがいします
    Please, or literally "I make a request": said to a partner before practising together.
    Rei礼· れい
    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· りつれい
    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· せいざ
    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· ざれい
    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· じゅうどうか
    A person who practises judo, at any grade.
    Kohai後輩· こうはい
    A junior member of the club, behind you in experience, whom a sempai is expected to help.
    Sempai先輩· せんぱい
    A senior member of the club, ahead of you in experience.
    Sensei先生· せんせい
    Teacher. The coach on the mat.
    Shimpan審判· しんぱん
    The referee.
    Tori取り· とり
    The one performing the technique. Every description in this reference is written from tori's side unless it says otherwise.
    Uke受け· うけ
    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· どうじょう
    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
    Gyaku-eri逆襟· ぎゃくえり
    The opposite lapel: the one on the same side as the hand that takes it. The cross grip.
    Judogi柔道着· じゅうどうぎ
    The judo suit: jacket, trousers and belt. Cotton, loose enough to grip, and always clean.Bowing, the judogi and dojo etiquette
    Obi帯· おび
    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
    Oku-eri奥襟· おくえり
    The deep collar behind the neck, taken by reaching over the shoulder. The high collar grip.
    Sode-guchi袖口· そでぐち
    The sleeve end, or cuff. Holding both sleeve ends for defence draws a shido.
    Tatami畳· たたみ
    The mat. Firm enough to move on and soft enough to land on.
    Zori草履· ぞうり
    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.

    Ai-yotsu相四つ· あいよつ
    Same stance: right-handed against right-handed or left against left, so the grips mirror each other and the fight is for the sleeve.
    Hikite引き手· ひきて
    The pulling hand: usually the one on the sleeve, which draws the partner's arm and breaks their balance. The hand a breakfall depends on keeping.
    Kake掛け· かけ
    The execution: the moment the throw is completed.
    Kappo活法· かっぽ
    The old resuscitation and joint-mobilisation methods judo teachers and referees once practised. Their use is not permitted now and is illegal in some countries, but the IJF holds that the knowledge belongs to judo's heritage and should not be lost.Competition rules: the basics
    Kata形· かた
    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.
    Kenka-yotsu喧嘩四つ· けんかよつ
    Opposite stance: right-handed against left-handed. Both lead hands reach for the same lapel, and the throws that work change completely.
    Kumi-kata組み方· くみかたalso written Kumikata
    Gripping: how you take hold of your partner, and how you stop them taking hold of you.
    Kuzushi崩し· くずし
    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· なげこみ
    Throwing practice: repeating a throw all the way to the mat with a partner who takes the fall.
    Ne-waza寝技· ねわざ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· らんどり
    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· しあい
    Contest. Judo under the competition rules, with a referee.
    Tandoku-renshu単独練習· たんどくれんしゅう
    Practice on your own, without a partner: the movement of a technique rehearsed solo.
    Tsukuri作り· つくり
    Fitting in. Placing your body where it needs to be while your partner is off balance.
    Tsurite釣り手· つりて
    The lifting hand: usually the one on the lapel, which sets the partner's posture and lifts for the throw.
    Uchikomi打ち込み· うちこみ
    Repetition entries: turning in to a throw again and again without completing it, to make the entry automatic.
    Ukemi受け身· うけみ
    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· だん
    A black-belt grade, counted upwards from 1st Dan (shodan).
    Kai階· かい
    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· きゅう
    A grade below black belt, counted downwards: 6th Kyu is the first, 1st Kyu the last before dan grades.
    Mon紋· もん
    The British Judo Association's junior grades, eighteen of them, taken by judoka under sixteen.
    Mudansha無段者· むだんしゃ
    A judoka who does not yet hold a dan grade.
    Shodan初段· しょだん
    First dan: the first black belt.
    Yudansha有段者· ゆうだんしゃ
    A judoka who holds a dan grade.

    Groups of techniques

    How judo sorts its own techniques.

    Ashi-waza足技· あしわざ
    Foot and leg techniques: sweeps, hooks and reaps.
    Gokyo no waza五教の技· ごきょうのわざ
    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· かえしわざ
    Counter techniques: turning your partner's attack into your own throw.
    Kansetsu-waza関節技· かんせつわざ
    Joint locks. In judo these are applied to the elbow only, and are restricted by age.
    Katame-waza固技· かためわざ
    Grappling techniques, the ground family as a whole: hold-downs, strangles and joint locks together.
    Koshi-waza腰技· こしわざ
    Hip techniques: throws that load your partner across your hips.
    Ma-sutemi-waza真捨身技· ますてみわざ
    Rear sacrifice techniques: you fall straight onto your own back to throw.
    Nage-waza投技· なげわざ
    Throwing techniques: everything that puts a standing partner on the mat.
    Osaekomi-waza抑込技· おさえこみわざ
    Hold-downs: pinning your partner's back to the mat and keeping it there.
    Renraku-waza連絡技· れんらくわざ
    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· れんぞくわざ
    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· しめわざ
    Strangles. Restricted by age in every federation, and always released the instant a partner taps.
    Shinmeisho no waza新名称の技· しんめいしょうのわざ
    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· すてみわざ
    Sacrifice techniques: throws where you give up your own standing position to make the throw work.
    Tachi-waza立技· たちわざ
    Standing techniques: judo done on the feet.
    Te-waza手技· てわざ
    Hand techniques: throws driven mainly by the arms and hands.
    Waza技· わざ
    Technique. It ends the name of every group of techniques in judo.
    Yoko-sutemi-waza横捨身技· よこすてみわざ
    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.

    Ashi足· あし
    Foot, or leg.De-ashi-haraiSasae-tsurikomi-ashi
    Eri襟· えり
    Lapel or collar.Okuri-eri-jime
    Gaeshi返· がえし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· がけ
    Hook: the leg hooks and stays, rather than sweeping through.Ko-soto-gakeO-soto-gake
    Garami緘· がらみ
    Entanglement: the limb is bent and wound rather than straightened.Ude-garami
    Gari刈· かり
    Reap: the leg cuts your partner's leg away, like a scythe through grass.O-soto-gariO-uchi-gari
    Gatame固· がため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· ごし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· くるま
    Wheel: your partner rotates over a fixed point, as a wheel turns on its axle.Hiza-gurumaKoshi-guruma
    Harai払· はらい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
    Hiza膝· ひざ
    Knee.Hiza-gurumaHiza-gatame
    Jime絞· じめ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· じゅうじ
    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· かた
    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· こ
    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· くび
    Neck.
    Kuzure-崩· くずれ
    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· まえ
    Front, or forward.
    Makikomi巻込· まきこみ
    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· もろて
    Two-handed, as in Morote-gari, the two-hand reap.Morote-gari
    Nage投· なげ
    Throw.Seoi-nageTomoe-nage
    O-大· おお
    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· おとし
    Drop: your partner is dropped rather than lifted.Tai-otoshiSeoi-otoshi
    Ryo-両· りょう
    Both, as in Ryote-jime, the two-hand strangle.Ryote-jime
    Sankaku三角· さんかく
    Triangle: the shape the legs make around head and arm.Sankaku-jimeSankaku-gatame
    Shiho四方· しほう
    Four quarters, or four directions: the shiho holds control your partner from above across all four.Yoko-shiho-gatameKami-shiho-gatame
    Sode袖· そで
    Sleeve.Sode-tsurikomi-goshi
    Soto外· そと
    Outer, or outside. In O-soto-gari the reap comes round the outside of the leg.O-soto-gariKo-soto-gake
    Te手· て
    Hand.Te-gatame
    Tsurikomi釣込· つりこみ
    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· うち
    Inner, or inside. In O-uchi-gari the reaping leg comes from inside your partner's legs.O-uchi-gariUchi-mata
    Ude腕· うで
    Arm.Ude-garamiUde-gatame
    Ushiro後· うしろ
    Rear, or backward.Ushiro-kesa-gatame
    Yoko横· よこ
    Side, or sideways.Yoko-shiho-gatameYoko-otoshi

    The spoken names are synthesised, not recorded: Azure AI Speech, voice ja-JP-NaokiNeural. They are a floor rather than the answer, and a recording by a Japanese speaker will replace them name by name.

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