Karate words · Beginner

The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.

B · Beginner · 22 words · Step 1 of 2

Checked 8 October 2026

General terms

Dojo

The training hall where karate is practised. Dojo is the Japanese word.

Also called: dojang
See also: Karate, Ippon

Belt

A belt showing rank, from white for beginners up to black, in kyu and dan grades. In WKF competition, athletes wear an official red belt (aka) or blue belt (ao) given by the draw, and may not wear their grade belt.

Also called: rank

Karategi

The karate uniform. In WKF competition it must be a white, approved karategi without piping or personal embroidery. From 2026 it may not be altered or manipulated to change its shape.

Also called: gi
See also: Karate, Ippon

Rei

The bow. Before each bout the competitors and officials bow to the front (Shomen ni rei) and then to each other (Otagai ni rei), and at the end in the opposite order. A quick nod is not enough.

Also called: bow
See also: Bout

Bout

A bout is one contest between two competitors. A match, in team events, is all the bouts between two teams. A senior kumite bout lasts 3 minutes of effective time.

Also called: match
See also: Kumite

Weight class

Kumite competitors fight in weight categories, by gender and age, as the tournament sets them.

Karate terms

Karate

A striking martial art, in competition scored with hand and foot techniques. Competition has two forms: kumite (sparring) and kata (forms). Knees, elbows and the head are not allowed in kumite.

Kumite

Sparring. Two competitors score points with controlled hand and foot techniques to the head and body. A bout is won by an eight-point lead, by more points when time runs out, by senshu, by a vote (hantei) or by a penalty against the opponent.

Also called: sparring
See also: Bout, Senshu, Hantei, Eight-point lead, Penalty

Kata

Forms: a set sequence of techniques against imaginary opponents. In WKF competition two athletes or teams perform one after the other in a head-to-head bout, and each judge picks the winner. Kata must follow traditional values and not be a dance or theatrical performance.

Also called: forms
See also: Bout

Kihon

Basic fundamental techniques (punches, blocks, stances) practiced repeatedly to build skill.

Kumite scoring and decisions

Ippon

A score of 3 points, for a jodan kick (a kick above the collarbone) or for any legal technique against an opponent who has any part of the body other than the feet on the mat. A competitor who goes down on one knee to deliver a technique (hiza gamae) is not treated as down. From 2026 kicking an opponent who is lying flat on the floor is prohibited.

Also called: karate

Waza-ari

A score of 2 points, for a kick to the chudan (the body between the collarbone and the pelvis).

Yuko

A score of 1 point, for a straight punch (tsuki) or a strike (uchi) to a scoring area. It is part of the current scoring, not an old system.

Senshu

The advantage of the first score of a bout, if the opponent has not also scored. At equal points it wins the bout. It is lost if the holder is warned for avoiding combat or similar in the last 15 seconds.

Also called: first unopposed point
See also: Bout

Hantei

A vote by the referee and four judges that decides a bout after equal scores, equal numbers of ippon and waza-ari and no senshu. In round-robin and team bouts the result can instead be hikiwake, a draw.

See also: Bout, Ippon, Waza-ari, Senshu, Referee

Eight-point lead

A clear lead of eight points ends a bout at once, and the leader wins.

Kumite penalties

Penalty

In kumite there are official warnings, chui and hansoku chui, and penalties, hansoku and shikkaku. Informal warnings, tsuzukete and wakarete, come first and are not penalties.

Also called: gam-jeom, shikkaku
See also: Kumite, Chui and hansoku chui, Hansoku and shikkaku

Disqualification

Karate has three forms: hansoku (disqualification from the bout), shikkaku (from the whole tournament) and kiken (for failing to appear or being unable to continue). In kata, a performance can also be disqualified, with a score of 0.0.

See also: Bout, Karate, Kata, Ippon, Penalty

Kumite procedure

Referee's calls

Shobu hajime starts the bout, Yame stops it, Moto no ichi sends competitors back to their positions, and Tsuzukete hajime restarts it after a score. Tsuzukete urges activity and Wakarete breaks a clinch, both without stopping the clock.

Aka and ao

Red (aka) and blue (ao), the two sides, set by the draw. They have matching belts and mitts. In kata, aka performs first.

Officiating

Referee

The referee (shushin) runs a kumite bout, announces scores, warnings and the result, and is helped by four judges. A Match Supervisor (kansa) sits at the official table with a whistle.

Judges

Kumite has four judges (fukushin) at the corners, who signal scores, and a score counts when two or more agree. Kata is judged by a panel of seven judges, or five in eliminations, chosen at random.