There’s no denying it – the first few classes are confusing. People do things, people say things, none of it makes sense.
This is true of any new hobby, of course, especially one with a specialised vocab.
But specialised vocab in another language can be particularly scary.
First of all – don’t worry. Everyone was a beginner once, and nobody is going to be super annoyed if you do the wrong thing because you misunderstood. All the safety instructions are in English!
Having said that, here are a few key phrases that will help you feel more at home in your first few classes.
Formalities
At the start of class, the instructor will call “seiretsu!”. Suddenly everyone is in motion. Someone runs to the front corner and shouts “shugo!”. Everyone else lines up.
You should line up too. Don’t worry about where – it’s not ordered by rank or anything – just be next to someone and behind someone else.
seiretsu – 整列 – line up
shugo – 集合 – assemble
Once everyone is lined up, the class will be formally opened. The instructor says some things (don’t worry too much, they’re just saying “training begins” or variations on that).
That person who shouted “shugo” now says “rei!”. Everyone does gassho rei and says “onegaeshimasu”. The corner person says “naore”, and everyone goes back to kesshu gamae.
Sometimes people say “arigatogozaimashita” instead. Once you know what they mean it’s a lot easier to remember which one to say when.
rei – 礼 – salute
naore – 直れ – stop rei-ing and go back to kesshu gamae
onegaeshimasu – お願えします – please (teach me)
arigatogozaimashita – ありがとうございました – thank you (for teaching me)
Training
Once we get into the training part of class, things can move fast. There are a lot of words – a lot of very specific names of stances and moves. If your instructor is a good one they’ll remember to also explain in English until you get familiar with the words. Still, here are some key phrases:
kamae! – 構 – get into stance!
This is usually said after they’ve explained what stance to get into. It’ll be said commandingly.
Other commands you might here are “hajime” and “yame”. You’ll come across these a lot when everyone is working with partners, for sparring or technique practice.
hajime – 始め – begin
yame – 止め – stop
These ones are key safety things. Don’t start until you’re told, and if you’re told to stop, stop! Yame particularly is often shouted – because people are moving around, making noise, and it’s important that everyone hears.
Where to find out more
This is just a taster, of course. There are many more words we use, and most of them you’ll pick up over time as you’re learning the moves.
If you want to see them written down, though, check the back page of your syllabus for two vocab lists. You can also check out this article and this one for some other words.