Judo atemi waza
Judo technique
- Type
- Other strikes
- Martial arts
- Judo, Jujutsu
- Classified as
- Atemi
Atemi waza (当て身技) or body-striking techniques were the strikes from the several ancient traditional Japanese jujitsu styles that were adopted in judo by its designer Jigorō Kanō in 1882 after a comprehensive study, accompanied by uke waza or defending blocks and parries. When judo further developed as a sports discipline, these techniques were excluded from its competition repertoire, which limits itself mainly to throws (nage waza) and holds (katame waza): although taught within self-defense, kata and sometimes used within informal randori, striking techniques are forbidden in the sport judo competitions rules.
Kanō thought deeply of atemi waza and its relationship with nage waza.
Since he wanted to keep the practical character of martial art as well as its nature of physical and moral education, when compiling the nage nokata or randori-no-kata, his classical repertoire of 40 throws in the gokyo no waza (five sets of techniques), the standard syllabus of throwing techniques, he introduced four counterattack techniques against atemi waza: seoi nage, uki goshi, ura nage and yoko guruma.
He distinguished a number of 23 body-striking techniques:
The name word by word
Each part of the romanized name looked up in the JMdict Japanese dictionary.
| Word | Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judo | |||
| atemi waza | 当身技 | atemiwaza | striking techniques (judo) |
Other Judo other strikes
- Atemi
- Elbow
- Knee
- Stomp
- Cross
- Atemi Ichi
- Atemi Ni
- Suigetsu
- Age-hiji-ate
- Mae-atama-ate
- Ushiro-atama-ate
- Ushiro-hiji-ate
- Ushiro-uchi
- Yoko-uchi
Japanese terms for other strikes
| Term | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 打突 | datotsu | strike (kendo) |
| 踏鳴 | fuminari | stamp (in Japanese martial arts); stomp |
| 四股 | shiko | wrestler's ceremonial leg raising and stomping |
| 震脚 | shinkyaku | stamp (in Chinese martial arts); stomp |
| 当て身 | atemi | blow to a vital point of a person's body; striking techniques (judo) |
| 当て技 | atewaza | blow to a vital point of a person's body |
| 肘打ち | hijiuchi | elbow strike (karate) |
| 猿臂打ち | enpiuchi | elbow strike (karate) |
| 体々の先 | taitainosen | answering one's opponent's attack with an unwavering strike |
| 三役揃い踏み | san'yakusoroibumi | ritual stomping in unison on the final day of a tournament |
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q55615418 (CC0); text quoted from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.