Tai sabaki
Term from Japanese martial arts
体さばき
- Type
- Footwork and evasion, Stances
- Classified as
- combat technique
- Part of
- budō
Tai sabaki (体捌き) is a term used in Japanese martial arts for body movement or body management. It generally refers to repositioning the body in response to an attack, often by moving away from the line of attack while maintaining a position from which a technique can be applied.
Tai sabaki is used in martial arts such as kendo, jujutsu, aikido, judo, karate and ninjutsu. Although it is sometimes described as evasion, the term is broader than simply avoiding an attack because it also includes positioning the body for a counterattack, throw, or other technique.
An example of tai sabaki is 'moving off the line' of attack using irimi and tenkan movements rather than to 'move against' the attack. This implies the use of harmony rather than physical strength. See hard and soft (martial arts)
Tai sabaki is related to ashi sabaki (footwork) and te sabaki (handwork).
The name word by word
Each part of the romanized name looked up in the JMdict Japanese dictionary.
| Word | Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tai sabaki | 体捌き | taisabaki | defensive body movement (judo, kendo, etc.) |
Other footwork and evasion
Japanese terms for footwork and evasion
| Term | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 足技 | ashiwaza | foot technique (in judo, sumo wrestling, etc.); footwork |
| 足運び | ashihakobi | gait; manner of walking |
| 差し手 | sashite | slipping one's hand beneath the opponent's arm and latching on to the underside of his belt |
| 突っかける | tsukkakeru | to slip on (slippers, sandals, etc.) |
| 一眼二足三胆四力 | ichigannisokusantanshiriki | firstly vision, secondly footwork, thirdly courage, fourthly technique (the most important aspects of kendo) |
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q1781793 (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.