Shiai
試合
A competitive match in Japanese martial arts, literally “mutual testing”. Unlike randori, it has a referee, rules and a winner.
Quick Facts
Word breakdown
Definition
Shiai (試合) consists of the characters 試, to test, and 合, to meet, to join. It means a match in which opponents measure themselves against each other. In judo, kendo, karate and other Japanese arts it therefore denotes a competitive match with referees, rules and a winner, unlike randori, free practice in which the result does not matter. In judo, a shiai is won by whoever scores ippon, two waza-ari or a higher score at the end of the time. In kendo, shiai is usually fought to three points, sanbon shobu. In Japanese the word is also used outside the martial arts, for example for baseball games.
Relations to other terms
Often confused with
See also
The highest score in Japanese martial arts competitions, “one full point”. In judo it ends the match, in kendo it is the basic unit of scoring.
Matte待ったReferee's command in judo, literally “wait”. It stops the match and the clock, the fighters return to their marks and the match resumes with the command hajime.