Here follow some terms in Martial Arts that you will come across.

Aikido
Aikido translates from the Japanese as "the way of harmonious spirit" and is a martial art that uses the principle of non-resistance to defeat an opponent. Unusually for the martial arts, there are no offensive moves.

Belt or Obi(Japanese)
The competence of a practitioner in certain martial arts - judo or karate for instance - is often denoted by the colour of their belt. In order of expertise, they are: Kyu or students white, yellow, orange green, blue and brown and, for those graded (DAN) , black. Within the DAN categorty , there are further grades of excellence. 6th DAN and upward are denoted with alternate red and white belts.

Bruce Lee
An American-born martial arts expert and actor whose 1970s movies, such as Enter The Dragon, have been credited with popularising martial arts in the West.

Judo
One of the best known martial arts, judo was refined out of another discipline, Jujitsu.   An Olympic sport, the aim in judo is to use an opponents own  strength, impetus, balance and motion and to develop your own reflexes and skill to throw your opponent. In competition a score is attained each time you do this, with  acknowledged Judo techniques the score will rise the better the throw succeeds and holding down, on the mat will also count towards the score.

Karate
A Japanese martial art that emphasises kicking and striking. In competitive matches the blows and kicks stop short of contact and are judged on technique.

Kendo
The Japanese martial art of fencing with bamboo swords.

Kung Fu
Kung fu is actually a broad term for a number of different Chinese martial arts, such as shaolin and feng shou. The more precise form of kung fu we know in the UK, in which blows and kicks are used against an opponent, is known in China as wushu.

Sensei
A sensei is a martial arts instructor.

Taekwondo
A Korean martial art similar to karate that emphasises high kicks and body punching. Taekwondo is also an Olympic sport.

Tai Chi
Tai chi is derived from Chinese martial arts but, in the forms most commonly practised in the UK, it more closely resembles a combination of yoga and meditation: slow, fluid movements that coordinate breath and movement. Combat forms of tai chi also exist.

Yin and yang
Yin and yang, according to Chinese philosophy, are two complementary principles of the universe, passive and aggressive. Yin and yang are the cornerstones of martial arts thought - for every yang (attack) there is a yin (defensive) response.

Chi or Ki (Japanese or Chinese)

This is known as the "life force" and is where the central power of the body is thought to emanate from, the depth of four fingers above the navel, Most Martial Artists will summon up this force from within when executing a powerful  technique, expelling a large amount of air from the lungs at the same time as verbalising, loudly.