Having spent many years travelling to Japan and living as an uchi-deshi (live-in student) and more recently as a soto-deshi, I thought it would be a good idea to write down some bits and pieces for anyone contemplating a stint themselves.
The first, and most obvious problem you'll encounter as an uchi-deshi is the language barrier. Not only will Sensei (and just about everyone else) be speaking to you in Japanese, but there's a good chance the other uchi-deshi won't speak much English either. Unfortunately, there's not much I can do to help with the inter-uchi-deshi language issues but I can help out with the Japanese. The following is a non-exhaustive, non-prioritised list of some useful words and phrases you're likely to hear in the Dojo (if you think of any more, let me know and I'll add them to the list):
dame - Wrong or bad. Sometimes proceeded with zen zen meaning "very" and usually yelled not spoken. This expression is commonly used when you're doing something incorrectly. At first you'll feel like you wish you'd never arrived but don't be put off. If Sensei is giving you corrections, at least you know he hasn't given up on you!
koshi otoshite - Drop or lower your hips/bend your knees.
ashi - Leg(s) or feet. Oddly, it's the same word for both in Japanese.
kata - Shoulder(s). By now you've probably realised that Japanese also has no plural form.
te - Hand(s).
hesso - Navel or belly button. As in hesso no mae - infront of your navel, or hesso no takasa - at the height of your navel.
hajime - Begin/start.
yame - Stop.
mawatte - Turn around. Usually used to mean turn and face the opposite direction.
osoi - Late or too slow as in you're feet are too slow.
yukkuri - Slowly as in do it slowly.
hayai/hayaku - Quickly.
kawasu/kawashite - To avoid, as in to avoid a strike.
kuzushi/kuzushite - To break the balance.
