Tenchi no Kamae / Ninoji no Kamae

These two hand positions are known as Tenchi-no-Kamae and Ninoji-no-Kamae. Tenchi-no-Kamae (above right) is found in the kata Seipai and translates as "heaven and earth," as the palms of the hands face both upward and downward. Ninoji-no-Kamae (above left) is found in the kata Kururunfa and refers to the Chinese character for 2 ("Ni" in Japanese), which the shape and positioning of the hands resemble. In Japanese, these are written respectively 天地の構え and 二の字の構え. "Kamae" means "guard" or, more broadly, "state of readiness."