High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In Japanese martial arts, the uke is the person who "receives" a technique. The exact role of uke varies between the different arts and often within the art itself depending on the situation. For instance in aikido and also judo kata, uke initiates an attack against his partner, who then defends. In the early stages of training in traditional jujutsu, the primary function of the junior student is to be uke. In weapons based arts, uke is most often the teacher with the student attacking. There are several terms used to describe the opposite of uke, again depending on the art or situation, they include nage, tori or shite.