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| Standing
Bow: |
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Stand with heels together, feet pointing slightly outward
(like a "V"). Keep knees straight; elbows
straight and relaxed; hands open and at the seams of
your pants (the outside of your legs); fingers together.
Bend at the waist, about 20 degrees forward. Unbend.
The whole bow takes about a breath's length.
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| Kneeling
(Seiza): |
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Place left knee on the floor; then right knee. Sit
down on feet. Big toes of left and right feet should
overlap (either one on top). Keep back straight and
shoulders relaxed. Rest left hand (hand open, fingers
together) on left thigh and right hand on right thigh,
so that fingers point inward. For anatomical reasons,
men should have about a fist or two's width between
their knees, women should have knees together.
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Sensei ni Rei
Translation is "bow to the instructor" and is announced
at the start of each training session. This initial bow is
to show respect for the instructor(s) who will take the class.
Senpai ni Rei
Translation is "bow to the senior students" and
is announced at the start of each training session. This initial
bow is to show respect for the senior students who will be
assisting in running the class.
Sensei ni domo arigato gozaimashita - Rei
Translation is "thanks to the Instructor" and is
announced at the end of each training session. This final
bow is to give thanks to the instructor(s) who have taken
the class. 'Rei' is the command to bow.
Senpai ni domo arigato gozaimashita - Rei
Translation is "thanks to the Senior Students"
and is announced at the end of each training session. This
final bow is to give thanks to the senior students who have
assisted during the class. 'Rei' is the command to bow.
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| Bowing
in Seiza: |
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Slide the left hand from the thigh to the floor immediately
in front of the left knee (not too far in front, i.e.,
left elbow shouldn't touch the floor). Do the same with
the right hand, so that the right hand motion is slightly
behind (in time) the left hand motion. Palms should
touch the floor to show deep respect. Bow at the waist,
taking a little longer than for a standing bow (forehead
comes close to the floor, but does not touch it). Slide
your hands back up to their initial position on the
thighs, this time with the left hand slightly behind
the right hand.
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| Entering
& Exiting the Dojo standing Bow: |
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Bow, standing at the entrance, facing the dojo or towards
the front of the dojo, whether you are entering or exiting
the dojo.
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| Lateness: |
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Try not to be late. If you are late, bow in, then quietly
kneel near the entrance. Wait until the instructor acknowledges
you. Then bow kneeling, get up, and quickly join the
group. If you arrive just as everyone is kneeling at
the beginning, don't move, don't make any noise, just
wait until warming-up starts, and bow in as described
above.
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| Opening
Sequence: |
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When you hear "Line up!" or "One line!",
stand shoulder to shoulder facing the front of the dojo,
in rank order. Try to line up so that the instructor
is right in the middle of the line. If class size is
big, the senior student may ask you to form more than
one line, in which case, you should try to line up so
that the lines are approximately of the same length.
Seiza!": sit down in seiza, so that knees are aligned
with the person on your left. "Mokusoh!":
quite meditation -- just lower your gaze, relax, and
breathe. "Mokusoh yame!": stop. "Shomen
ni rei!": Bow to the front of the room (this signifies
bowing to the institution of karate and to the line
of instructors who brought it to your instructor). "Sensei
ni rei!": Bow to the instructor. When you're bowing,
you can say "onegaishimas," which, roughly
translated, means "Please," i.e., please teach
me, please help me, please hold class, etc. At the signal
of the instructor, get up (quickly, without waiting
for the person on your left, necessarily).
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| Closing
Sequence: |
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Same as the opening sequence, except that after mokusoh,
there is a recitation of the dojo kun. Repeat after
the senior student, loudly (but not so loud that your
voice stands out) and in unison. During the final bow
to the instructor, you can say "arigatoh gozaimashita,"
which means "Thank you." "Thank you"
in English is okay, too. At the end, the instructor
will get up. Wait until the person on your left bows
and gets up before you do the same.
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| Clean-Up: |
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Before class starts, there is usually some sort of
cleaning of the dojo. During this time, actively participate
to whatever extent you can. Don't sit back and stretch
when others are still cleaning.
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| General
Etiquette Guidelines During Training: |
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4
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Most importantly, the moment class starts, your
mind should be on karate and on trying to improve
your own technique. Concentrate, give spirited
kiai, don't talk unnecessarily, and practice hard!
(This is under "etiquette" because doing
otherwise would be disrespectful to the instructor,
as well as to yourself, both of whom have bothered
to come.)
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4
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Don't wear jewelry, watches, etc. Don't chew
gum.
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4
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Whenever you're told to move from one part of
the room to another, do it quickly (i.e., run
or trot, at least). Also, don't pass in front
of anyone -- go behind and around.
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4
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Whenever you're asked to stand back or sit back
and watch, do so in a normal standing or kneeling
position, silently, without leaning on walls or
distracting others.
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4
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If you're ever in a kneeling position and you're
uncomfortable, it's generally okay to bow and
then switch to sitting cross-legged.
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4
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Whenever you stand from a sitting position, switch
to kneeling, bow, then stand.
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4
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If you ever need to leave a class early, let
the instructor know beforehand.
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4
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Every time you get a new partner for any exercise,
bow. Every time you're about to switch partners,
bow to your old partner before moving on to the
next.
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4
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Don't make overt displays of how tired you are,
no matter how tired you are.
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4
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If you're ever asked to count, count in whatever
language you feel comfortable with, but make the
counts short, sharp, and spirited.
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4
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Follow normal rules of etiquette that apply.
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| Other
Things You Should Know: |
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Finally, these aren't strict rules followed by every
dojo. Some don't follow them exactly, in which case,
you should start off erring on the side of being overly
courteous but avoid doing anything to stand out, since
that in itself can be interpreted as rudeness.
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4
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Don't say any words when you kiai. "Kiai"
itself, being a Japanese word should NOT be a
kiai. Common kiai include "Ya!" and
"Ei!"
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4
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Don't be afraid to kiai! If you have a strong
kiai, it will often spur others to work harder,
as well. The overall tone of a class is set by
the level of spirit of the class, which can be
raised with better kiai. On the other hand, if
your spirit is poor or your kiai weak, you might
bring down the class spirit.
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4
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Do not hesitate to ask senior students and instructors
for help before or after class. Time permitting,
you should try to learn kata outside of class
so that during class, the instructor can spend
more time making comments about your technique
rather than what move comes next.
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