In our Dojo, as in any, there are rules of etiquette which govern our behavior.
Here are a few examples:
Entering and exiting the Dojo - Whenever entering on to the training floor, we must always stop and bow towards the centre, front of the room where the flags and picture of our founder Master Gichin Funakoshi are hung. Also we do a similar bow as we exit the training floor as well. A proper and courteous bow is
one of the first things you will learn when you begin your training.
Arriving late - In a karate dojo, as in life it is bad manners to be late, but it is sometimes unavoidable. When this happens we are expected to bow in quietly and then kneel at the entrance until the Sensei invites us to enter.
Lining up - At the beginning and end of each class we all line up across the dojo facing the mirrors. This lineup is done in rank order from right to left with the lower belts closest to the entrance and higher belts near the far wall. Don't worry, you will also learn this and many other things within your first few classes.
Bowing (Standing and kneeling) - Most of the time we will do standing bows and reserve kneeling bows (from Seiza position) for more formal activities.
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