At New York Aikikai there are many rules of etiquette. They vary in importance and level of ‘enforcement.’
1. The first and most obvious rule in any martial arts dojo is bowing. To simplify things you should bow upon entering and leaving the dojo, getting on and off the training area, and any time other people are bowing.
Some dojos require a certain type of bow, how deep you bow, how long you stay down, where you look, et cetera. New York Aikikai doesn’t really give specifics on such things. Most people don’t really care, but because Aikido is peaceful, we don’t usually maintain eye contact with someone when we bow (except during randori).
There are some people whose religious stipulations forbid bowing. They need only give a simple explanation to the teacher of the class and there is no issue.
2. Another rule is to enter and leave the mat through the doorway near the kamiza. This promotes order, so the teacher can clearly see if someone is leaving the mat. Also the side entrance leads to a clean carpeted area where we are free to walk around barefoot or with indoor slippers. The viewing area at the back has a wood floor where people with outdoor shoes walk around. Beginners sometimes leave the mat the wrong way. It isn’t a big deal when this happens, but someone must explain the rules to them so they don’t keep doing it.
The exception is if someone is injured and has to leave the mat the other way, the windows need to be opened, or the phone answered.
3. Another rule commonly broken by beginners is leaving the mat for a drink of water, often without asking the sensei. First of all, we are expected to stay on the mat without water unless we are feeling sick. Secondly, if you do need the water you must ask the teacher permission to get it.
4. If you are late to class, you must wait at the edge of the mat for the teacher to acknowledge you before jumping in and training.
5. ALWAYS, ALWAYS greet the instructor of the class when you see them. Not acknowledging their presence is a guaranteed way of offending a shihan, especially Yamada Sensei. It doesn’t matter if you are shy, distracted, or intimidated by him. If he has his eyes closed and head down or is doing breathing exercises, greet him anyway. Don’t think he won’t notice. He may not say something the first time, but he’ll remember. This is doubly important for more senior students to remember. Remember though, it is forgivable for a beginner to make such mistakes as they don’t understand the etiquette.
6. When someone corrects you, especially the teacher of the class, you should listen to what they say and try your best to do it. It doesn’t matter if you think what they said is stupid or completely useless. The fact that they are teaching means that you need to listen.
7. If you are visiting and staying at New York Aikikai, you should offer to help the regular deshi with chores. They are usually very tired and hungry. If you are a kyu rank and visiting, you should ask to fold Yamada sensei’s hakama. He is flattered when several people ambush him all wanting to fold it. This is not a requirement of course, but it certainly is polite and makes everyone like you.
8. Do not trash anyone on the mat. Going fast is okay. Beating up someone who is a beginner is not okay. There are always a few people who are like that and they earn themselves a bad reputation. If you trash the wrong person, then every black belt on the mat will take turns doing the same thing to you. If there is a mutual agreement to beat the snot out of each other, fine, just please don’t get blood on the mat.
If someone is being too rough with you, tell them. If they don’t ease up, you are free to refuse to train with them (politely, of course).
9. Visitors staying at the dojo should give Sensei a gift before they leave. They should also visit him at intervals afterward to show their respect.
I had such a long post and lost it….allow me to rewrite it.
I have visited NY Aikikai only once.
Most of these rules are succinct, however a few comments:
Rule 3, if a person needs water I think they should tell their partner, bow off the mat and go ahead and get it. Ideally you should say something to your teacher, but sometimes they’re busy correcting others or working with folks. Not having stayed for Yamada sensei’s class I can’t say how large it is but I’m guessing like most shihans it’s probably quite large. It takes very little time to get water, if that’s all you need. If you’re going to sit out and pant forever, then yeah you should explain your situation to your teacher.
Rule 8, I don’t think it’s necessary to be polite with someone deliberately intent on injuring you. Just say no, if they ask why you’re refusing them, tell them or ignore them, and leave em be. Don’t let em goad you into training.
Of course this is far different than plain austere or rough training . But if someone is intent on abusing you, chances are you’re going to get a ‘gut feeling’ or recognize some of their behavior. (Trying to break your arm with shihonage, smashing your head into the ground with iriminage, continuing to apply joint locks after you’ve tapped,etc.)
As for black belts retaliating against folks trashing others. Part of me agrees with this, part of me thinks you should just kick em out of the school and avoid liability. Chances are they’re not going to change their ways anyway.
Grasshopper,
Regarding etiquette, I think it’s important not to behave more Japanese than actual Japanese folks do. Etiquette really requires respect, honesty, cleanliness, and using your head.
For example in some cases I might bow to my partner once, or twice, or maybe even just nod at them when practicing. It all depends on circumstance. But the respect should be there, always.
For example if I were to run into sensei outside of class, I would just act normally. In some situations this might involve a greeting or in others ignoring him. I wouldn’t bow to him, since I’m not Japanese nor would we be in Japan.
Hi Craig,
I agree with most of what you’re saying. However, at least with the instructors I’ve trained under, any time a student wishes to leave or step on the mat, he or she needs to get the instructor’s permission first (i.e. kneeling at the edge of the mat until the instructor bows him or her on).
I will admit that this rule is sometimes honored more in the breach, by at least some of our students during our regular classes. This does bother me, however, especially when the student should know better. If this happened at one of our seminars, I’d get upset.
I agree with your comment on #8. Ultimately, a student is responsible for his or her own safety. Luckily, this isn’t really an issue here in Jacksonville.
Likewise, our black belts are really nice people. 🙂
Your comment to grassHopper is a good one. I wouldn’t bow to, say, a shidoin or shihan outside of class. However, I would offer to carry their dogi bag, or perhaps buy their meal if we were at a restaurant.
This would depend on the circumstances, obviously. If I was at a seminar at a different dojo, for example, and a senior instructor were to join us for lunch, I would offer to pay only if his or her student didn’t offer first.
This would apply to any senior instructor, not just the visiting teacher. Presumably, the host dojo would be paying his or her expenses.
Thank you both for the clarification.
a former student of mine tried to buy me a drink at carrabba’s one night we he saw me…too bad i was only 17 at the time
hmmm…then we shuld buy jerry a few drinks, and get him DRUNK!!!!!
Tomorrow morning they are going to run a tube and probes down Dad’s throat into his lungs. From there they will take a sample of some lung tissue and clean out all the build-up inside his lungs. Hopefully from there they can finally figure out what it is that he’s got. Down side is they will probably put him under and on a ventilator, his lungs will rest, but the longer he is on the vent the harder it is to get off.
Gosh that sound painful 🙁
i hope he turns out alright and your family is holding up man!
They prepped Dad for surgery today but his O2 levels got too low. Instead they did a Lung biopsy. Cleaned out some of the “crap” in his lungs. I was terrified because his saturation dropped to 50 for 20 mins. There was a fear of Neurological Damage. But the nurses brought him around and he followed commands, gave a thumbs up, saluted, and squeezed my hand. He is on a ventilator, but is stable. Its not over, baby steps
I’m praying for you.
DK-Hang in there, buddy.
A quick reminder…
Lane Sensei will be in Jacksonville this Friday and Saturday for a seminar.
Instead of open mat on Friday night, Lane Sensei will be teaching. He will also teach on Saturday.
See you there!
They lowered the amount of oxygen the vent is giving my dad down to 80% which is good. The man is strong, on double dose of sedative and still able to wake up and make hand motions, which is good. The x-ray on his lungs looks better compared to when he went in, which is good. And his white blood cell count has dropped from 2200 to 1800, which is good. They still dont know what he has, but it seems to be decreasing
This is a great list. Perhaps this should be blown up and shown before seminars? Seriously, it amazes me how many people will pay to come to a seminar then proceed to do techniques their own way with no regard to how it’s been shown. I was taught by my Sensei – When in Rome…do what is being taught even if it’s different from what you know.