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Dojo Etiquette Rei - Politeness. Politeness is one of the Samurai virtues. And perhaps, some would say, the most important virtue of all. Without politeness, a Samurai would probably be dead before he even got started. Martial arts have always included elements of Japanese medieval society etiquette and Kendo is no exception. The following elements are what we consider important in our Dojo. Other dojo's may follow slightly different etiquette.

Arriving at the dojo:
As we arrive at the dojo we remind ourselves that we have made a comitment to train with the spirit of the Samurai so as we enter the training area, we stop inside the door at attention, bow towards the shomen/flags and if the flags are displayed, we also salute (right hand to heart). We then remove shoes and socks and place them near the door in neat rows with the shoes pointing toes towards the door. We are then free to go to our appropriate area and prepare for the training session.

Greeting others:
Whether inside or outside the dojo, whenever we meet one of our members, we bow in greeting. As always when bowing, we maintain eye contact and bow from the waist with a straight back. When greeting the Masters or other sensei's, the bow is slightly deeper.

Swords, juk-do's, bokken's:
We treat them all as real swords - all the time. We place them carefully out of other peoples way. We don't swing them at plants or other objects. We hold them properly - either by the handle, or at the "sheathed" position at the left waist at which point we have the sword back resting on the lower fingers of the left hand and the thumb on the tsuba (hand guard). When moving around the dojo we avoid stepping on other peoples swords, and we never handle someone else's sword without their permission (sometimes if someone else's sword is about to fall or has fallen over we might straighten it up to be neat, but generally not).

Lining up:
Most senior members to the left, most junior to the right spaced about 2m apart to give room for the sword movements. Standing at attention with the sword sheathed. If there are too many people to fit in one line, the "tail end" of the line moves to create a second line behind the others.

Watching:
When watching the seniors train, we sit in 'seiza' on the side of the dojo floor. Most times we will be allowed to sit relaxed with crossed legs, but when the Masters cross swords, we move into proper seiza. At all times however, we keep our backs straight and watch without chatting to each other. When sitting in this manner, our sword is on the floor at our left side, handle forward, tsuba in line with our waist, and sword edge facing towards you.

Finishing:
Beginners normally finish before the seniors, however this should not mean beginners leave before the seniors - we all finish together. The seniors give up some of their training time to help prepare the beginners for the armoured drills, so it is common courtesy for the beginners to wait while the seniors finish. During this time, beginners will sit on the side of the dojo - refer "Watching" above. Sometimes also the Masters will fight - even if it is after scheduled class time, they have given up their time to train us - we wait, and watch - and hopefully learn as well!

Leaving the dojo:
If going out and coming back in again, put on your shoes, bow to the flags and step out backwards. When coming back in bow and remove shoes. When leaving at the end of the session, one puts on their shoes, collects their gear, bow and salute the flags before stepping out.


Further reading:
Dojo etiquette (UK website)
About Seiza
Bowing
Samurai Etiquette
(see also the Samurai Virtues and Bushido sections)

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