Ari-chan

“I mean, what all this bowing for? And greeting in japanese? Too hard for me…”

If you’re one of the persons that think like that than you should highly reconsider your position in a dōjō. Traditionally, martial arts are not all about kicking ass, nor are they about physical exercises. Philosophy is very important, and in Japanese culture respect and discipline are one of the most revered values. “When in Rome, do as the romans”. When in a dōjō, do as the japanese.

Bowing

This is one very important aspect, and a complicated one nonetheless. There are various types of bows; they can differ according to whom you are bowing, and can differ according to the amount of respect you wish to show.

When entering a dōjō, one should always slightly bow in order to show respect to the place that they are training. In aikido (I do no dare to say about other martial arts, so if you know for sure, please add), when entering the tatami you also do a “dogeza”, which is the bow from the sitting position (meaning, you are in “seiza” and then you bow).

At the begging of the practice, everybody sits in a straight line (or more, in case there are many people). A very important aspect which is not respected by many is that the order is not random. You sit accordingly to your grade. If two have the same grade, then you sit accordingly to who has practiced for a longer time. The sensei will afterwards sit in front of everybody, facing the kamiza. There is another “rei” (although, again, it is a dogeza) - also called “O-Sensei ni rei” (which means to bow, to show respect to O-Sensei), then the sensei will turn his body towards everybody else and you salute the sensei, again, with a dogeza, and you say “Onegai shimasu”.

Wondering what “onegai shimasu” actually means? It’s literally translation would be please (onegai) do (shimasu). What it is considered to mean is more like “please show me”, “please train with me”. The second one would be a more appropriate meaning.

During the training, when you are shown a technique, you must sit in seiza. Some dōjō’s admit sitting in the semi-lotus position in case you are hurt and cannot stand in seiza. Any other way of sitting is considered rude. I consider even sitting in the semi-lotus position while being shown a technique to be rude. Even if it hurts, one must show respect. At least, my opinion.

After the showing of the technique is over, you will do a dogeza again, and then search for a partner (unless the sensei says that the same partners remain until the end of the training), and, after meeting one’s partner, you will bow (“rei”). The depth of the bow shows the amount of respect. Usually, you are to bow deeper if your partner is a “senpai” (somebody whose grade is higher), but can bow lesser when meeting a “kouhai” (somebody whose grade is lower). So it should no necessarily be a big shock if you bow deep and the other one, being a senpai, merely nods his head. This is considered acceptable in Japanese etiquette if you are much lower in grade than the other. Again, “Onegai shimasu” would be even more respectful, but it is not necessary.

“Should i do a dogeza when I meet someone?” Well, a dogeza when meeting someone, unless you are already in seiza, should be done very rarely. A dogeza is considered extremely respectful (and, if you ask me, it can be a useless consumption of time), so you are not obligated to ever do it in a dōjō. Unless you’re in seiza.

When you finish an exercise with someone, you bow again and can say one of the following three:

1) “Doumo arigatou gozaimasu/gozaimashita” - it is the most formal way of saying “thank you”. “Doumo” is translated as thanks, and can be said all by itself. “Arigatou” also means “thank you”. “Gozaimasu” is the very polite form of the verb “desu” which means “to be”. “Gozaimashita” is simply “gozaimasu” in past tense.

2) “Doumo arigatou” / “Arigatou gozaimasu” - is a less formal way of saying “thanks you” (as you can see, the less word you use here, the less formal it is).

3) “Arigatou” - this is already informal, and should only be used with people that you know better or with kouhai.

Also, if you are not sure of the pronunciation (because my brain is scratched everyday when I hear it spoken wrongly), please address a senpai.

You might also hear you sensei saying “otagai ni rei” (mostly during the exam). This means “mutual respect”, and means saluting your fellow “nakama” (nakama means companions, so to speak).

Off course, there are still some more dōjō etiquette rituals left unspoken of, but time is short, so, perhaps, later.