Etiquette (reigi)

After class last night, I really stopped to think about dojo etiquette. We have several new people who have joined recently, and I was reminded of my first few classes at the dojo. For a beginner, the traditional bowing, Japanese sayings and overall etiquette can be a little daunting.
When a person begins training, they are given a handbook with etiquette guidelines and then guided by senior students.

An example of dojo and training etiquette is as follows:

When entering the dojo, one bows to the shrine of O'Sensei and then removes their shoes before entering the mat area.

When entering another room in the dojo, it is proper to bow to the shrine again.

When stepping onto the mat, one should bow to the shrine of O'Sensei.

When class begins, students line up in sempai-logical order-- or highest to lowest rank--sitting in seiza. Sensei moves in front, bows to the shrine as a show of respect. Students also bow. Sensei turns to his students and both bow again saying "Onegai shimasu" (please instruct me)

When Sensei demonstrates a technique, one bows first to Sensei then to a partner to begin practice.

Any instruction received from Sensei is completed with a bow again and then another bow back to your partner. It is again appropriate to say "thank you" to Sensei or "domo arrigato" then return to practice.

When class ends, students line up and bow as they did in the opening of class with a verbal "domo arrigato"

Sensei leaves the mat, students wait until he bows off the mat-- then bow again and then to each of the students they trained with.

There are other guidelines, and it's alot for a new student to remember. When to bow, what Japanese phrase is appropriate...etc...
There are minor breaches of etiquette that are gently corrected by Sensei.
Last night a new student stepped onto the mat and bowed standing. Sensei gently informed him that it was more proper to perform a seated bow.

Other breaches of etiquette are more severe-- wearing jewelry on the mat, slouching or lounging on the mat..etc..
Another new student was caught chewing gum on the mat last night. Luckily, a senior student caught it before Sensei did.

Whenever there has been several breaches of etiquette in one day, or when we have a class full of new students, Sensei might go over points of etiquette in our beginner's class.

There are some people who know the etiquette, but their attitudes indicate that they really don't like to be bothered with it.
Others accept etiquette as an important part of their Aikido training and discipline.

Someone said to me one day that we did far too much bowing. He asked me what was it all for. For some people, especially those not familiar with martial arts, it might seem excessive or overly formal, perhaps even ritualistic.
As I pondered this, I thought about my own feelings on the subject.
My response was that etiquette is an important part of training.
It shows respect for the art, for O'Sensei, your fellow dojomates and your Sensei. Aikido, like many other arts, is a gift. While we pay for the instruction we receive, most instructors do not make money off of their art. They give so much of themselves-- they invest their time, money and efforts in an art that they love on an effort to pass it along to people like me.