School Principles

School Goal

The goal of our school is to help each person strive to become a better human being through the practice of respect, courtesy, friendship, and practical self defense.

School Rules

1. Students must be quiet, respectful, and well behaved in class.
2. Students must be on time to class. Arriving five to ten minutes early is suggested.
3. Students will demonstrate a strict regard for law and order, respect for parents, respect for friends and coworkers, and demonstrate good citizenship.
4. Safety gear is mandatory for all students during sparring.
5. Students must demonstrate good control by light touch only during sparring. Illegal targets will be the knees, groin, spine, back of head, neck or throat, eyes, and any other area considered to be a soft spot or pressure point of the body.
6. Do not wear jewelry or chew gum during class.
7. Always remove your shoes before entering the dojo.
8. Students attending school should demonstrate their karate training by maintaining an A/B average if they desire to be included in further belt tests, since school training coincides with karate training in its goal to make students better human beings that are prepared to succeed in life.

Dojo Etiquette

A bow is a sign of respect. Always execute a standing bow when entering and leaving the dojo. When black belts are in the dojo, execute another bow to show respect for their rank and knowledge. When Sensei Jones is the dojo, another bow should be executed. If you are in the dojo and a black belt enters the dojo, the senior kyu will call out, “Face the rear”, followed by either “Sensei Rei” for Mr. Jones or “Senpai Rei” for any other black belts, and all students will come to attention and perform a tachi rei (standing bow).

Always address black belts (showing respect for their rank) and adults (showing respect for their age) with "Yes Sir/Ma’am" and "No Sir/Ma’am".

Your gi (uniform) is a symbol of the way you feel about yourself and karate. It should always be kept clean and in good condition. You should only wear your gi in the dojo or perhaps in transit to the dojo; however, you should never wear your obi (belt) outside of the dojo. It is a symbol of your achievements and should be treated with respect. It should never fall to the floor or be washed.

When lining up to begin class, black belts will line up in parallel lines by dan ranks. All kyu ranks will form a line behind and parallel to the shodan line. Kyu ranks should line up from right to left in kyu order, starting with 2^nd level red belts and descending to white belts.

Once lined up, the senior instructor will either initiate formal kneeling bows (seiza) or informal standing bows (tachi rei). First the instructor will recite, "Shomeni Rei", which initiates a bow to the flag and country. Second, if the Sensei is present, "Sensei Rei" will be recited, initiating a bow for the Sensei of the school. Thirdly, the instructor will say, "Senpai Rei", and a bow will be executed for the black belts, and finally the instructor will say, "Otagani Rei", in which everyone will bow, showing respect for yourself and your classmates.

At the end of class, the same procedure of bows will be re-executed, and following that, the black belts will be ‘bowed’ off of the floor by dan level, finishing with the senior kyu bowing out the lowest level of dans, which closes the class.