例式 Reishiki
Reishiki (例式) – not to be confused with 礼式 (reishiki, general etiquette) – is a “regular ceremony or ritual” involving seiza, mokuso (黙想; meditation) and zarei that is carried out (i) before commencing and (ii) before adjourning the training.
It is expected that prior to training, each karateka in the dōjo came from different previous activities, different background, and with different mental and emotional state. As symbolism as well as a practical preparation, the Reishiki upon commencing the class is performed to forget all past activities, ignore differences between peers, and focus one’s mind and emotions to only that brief period of training, and nothing else. The Reishiki upon adjourning of the class is to internalise everything that was taught during the class and to return one’s mind and emotions to wherever one left off before the training.
Reishiki may vary from ryūha (流派; mainstream school (of thought)) to ryūha as well as from dōjo to dōjo. Some perform in every class, whereas some perform only on special occasions. Shown below is the general Reishiki carried out in Shito-ryu:
- Line Up or Line Up by Rank (narande並らんで)
- Stand to Attention (kiwotsuke気を付け)
- Sit formally (seiza正座)
- Meditate - close eyes (mokuso黙想)
- Open Eyes, i.e. end meditation (kaimoku開黙)
- Bow to the Front (shomen ni rei正面に礼) - normally only performed on special occasions
- Bow to the Sensei (sensei ni rei先生に礼)
- Bow to Each Other (otagai ni rei御互いに礼)
- Stand Up (tate立て or kiritsu起立)
- Bow (rei礼) - to commence/adjourn the class
