How Important is Etiquette?

Etiquette is the structure of rules we are taught to abide by, that govern good behavior and social interactions. It reflects our society’s customs, history, ethics, good taste, and the rules of the various groups we belong to. It is important to be aware of differences in etiquette when we travel to other countries, as some rules differ from country to country.

For example, we, in Western society have been taught that it is rude to burp. But in other countries, it is a recognized and accepted way of telling the host that his/her dinner was both tasty and filling.

Certainly in a karate dojo, proper etiquette allows us to have the correct interactions with our seniors, our peers, our juniors, and any visitors. It allows us, from the moment we enter a dojo until the moment we leave, to avoid insulting anyone or showing disrespect for the dojo, its master, or its students.

The very fact that we remove our shoes before entering a dojo, or at least moving on to the dojo floor(whether it be tile or tatami) is a reflection of the common etiquette used when entering the home of a Japanese person.

The Ogasawara school was the foundation for etiquette for all the Samurai houses of Japan. The rules and practices included hot to bow (with nine different ways of bowing!), eating, weddings and other aspects of everyday life, all the way down to the correct way to open and close a door.

Ogasawara Sadamune (1292–1347) was placed in charge of maintaining the correct etiquette for the court of the Ashikaga Shogun, Ashikaga Takauji.

The Imperial House of Japan still uses Ogasawara etiquette methods.

Why is the history of the Ogasawara-ryu important to us? Because it is from this school of etiquette that we in karate draw one of our most foundational techniques: the half-moon walking step that is used in practically every karate school in the world, whether it be Okinawan, Japanese, or Korean.

The very step we all practice as a beginner, and the most basic step that is in every kata we do, comes from the Ogasawara-ryu method.

Here’s the story: the flooring in most Japanese homes, rich or poor, great or small, used to be tatami mats. A room was measured by tatami and would be described as “20 by 30 tatami” for example, rather than by footage.

Of course, when tatami mats are laid in a room they have edges which are not always of a uniform height and can cause the unwary or unpracticed to stumble.

It was the custom of servants who carried trays of food and drink to the host and his guests, to carry the trays at face height, above their noses so they would not “spoil” the food by their breath. But this also placed the tray immediately beneath their eyes, which made it impossible to see the floor and caused them to stumble when they hit the edges of the tatami mats. Thus, the practice of using a half-moon step to feel their way across the floor without stumbling (and embarrassing their master and insulting the guests).

So your most basic karate stepping pattern is actually more than 650 years old, and it works on a wooden dojo floor, or on the ground outside at night, or when serving at a party where there are tatami mats.