Please don't forget the etiquette.

Please don't forget the etiquette.  Our dojo has always prided itself on our etiquette.  We have never had a large dojo with lots of student and we have never been a famous dojo, but what we did always have was very good etiquette.  Now that Sensei has passed on I worry that the we might lose what little dignity we have. From how you enter/leave the dojo to how to use the bathroom there is an etiquette for everything in a traditional dojo.  Good etiquette is simple because most of it is common sense.  Say thank you, please, or excuse me, ask permission first and when in doubt bow pretty much sum it all up.  All you have to do is ask yourself, "If this were my house, what would be appropriate."  If your parents did a half way descent job than you probably will make very little mistakes and if you do make a mistake it will be easily correctable because you know the basic right from wrong.  Since, most of us weren't raised in the wild displaying good manners shouldn't that hard.

What precludes people from displaying good manners?  Usually they are making it about themselves and their egos rather than displaying good manners.

There is a saying, "Yaiba ni tsuyoki mono wa rei ni suguru" which means that great swordsman surpasses all others in decorum. 

Please don't forget the etiquette.