Practitioners of karate and other Japanese martial arts disciplines start and end each training session with a small ceremony. This is not a religious act, but a way to emphasize the seriousness of what you are about to do, namely learning how to use your body as a weapon.
The ceremony also aims to sharpen your concentration to the exclusion of other daily problems and chores. It is also a reminder to show respect to the instructor and former karate masters.
When the training starts, you line up in one row according to rank (highest graduate on the left). Then the ceremony takes place as indicated below.
The start of the training
| Instructor | Student |
| Says Attention, seiza. | Gather the heels in musubi dachi and then sit down in seiza (going down on the left leg first). |
| Says Mokuso Closes the eyes and meditates. | Closes the eyes and meditates. Breathes in silently through the nose, hols the breath and exhales slowly through the mouth. Tries to clear the head of all thoughts. |
| Opens the eyes. Says Mokuso, finished. | Opens the eyes. |
| Turning towards the shomen. Says Bowing to the front. | Bowing forward towards the shome. |
| Turns towards the students. Says Bow to Sensei/Sempai | Turns toward Sensei/Sempai. Says Please. |
| Stands up. Says Stand up. | Stands up in musubi dachi (right leg first). |
End of class
| Instructor | Student |
| Says Attention, seiza. | Gather the heels in musubi dachi and then sit down in seiza (going down on the left leg first). |
| Says Mokuso Closes the eyes and meditates. | Close your eyes and meditate. You breathe in silently through your nose, hold your breath for a moment, and exhale slowly through your mouth. You try to clear your mind of all thoughts. |
| Opens the eyes. Says Mokuso, finished. | Opens the eyes. |
| Turning towards the shomen. Says Bowing to the front. | Bowing forward towards the shome. |
| Turns towards the students. Says Greetings, Sensei/Sempai. | Turns toward Sensei/Sempai and says: Thank you very much. |
| Stands up. Says Stand up. | Stands up in musubi dachi (right leg first). |
| Says Let's bow to each other.. | Bows to the other students. |