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If you utilize this formality in the training hall and perform it properly with body alignment, etc. then you know that you face the other person directly. This places both your bodies front toward one another which is a sign of openness and places your vital body parts in a vulnerable position which denotes trust and acceptance.

What you are doing in essence is opening your ventral side or exposing your front, i.e. eyes, mouth, chest, groin, etc., is our way of showing favor to someone or something. This exposure shows we care and validates the other as an equal. When the other person does the same they are showing you a return of the same feelings and sentiments. Add to that a “bow” then you and the other person are telling each other you have due regard for one another.

If your arms are relaxed, ventral showing, and palms are clearly visible demonstrates favorably to the other person.

Then you also show your openness and willingness by the way your face takes on a particular form. When we greet another in such a manner with our eyes open wide, loosen the furrough lines on your forehead, relax the muscles around the mouth, and let your lips emerge full indicate positive emotions and for karate indicate a non-threatening person.

Go one step further and let your head tilt to one side slightly to indicate that you are comfortable, receptive, and a friendly person.

As we go over the greetings we practice in the training hall and in life we begin to understand that there are many ways of self-defense with out actually having to strike another person. What we do before and up to the moment when physical confrontation is eminent we can most times avert that step.

So, the next time you rei/greet someone be it in the training hall or on the street remember to check your technique as it tells others both consciously and unconsciously what we intend.

Reishiki or reigi, the etiquette we display in the start, end, and duration of the training session. When we perform a bow we are essentially “greeting” someone or something. This simple act, much like the simple “hello”, is an act of acknowledgment to the others existence. When we provide the “rei” when dealing with others we are letting them know of their importance to us, to their feelings, and responding in kind to the things they do for us.

A simple “hello” in our society is the most basic form of acknowledgment and we thus provide the same acknowledgment when we bow or rei upon entering the training hall, the kamidana, Sensei, Sempai, and Kohai. It is a conferral of honor to the masters who came before us and all of us who come to this training hall to work hard, train hard, learn and teach.

Though he following of reishiki/reigi we also validate. It is a form of expression such as to express to others we wish them well and to place them at ease with us as we continue the association in the training hall.

When we “rei” to each other we express our intent to do no harm and acknowledge our concern for the well being of others. We thus also invite others to look toward us in the same way as we look to them. We are saying to ourselves and to others we greet one another with civility and cordiality thus avoiding any type of rude behavior that would diminish one another.

There is more to the practice of reigi/reishiki yet this explanation is but one reason why we practice this form of greeting with each other as martial artists, comrades, and martial art community. To take this with us into the world and expressing it to others we meet with a hand shake (in lieu of the bow) and a friendly smile associated with a warm “hello” would go far in bringing us all together in a common goal of respect and humility.