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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.