Going up to the Sensei After Class

**ManyRoses** · 2nd December 2006, 01:02 PM

Originally Posted by Fudo-Shin

At the end of the 1st day after we bowed out I lined up with other students (most of which were from that club) to bow out again to a particular Sensei and basically say thanks. Before I got to him, with one of HIS students in front of me, he motioned me away and said "you can go now". My jaw almost dropped. (...)

BTW...I went back to seminar the next day and beat all HIS kyu level Kendoka and one of his Nidans during Shiai Geiko. I felt I deserved to win in that case.

NIIIICE!!

**kojiro** · 13th January 2007, 02:45 PM

[QUOTE=swrdply400mrela;22021]After class (after muk song, sp?), some of the senior members approach the sensei and sit in front of him while he does a quick review of what they need to work on. My question is, how do you know if you should go up?

Once, a few senior members went up and one of them encouraged us to go up with them, but the guy next to me said we shouldn't go up since we didn't spar with our sensei. So instead, we packed away our bogu.

Thanks

Yeah.. well... Usually you'll have to pass by sensei.. but i guess your dojo is really big, but still you can ask him stuffs even if you did not go against your sensei... I hope you do not forget the etiquettes to sensei if you go against him or her. It is to pay respect to sensei and it is not only for to get advice. As I learned.. so.. I dun think there has to be jiyo-geiko w/ sensei to have a nice chat after muku-san...

**ghostdancer** · 14th January 2007, 12:24 AM

since i practice in a fairly small club approx 10 members, going up to sensei is not a problem as we are relatively informal
After we have reied off my sensei will pass comments, praise, encouragement pointers to watch for as deemed necessary

Did a Shai with in the club last week ended up against a Sho dan and scored a kote chuffed or what, however what meant more was both the sensei and the sempai who were officiating both saying after the session good kote well done (the sempai is not exactly forthcoming with his praise usually)
The shodan was pretty complimentary as wel,l as a low end Kyu was well pleased with the praise, however this will mean now that i have done it once will have to raise my game considerably to keep "face" or gonna get a asswhooping big time

oh well thats life..........fun aint it

**kenshi212** · 18th January 2007, 06:22 PM

i say always, always, always go to anyone higher rank than you to thank them for keiko. Not only is it proper, as many have said here, you might learn something. not something difficult to do, most will give a short "no, thank you" kinda response and some give out praises, advice, or whatever.

on the other hand, I would not go to a sensei I did not do keiko with. They might remember and say "I didn't keiko with you..." espeacially if the sensei is a guest from differnet dojo, country, etc., which can be embarrassing.

so, I guess just use your judgement and common sense and put yourself in the senseis shoes! or bogu?

or just keiko with everybody.

thank you,
good night

**1/2** · 25th January 2007, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by swrdply400mrela

After class (after muk song, sp?), some of the senior members approach the sensei and sit in front of him while he does a quick review of what they need to work on. My question is, how do you know if you should go up?

Once, a few senior members went up and one of them encouraged us to go up with them, but the guy next to me said we shouldn't go up since we didn't spar with our sensei. So instead, we packed away our bogu.

Thanks

Mike

I don't know how this works in other countries or other dojos, but here in Norway we have a good two way dialogue with our sensei. The sensei teaches and let us know what we need to work on, and if we are curious about sertain techniques or katas etc, he/she will help us to understand better. I think that it is important for my progress to have such a dialogue with my sensei.

**radran** · 8th February 2007, 06:25 PM

Once, a few senior members went up and one of them encouraged us to go up with them, but the guy next to me said we shouldn't go up since we didn't spar with our sensei. So instead, we packed away our bogu.

why wouldn't you go up? following traditions and all that is all well and good but why should older students only benifit?

our sensei just came for the first time on friday and i went up to him and asked him for some pointers. He spent the last half hour helping me and spent so long he didn't get time for the older poeple who asked, because i needed the help most (being my 3rd lesson).

Also i didn't spare with him (i don;t even have the equipment yet) all he did was ask me to demonstrate to him so he could advise me.

**Kyung** · 14th March 2007, 12:48 AM

My doj is small. I line up with seniors at the end and do the mukseo, sonkyo, then one by one we go up to the master. then sonkyo to the seniors until i get back to my place.

**yoda40** · 23rd March 2007, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by swrdply400mrela

After class (after muk song, sp?), some of the senior members approach the sensei and sit in front of him while he does a quick review of what they need to work on. My question is, how do you know if you should go up?

Once, a few senior members went up and one of them encouraged us to go up with them, but the guy next to me said we shouldn't go up since we didn't spar with our sensei. So instead, we packed away our bogu.

Thanks

Mike

Mike - Simple answer no need to go up if you didn't train, however if not training with Sensei becomes a habit, thats a different problem, you would go up and ask for forgiveness and request next time he/she train with you. How do you know what to do? Ask your Sensei after class, he/she will gladly tell you what is expected. Most of all DON'T ASSUME, ASK!

With respect to the other comments, posted, I visit all types of dojo's regardless of the ethic background or focus some are more strict then others, no other pattern, I am more of a traditionalist myself and when I teach tend to be much more firm, but then again, I teach beginners mostly and am expected to - as directed by sensei.

**Oni** · 17th September 2008, 06:39 AM

Always go, even if you don't feel so.

**Toecutter** · 17th September 2008, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by kenshi212

i say always, always, always go to anyone higher rank than you to thank them for keiko.

on the other hand, I would not go to a sensei I did not do keiko with.

I tend to agree with Kenshi, but in general I always go up to the sensei even if I didn't train with them. Sometimes they just say I didn't train with you other times they say I noticed you doing this or fix that. What ever the case it depends on the dojo but I would go out of your way to show appreciation to the sensei or visiting sensei, also talk to the seniors. I've gotten a lot of excellent feed back from senior players.

**foundinsea** · 28th November 2008, 04:52 AM

Toecutter makes a point. At our dojo we always say thank you to all the sensei. You never know what advice they will give and sometimes they may have observed you doing keiko next to them and still have pointers for you. Besides, you're thanking all the sensei not just for doing keiko with you but for taking the time to come to the dojo and teach.

Incidentally in Asia it is considered good manners to say hello and good bye to all your elders. Even if they shoo you away, at least they know you came to say thanks.

**Dan Weber** · 28th November 2008, 07:57 AM

Wow, this thread gets resurrected a lot.

**foundinsea** · 10th December 2008, 01:20 PM

well it is a sticky, so kinda hard to miss..

**Koyama956** · 5th April 2009, 09:35 AM

at our dojo, we don't get up and go to the sensei and ask for advice. my father( the sensei ) he thinks that the only way to get better is to find your own mistakes and correct them. the people who do give advice are me and the other sempai's, but yea i think its funny because when the sensei say's sogono rei, its only for the sempais, but everyone else does it XD, . but yea i dont see anything wrong with going up to your sensei and bowing its just a form of respect and saying thank you for teaching us and stuff.