Dojang rules...

Exactly. It is a question of modesty. If my uniform is out of place and my bare skin or underclothes are exposed, the polite thing to do to an Instructor or fellow student is to quickly conserve modesty by facing away from them, tidying your clothes, and returning to face them.
In some Japanese styles (Aikido for example), the rules are different based on Samurai codes of etiquette.

 

Goes almost for every school. Nothing much of a shock there. Although with point 3 I'd have to say : bow to everyone... not only students of higher rank or teachers.

Also speaks for itself, but student creed sounds a bit off...

Not mandatory, at least not in our dojo.

Of these, the belt fixing thing mystifies me the most. Sounds strange to me, but hey... that´s just me... As for the rest it´s pretty standard stuff, but the reduction of rank thing is pathetic...

 

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You all make some good points, but I do disdagree with some points in there. Firstly, before i even began martial arts, and this is going quite a few years back, I was going to go their to start kendo classes. I told my friend who(got his black belt when he was 12), that I knew of someone who had all of the equipment and they would let me borrow it. And the equipment costs a fortune. His only reply was, " im not so sure, i dont think the master woudl like that. You really should buy it from him". Thing being his prices were inflated like id never seen before. And him, essentailly , refusing to teach me unless i bought from him was something i never forgot when i asked him about it. As far as the bowing to a flag goes, it is tradition yes, but if its against someones beliefs(which does happen on occasion), they should not be reduced in rank for it. The instructor also had that friend of mine teaching for no pay for a very long time(He was around 15 i think). Another problem I had,w hen I visited his school, is that they give false senses of security to many of their students. They are strictly a sport TKD school, but teach their students that shoudl they ever encounter a street fight, they can and will win. After seeing nothing but high head kicks, and sparring matches to the first point when i went back to that school to watch at a later time.

 

Errr.

Where did it say on the rules that you had to bow to a flag?

And where did it say on the rules that you had to buy your equipment from your master?

I buy my things from my master, because he gets them for dirt cheap and they are high quality, a few guy got it from else where and he didn't care. They payed triple the price for something that will last a year max. He doesnt make profit from selling armour or weapons anyway.

 

Pulling on your belt means you want to challenge that person. If you roll up the sleeves on your uniform past your elbows you will get the same response. (And when the other guy has a chain whip you do NOT want to do that)

 

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Hey guys,

thing is, from being at their studio, i have seen a flag hung up right above most doorways. Self explanatory there really... And being reduced in rank for not bowing is terrible. As far as buying from them goes, I dont have a problem with buying from the school itself, but id o when the prices are grossly overpriced you cant train their unless you do.

 

It said might, be reduced, not will.

Masters dont go around with a red pen and take off your rank for every single rule you break. Do you really think people would keep coming if each class was run like a military institution?

I have never seen a flag mounted above the door way in any club I have seen.

If there is, then politly bow, you dont have to believe it, its just a polite gesture.

I talked to my TKD mate about this. He said that the bow to both a Korean and an Australian flag. Its just a sign of multiculturalism. Perfectly fine in my book.

 

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knight, you do make some interesting points, I will see if I can find any pictures online of their studio. As far as the bow goes, multiculturism is one thing, but it shouldnt be a nessesity. Bowing to a person is one thing, bowing to a flag in a building to show devotion to a foregin country is another. And many of their students are on contracts, and have already paid for most of the years lessons.

 

its not devotion to another country, it's merely showing your respect for the people that came before, and their heritage. I don't even think it really is bowing TO the flag, that might just be a convenient place to hang it? I bowed upon entering/leaving my class 3 nights a week, and the falg was on the far wall from me, even if it secretly were setup to get me to be bowing to another flag, why not? I'm the kinda guy who doesn't give a rat's **** about national borders anyway, we're all humans, and respect is respect, no matter whom you're giving it to. And if you are learning a (for argument) a Korean style like TKD i should definitely hope you respect the koreans who developed it long before you were a twinkle in your parents' eyes, and also those who refined it up till now.

 

We bow to a South Korean and a New Zealand flag. It's not like I'm saying that I am a Korean subject or that I am subversing myself to Korea. It's just a sign of respect and acknowledgement of where the art comes from. And, really, if you don't believe in acknowledging things from the country of your art, then you won't believe in the gesture of bowing, and it will mean nothing, so what then does it matter what you bow to? (Not implying that this applies to anyone in particular, of course)

 

See, you didnt make any mention of contracts or anything else in your first post.

What you posted before were the basic rules for most martial arts. Contracts were not in thoes rules, but are a sure sign of a mc dojo and crap school.

 

Bowing to the Korean flag is the same as doing that dance the Muay Thai fighers do (regardless of race). Its showing respect to the art, its got nothing to do with renowncing your own culture and nationality.

 

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im sorry guys, i think ive given alot of you the wrong idea. I suppose this is the instance of , having to have been there to understand. Personally i could care less if it bowing was made to be a symbol of respect, as it should be. A country that devolped a martial art does obviously deserve recognition, but this place all out wanted you to accept not only the cultural aspect it seems, but more of a "pledge of alligence".