The goal of YIKA Mojave Br. is to help each person strive to become a better human being through the practice of respect, courtesy, friendship, and practical self defense, in the discipline of Yoshukai International.
Y.I.K.A., Mojave Branch's Rules
| 1. | Students must be quiet, respectful, and well behaved in class. | |
| 2. | Students must be on time to class. Arriving five to ten minutes early is suggested. | |
| 3. | Students will demonstrate a strict regard for law and order, respect for parents, respect for friends and coworkers, and demonstrate good citizenship. | |
| 4. | Safety gear is mandatory for all students during sparring. | |
| 5. | Students must demonstrate good control by light touch only during sparring. Illegal targets will be the knees, groin, spine, back of head, neck or throat, eyes, and any other area considered to be a soft spot or pressure point of the body. | |
| 6. | Do not wear jewelry or chew gum during class. | |
| 7. | Always remove your shoes before entering the dojo. | |
| 8. |
Students attending
school should demonstrate their karate training*
by trying to maintain an A/B average if they desire to
be included in further belt tests, since school
training coincides with karate training in its
goal to make students better human beings that
are prepared to succeed in life. * Dojo Rule #2 & #4 |
Y.I.K.A., Mojave Branch's Dojo Etiquette
A bow is a sign of respect. Always execute a standing bow when entering and leaving the dojo. When yudansha's (black belts) are in the dojo, execute another bow to show respect for their rank and knowledge. If a higher yudansha enters the dojo, “Kiyosuke”, will be called out, you will then wait for the yudansha to bow, at the same time you will bow in return, followed with a kiai or "ous". If Sensei (Ray Zaragoza Jr.), enters the dojo, the command "Sensei! - Face the door!" will be called out, you will then wait for Sensei to bow, at the same time you will bow in return, followed with a kiai or "ous".
Always address black belts (showing respect for their rank) and adults (showing respect for their age) with "Yes Sir/Ma’am" and "No Sir/Ma’am", or directed as Mr. Bryant (2nd dan), Mr. Larkin (2nd dan), Mr. Lighthill (1st dan), Mr. Jacobson (1st dan), or Mrs. Ponting (1st dan).
Your gi (uniform) is a symbol of the way you feel about yourself and karate. It should always be kept clean and in good condition. You should only wear your gi in the dojo or perhaps in transit to the dojo, however, you should never wear your obi (belt) outside of the dojo. It is a symbol of your achievements and should be treated with respect. Your obi should never lay on the floor or be washed.
When lining up to begin class, black belts will line up in parallel lines by dan ranks. All kyu ranks will form a line behind and parallel to the yudansha line. Kyu ranks should line up from right to left in kyu order, starting with 1st Kyu brown belts and descending to white belts.
Once lined up, the senior instructor will either initiate formal kneeling bows (seiza) or informal standing bows (tachi rei). First the instructor will order, Mukotsuo, (close your eyes) for a brief meditation followed by Kaimoku (open your eyes) and then he will command "Shomeni Rei", which initiates a bow to the flag, country, dojo and predecessors of karate. Next, the Sensei will turn and face the students and then the "Sempai" will turn and face the Sensei and then the Sempei will command, "Sensei-ni Rei", initiating a bow to the Sensei of the dojo. Class will then begin as instructed.
At the end of class, Sensei will command "kiyosuke" and the dojo rules will be recited by his command. Using the same procedure of Mukotsuo, Kaimoku and bows, Shomeni Rei and Sensei-ni Rei, the Sensei will acknowledge the Sempei, who will then turn and face the students and then the next highest ranked student will face the Sempei, and command, "Sempai-ni Rei", and a bow will be executed for the Sempei. Then the Sensei will call "Yudansha", and all yudansha's will turn and face the highest ranked kyu, then highest ranked kyu will turn and face the yudansha's commanding "Yudansha-ni Rei", and a bow will be executed for the yudansha's. Everyone will then turn back to the Sensei. Finally the Sensei will say, "Otagani Rei", in which everyone will bow, showing respect for yourself and your classmates and following that, the black belts will be "bowed" off of the floor, followed by the brown belts, finishing in order with the green belt's, yellow belts and ending with the white belts, which closes the class.
