Party Etiquette

Sometimes Sensei likes to throw parties for special guests or visitors. These parties have an unspoken etiquette, mostly for uchi deshi. The youngest deshi are expected to help set up, get groceries, wash dishes and generally clean up throughout the evening. We must also wait for everyone else to get served before helping ourselves. The head deshi basically manages the other deshi to make sure they are paying attention to the guests. He may also order the takeout food for the party.

If you see that Sensei’s wine glass is getting low, offer to fill it for him. Nowadays he will probably decline, but offering is a good thing.

Regular guests should not help with cleaning, it gets the deshi in trouble and is extremely irritating. We are not supposed to accept help cleaning from guests. Sensei can help clean up if he wants. He can do pretty much anything he feels like during the party. Its amusing to see him wash dishes and tell everyone else to relax. Even with the cleaning it can be a lot of fun. Usually one or two of the guests are exuberant and make funny conversation that delights the rest of the room. As a general rule, the quieter the party and the less alcohol consumed the shorter it ends up being. There used to be nights that parties would go very late, but now they usually end before 12 am.

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Published:
8.6.09 / 10am
Category:
Aikido