[quote=Charles Hill;201802]I have been in a certain shihan's class where he most definitely told off visitors who showed a lack of etiquette. One guy sat in the back and was taking notes and not training. This shihan yelled at one of the uchideshi to "get him the hell out of here."
Wow! Some guy just sat in the back and took notes while class was going on? Was the guy in a dogi or just a visitor watching? That is pretty strange. I guess if you do something that silly you will get told off. Looking back I did some pretty "silly" things during my short stay there but at the time I was doing them it did not seem odd but I never got yelled at. Maybe a blank stare or two. I even saw a new guy show up once that seemed lost and was late for class and did some strange things such as waving his hands to the Shihan teaching the class to get his attention while class was going on. But again after a few minutes the new guy started to adjust and figured out what was going on. He never got yelled at, one of the sempai just came up to him and told him it was OK to join in the class. I went back to Hombu two years later after that and that same guy waving his arms to get the Shihan's attention was still there. So, I guess he faired well. At first being there is a bit overwhelming. That I will admit. A lot of history is there, after all. I will be heading back there in May for the first time in 5 years. I will remember all these stories. One thing I will remember not to do is take notes in the back during class.
That is just too funny.
Kevin