Ritual

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Defined: A spiritual or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order. Relating to or done as a spiritual or solemn rite. Martial arts are chock full of rituals, ritualistic concepts. Rituals are often patterns performed to the point of becoming conscious habits, concepts. 

What those rituals are depends on the dojo, the sensei and how close to whatever culture and belief system is in play. 

Typical Ritual:

• Enter the dojo main door, take off shoes and leave them in shoe storage area;
• Follow a particular passage or hall to reach the dressing area. Many more complex dojo designs will have a separate hall to reach that area not crossing over into the dojo training area. It can be as simple as a path around the main floor, the main floor is often separated by the rise off the floor created by matting;
• Another ritual is the silence heard in that hall and on the main floor;
• Once in the dressing room relative silence is maintained and any conversations are just above a whisper; 
• After dressing, leaving the dressing room or space is often specific to entering the dojo training area or floor where each person steps up toes barely touching the rise made by the mats and then the perform another ritual, ‘rei’. 
• Rei: rei depending of certain cultural and belief concepts will dictate how the bow or rei is performed making it a ritual all on its own. The rei ritual has cultural and belief particulars that symbolize certain concepts of that dojo or martial art;
• After rei, step out on the dojo floor. Some will perform a ritual there as well such as stepping off, similar to military marching, with the left foot. In my case I ask practitioners to do just that and then assume a kamae of natural standing and attentive focus to look around the dojo quickly to ascertain what activities are in progress as that often dictates the next ritualistic move before assuming a free-style ritual for training and practice;
• In the stationary position just inside/on the dojo floor take note of sensei, if busy then step out and begin your initial preparatory work and stretching and other warm-up rituals otherwise dependent on what sensei is doing and his or her focus you may enact another ritual of dojo-sensei respect, etc.;
• When the formal training session begins all will be called to order and line up according to the dojo hierarchy at a standing position in a semi-attentive way; 
• Depending on the dojo-sensei you may do a standing bow or you may perform the sitting ritual to assume a seiza-sitting position, then bow to the kamidana, then depending on the location of sensei who is facing you, the shimoza position that resides at the bottom of the kamidana, and bow to sensei. Some dojo then turn and face the dai-senpai of the dojo to also perform the rei ritual. All students and sensei are facing the kamidana in a mokuso state, i.e., meditation sitting seiza for, depending on the dojo, five to fifteen minutes using the Zen breath-count method;
• At this point the ritual of assuming a standing position is performed then a student-group training or warmup or basics session is performed;
• After that session the next session may be about kata;
• After that session the next session may be about kumite, i.e., free-style or paired, etc.

Rituals have and always will be a human species thing born of and evolved throughout human existence toward the very essence of all we do has humans, survival of the species. It may have changed and evolved over the centuries of evolutionary process but in the end, ritual as you can imagine in its barest basic fundamental form remains without change. There must be a good reason why nature made this so because all of us embrace it in one form or another in ever facet of our lives. 

Basketball, is full of ritualistic strategies and tactics;

Football, is full of ritualistic strategies and tactics; 

Just about any sport is full of ritualistic strategies and tactics.

Look at the scientific research process for it too is full of ritualistic processes.

Space, the universe, is full of ritualistic processes.

Ritual… what is it good for? Absolutely everything for as we already know and believe ritual is how we train, teach, practice, learn and create for even the creative process of humans is born of the seed of ritual. 

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