Seiza - Which knee first?

[RichardHangHong]

Which knee do you go onto first when lowering yourself into seiza?

Is there a reason why you do it one way and not the other?

Answers on a postcard please...

Osu

Richard

[DancingSteve]

I was always taught, left...then right.

Same with bowing when on knees...left---right hand..bow. Then right hand back to knee, then left hand.

Im sure theres a reason somewhere

[Rateh]

Left then right, thats the way I was taught. Same with going from attention to ready stance and back, always left then right. When I show kids though I do them both right to left, so that they can mirror me.

[lordtariel]

Same here... Left then right, then when you're getting up it's right then left

[Fish]

Left then right - my sensei says its a Japanese superstition that left should go first.

[P.A.L]

i heard this from T. Sengoku Sensei (kodokan, IJF), it's all related to the way samurai sit down or stand up. you go down with left so in case you have to draw the katana it won't jam on your left. same when you standing up, right goes first so the sword can be drawn easily from left side.

i have seen okinawan sometimes do the opposite way.

[Shorin Ryuu]

i heard this from T. Sengoku Sensei (kodokan, IJF), it's all related to the way samurai sit down or stand up. you go down with left so in case you have to draw the katana it won't jam on your left. same when you standing up, right goes first so the sword can be drawn easily from left side.

i have seen okinawan sometimes do the opposite way.

When I was learning iaido, we did it left first for this reason.

[armanox]

I'm inclined to agree left then right. And swords are the reasoning to my knowledge.

[Ippiki_Ookami]

I was taught by my sensei that it's left and then right, so that's the way I do it.

[Feathers of Doom]

im shocked to see so many with left knee and im the only right knee. in both schools i attend its right knee first followed by left.