Seiza and Shikkō

Seiza (正座, literally "proper sitting") is the Japanese term for the traditional formal way of sitting in Japan.

Seiza involves sitting down on the floor and not on a chair.

Doing seiza is an integral and required part of several traditional Japanese arts, such as certain Japanese martial arts and tea ceremony (a table-style version of tea ceremony known as ryūrei was invented in the 19th century). Seiza is also the traditional way of sitting while doing other arts such as shodo (calligraphy) and ikebana (flower arranging), though with the increasing use of western-style furniture it is not always necessary nowadays.

Walking on the feet and knees while in the seiza posture, known as shikkō (膝行^?, knee-movement), is considered more polite than standing up and walking regularly.

Shikkō is today quite rare, but is found in some traditional formal restaurants and ryokan, and is practiced in the martial art of aikidō, where practitioners learn to defend themselves while moving in shikkō.

To perform this knee-walking movement correctly the heels must be kept close together, and the body must move as a whole unit.

It is because movement in shikkō forces one to engage the hips that it is considered valuable for aikidō training.