The instructor takes a position in the front of the class, and the students usually line up in some order indicated by their ranks. There are several different methods used for organizing the positions that students take. No matter the method used, every student has a place, and they are expected to get in that place and stay there, making way for the instructor to move about them correcting their movements. There are two times that a karate class lines up. They line up for the opening and closing ceremonies, and they line up for actual training in a different formation.
Most instructors begin their karate classes with an opening ceremony.
The students line up, sit down, the instructor reviews their posture, and then he takes up a position at the front of the room and sits down as well. After a period of quiet concentration on the activity ahead, the instructor stands, and the students spread out throughout the room. The most common formation for a class to assume for their ceremonies is the Triangle. The triangular formation seats the instructor in front, the students in line shoulder to shoulder behind him, and any special guests or high ranking VIPs slightly ahead of the rest of the students. Another popular formation is a tower arrangement.