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Today, it is almost universally included in the code of conduct of most Dojo, mine included, but what does this really mean? You may think it means to be loyal, or to put a more Western slant on it, display the level of respect that is deserved by your teacher. This is not however what most martial arts Sensei would understand by loyalty. In martial arts terms loyalty is simple, you must obey you Sensei (however crazy they are).
So how far does this go? Well in a traditional sense, you may even be asked to perform tasks for your Sensei - in one example I know of, a student lived with a great master of some martial art or other, made breakfast for him and his wife, essentially in a state of servitude in exchange for great knowledge - or at least you'd hope so. Needless to say, he tired of this and went on his way. There was a price for his behavior, a great falling out which could not be recovered. Presumably applicants for the vacancy were tested on their cooking. Another example is one I've come across more than once closer to home - a student attends 2 or 3 different Sensei in secret so that each thinks they are the unique Sensei. This is quite common. Weird isn't it? In your everyday life, normal rules apply, then for the martial arts part of your life - you're Sensei's bitch.
So far I've met 3 types of practitioner:
1 - the ones who seek out the open, do-as-many-other-classes-as-you-like clubs
2 - the ones who do secret classes
3 - the ones that suck it up and stick to one control freak
Why does anyone ever consider options 2 or 3? Usually it's because the Sensei in question is exceptionally good (at least the student thinks so) or because the student has certain inadequacy issues.
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