dtstiachi Posted February 11, 2005 Posted February 11, 2005 Is there a certian way to hold your hands that is offensive when bowing to a higer rank black belt or Sensei? Why does the teacher hold one hand over a closed fist and we must place our hands in front of us? Just curious. Thanks "The journey of a 1,000 miles starts with but a single step."
ThorLoser Posted February 11, 2005 Posted February 11, 2005 In some traditions, systems and schools, the open hand wrapping the closed fist represents the sword and the fist, in others it represents a restrained fist and it can represent harmony with the universe (among others). That you have indicated that only the instructor uses this particular hand movement leads me to believe he may be saying "pleased to teach you" and that your bow implies "pleased to learn from you". In my experience, instructors are generally happy to tell you why they bow as they do (as it can become a very personal thing after decades of doing it). Thor
SevenStar Posted February 11, 2005 Posted February 11, 2005 the open hand indicates a higher respect, although I'm not sure if there's an exact definition for it. When I trained longfist, we did the open hand to closed fist bow. We would always touch the hand though, it wasn't separated like yours. HOWEVER, when bowing to a teacher, we would open the palm on the side closest to the teacher, making a 'v' sahpe between our palm and fist.
Knifehand007 Posted February 11, 2005 Posted February 11, 2005 TSD doesn't bow anything like i'm used to. We bow with our hands at our sides. We keep our heads down. as we bow down we say, "Ko Mop Soo Ne Da" (phonetic spelling). Then he hold our fists out, slightly bent and then say "Tang Soo!" and rise. I'm used to the way you are describing. Strength is no match for skill
karatekid1975 Posted February 11, 2005 Posted February 11, 2005 We did the same when I did TSD before and after class, Knifehand007. It's pretty much normal from what I know for TSD dojangs to do that. My school, when we shake hands, we grab the instructor's hand with both hands (shaking with one, and the other on the outside of his shaking hand) bowing at the same time (he's chinese if that makes any difference). Our salute is kinda like the kenpo one ... One hand in a fist, the other open. My TSD dojang, when shaking hands, we had one hand under our elbow (open) and shook with the other, bowing at the same time. Laurie F
krzychicano Posted February 12, 2005 Posted February 12, 2005 Some traditions are different than others. You should probably ask your sensai, I'm sure he will be happy to answer that for you. What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others. - Confucius
Straight Blast Posted February 12, 2005 Posted February 12, 2005 not all bows are the same. And they all have their own meaning.Some could have the hands represent something when bowing,or others just bow in respect to their instructor and class with hands on their sides.
ovine king Posted February 12, 2005 Posted February 12, 2005 why do you refer to the guy who teaches you as sensei? earth is the asylum of the universe where the inmates have taken over.don't ask stupid questions and you won't get stupid answers.
krzychicano Posted February 12, 2005 Posted February 12, 2005 Well most people here use the term sensai so I'm just going with the norm of the board for a better explanation but I usually call my instructor PSBN. What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others. - Confucius
ovine king Posted February 12, 2005 Posted February 12, 2005 not you, the tai chi guy who started this thread. earth is the asylum of the universe where the inmates have taken over.don't ask stupid questions and you won't get stupid answers.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now