Hugging in the dojo

[evergrey]

OSU,

Man, I'm a hugger. I love hugs. Hugging is great, unless it's someone who is really skeevy.

It's not something everyone does though, and that's certainly the case in dojos/schools/gyms.

For example, our head instructor (who also trains in BJJ, where I think hugging is more prominent) tends to shake hands and hug after bowing following kumite. He'll also sometimes shake hands and hug students after class.

Our Shihan though? Yeah, not a hugger. I've managed to hug him twice. But that isn't easy.

Anyway, I think it's a good way for sparring partners to bond a bit, if they're both comfortable with it. Humans are very tactile, gregarious creatures and it's kind of a way of saying "hey, we just pounded the everliving blank out of each other, but everything is okay!"

But there's something to be said for strict high protocol too, as not everyone is at all okay with being hugged.

So how about you all? What do you think about hugging during class? After or before class? In the dojo? Do they hug where you train?

OSU

[bushido_man96]

I'm not a fan of it. I save hugging for those I'm very close to, and not sweaty guys after I've been kicked in the head a few times. If its someone I know well, then maybe one of those back-slapping type hugs.

I think this may also tend to be a regional/cultural thing, too. Depending on how one was raised and what not.

[Martial Walrus]

I'm normally a very huggy person, but I rarely hug people in the dojang, even ones I'm close to. Doesn't seem quite appropriate. Besides, I also sweat a lot. I'm pretty sure no one wants to hug me after I've been training.

[MasterPain]

Usually after a few rounds of heavier contact.

I think a person should be able to read when it's weird and when it's appropriate. Probably is more common among grappling arts. What's a hug amongst people who sit on each other's heads, after all.

[evergrey]

Haha MasterPain!

I should mention that generally with the men it's that grasp-one-arm and thump the back with the other hand kinda hug. You know, macho hug.

[Wastelander]

I've never been a huggy person--I've had to get used to it with my wife's family, since they are very huggy people, but I usually do not hug unless I receive a visual or verbal cue to do so. In training, the closest I get to hugging is the "macho hug" you mention--shake hands, pull into a shoulder bump and slap the back .

[Kuma]

I hug my family and that's about it.

[Dobbersky]

Haha MasterPain!

I should mention that generally with the men it's that grasp-one-arm and thump the back with the other hand kinda hug. You know, macho hug.

In My dojo we tend to "hug" after sparring. I think it creates a family bond as everyone hugs each other at the end of class before everyone leaves.

I know in the Kyokushin Style Seminars I've been to, everyone gets "OSU"'d from the senior Grade to the lowest grade.

I suppose those who are uncomfortable with it, its for us to appreciate their "feelings" towards it.

My opinion is "A Hug is Free and may make the person you're hugging feel important for one little moment"

[MasterPain]

You knockdown people are a bunch of hippies... I'm confused.

[Dobbersky]

Oh and after al the fighting these guys >>>> HUG!!!