Poor bowing

[The Saint]

I have notice a trend of people not looking at there oponent when bowing. Bowing is a form of respect for your opponent, but should also be done with caution. Has anyone else noticed this?

[battousai16]

in the dojang, if anyone struck me while i was bowing, i'm sure they would at least be warned, if not thrown out of class. i don't think i've ever seen anyone bow outside of the dojang.

[Ben]

in the dojang, if anyone struck me while i was bowing, i'm sure they would at least be warned, if not thrown out of class. i don't think i've ever seen anyone bow outside of the dojang.

 

i would definatly agree there, but i think i understand what he's trying to say. that if it was a real situation, and for some reason the two fighters were bowing and they allowed strikes as soon as bowing takes places, you must remember that the opponant is still the opponant and so you should be cautious. tho also its a good habbit to get into and that the instructer can see that you are using your brains

[sk0t]

That whole bowing while looking at your opponent thing came from karate kid.

 

You look down as a sign of respect toward your opponent...not stare at him with distrust!

[battousai16]

yeah, it's a sign of respect, not a bell to start the round

[Ben]

I definatly remember Bruce Lee looking at an unfamiliar opponant while bowing... although for some reason i'm now thinking about that scene in "Enter The Dragon" where he slaps the student around the head for not looking at him

[SBN Doug]

This varries from art to art. KSW does not want you to look up. As said previously, our philosophy is "If you can't trust them, then don't bow to them".

 

However, we also say that you can easily see the feet move toward you, if an attack is coming.

[Sens55]

We were instructed that the only time you bow without looking is at a master as a sign of respect to him for teaching you. But when bowing to an opponet (even a partner in class) to bow looking at them. The bow is to thank them for training with you, but they ARE still an opponent.

[TKDLadyInSC]

I was taught that showing the top of the head is considered disrespectful in Korean culture which is why we look at the person we are bowing to.

[IAMA_chick]

when you are sparring there is the challenging bow where you look your person straight in the eyes, otherwise you are not suppsed to look at the person, unless you are challenging them. a lot of people bow wrong, not from my school, but people at tournaments.