Questions tagged [bowing]

For questions on the etiquette of bowing

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23 votes
14 answers
89k views

What does the closed fist covered by open hand signify?

This motion shows up in some styles of Karate (opening movement of several Shotokan kata - Bassai Dai, Jiin, Jion, Jitte) and some Kung-Fu styles. What does it represent?
Zephyr's user avatar
  • 856
11 votes
1 answer
471 views

Where do kneeling and bowing down in Kung Fu come from?

In our dojo (Kung Fu) we kneel and bow. Where did this tradition come from?
Roman Kagan's user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
564 views

Is shaking hands after a judo competition bad etiquette in Japan?

Judo contains a number of rituals inherited from Japanese culture, one example being the codification of bowing to your opponent before and after competing.1 However bowing doesn't carry the same ...
brazofuerte's user avatar
  • 8,152
8 votes
2 answers
1k views

Judo zarei difference between men and women

I have read this page about reishiki ("dojo etiquette") and have a question about zarei (the kneeling bow at the beginning or end of the class). Many sites describe a difference in zarei for women ...
JP Hellemons's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
592 views

Is bowing a universal sign of respect across all martial arts?

When are students or instructors expected to bow and to whom? For spectators, family, friends or anyone else not participating, is anything expected of them as signs of respect?
Peter Craig's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
3k views

When is it appropriate to respond with osu?

I am new to karate. I noticed there are cases where you don't say 'osu' (pronounced 'oss'), for example when bowing at the beginning of a kata. But in most cases you do say ' osu' when bowing. There ...
zr.'s user avatar
  • 199