Bowing

Bowing

There is so much misunderstanding about bowing in general and I have actually seen some pretty big deals made over such a thing as bowing. The truth is that the strangeness is misguided and most people do not realize how average and everyday bowing actually is. Its very common in most cultures and yet when we see it done in a Dojo with our PJ’s on we think its some strange kind of mystical salute or something….its not.

I hear so often that Bowing is an Asian thing or that it is a way of showing subservience in Asian Culture. This is actually WRONG! The act of bowing is not limited to Asian culture, in fact the act of using a bowing or Stooping posture to show subservience is mostly limited to Western culture. Yes, you read that correctly, we bow in western culture as well, and more often to address the differences in social status!

For instance take into account the social etiquette followed when meeting royalty. Watch the upcoming nuptials of the royal prince and see everyone stoop when he comes by or when the queen comes buy. Its so funny to think that someone would be willing to stoop and show they are lesser than a monarch that is not even their monarch but they won’t bow to someone as a way of greeting them when the intent is not to show the social division between the two people!

In the west we use stooping or bowing to indicate that a person is of higher social status than us, and pretty much that is about it. We look at nobility and aristocracy and bow or stoop when talking to them, addressing them or greeting them. Now we have added the hand shake or hand hold to the movement but it is very clear that we in fact bow to royalty in our culture (being of European descent, my assenters probably bowed and stooped when nobility rode by on a horse or when aristocrats came to see their land.)

In Europe the bow was specifically a male act, females would Curtsy in its place. Originally ladies probably bowed, but with specific clothing inventions and fashion being what it was, the curtsy came into fashion to deal with the issue of getting wale bones skewering your chest and abdomen if you tried to bow!

The term “bowing and scraping” was very specifically referring to a males deep bow. The ceremony of bowing and scraping was created to show an excessive amount of respect, as a show! The term scraping came from the right foot extending to the rear as one took on a lunge position as they lowered their torso and crossed their right arm across their abdomen. The foot would scrape as it moved backwards threw the obviously dirty street or floors and make a scraping sound. Thus the act of showing excessive respect was called “Bowing and scraping”.

In Asian culture the bow is used not only as a way of showing respect but also as a greeting. We always see pictures of Samurai bowing to their Daimyo and the Emperor, and we also see other forms of subservient bowing, but what is often missed is the details of bows or the fact that farmers would bow to other farmers in place of handshakes. It is simply a cultural greeting that has been fostered and established in Asian Culture over centuries.

Bowing can generally be divided into three main types of bows; Informal, formal and VERY formal bowing. The bow originates at the waste and lowers the torso and head as you bend forwards. There are also standing and kneeling bows.

Informal bows are generally about 15 degrees and very brief, much like a “quick hand shake”. However they should still be done from the waste and not as a nod done from the neck, the nod is not a bow and is often seen as dismissive and or extremely informal, and somewhat rude if done to a person of higher social status. Formal bows are done with a 30 degree angle and held for a short time, the longer the hold and the more one stays in position the more respect is being offered to the recipient of the bow. In Asian Culture is is accepted that ladies will bow with their hands clasped together in front of themselves while men bow with their hands hanging at their sides. Very Formal bows are as deep as a person can go close to 90 Degrees and held as long as one feels they should to demonstrate the extreme amount of respect and reverence one has for a peron. The hands may move to the knees to support yourself if required but the intent is to make sure that your head is much lower than the person you are bowing to.

A bow can be a greeting, a formal apology or as a way of showing respect. Normally bowing indicates the relationship in sociao-economic status differences between two people greeting each other as well. Bowing in the east can be used as a formal greeting, a gesture of respect, Apology and a sign of gratitude, respect, sincerity, remorse and in many religious ceremonies. However, a bow is not always all of these, obviously.

One other term we get from the Asian act of bowing is the Kowtow. This is the act of kneeling and bowing deeply. However this act has fallen off in use since the fall of Imperial China. In China, the act of bowing is not as formal and intricate as in Japan or Korea.

Many people think that bowing is a form of worship, because it can be linked to Buddhist and Shinto rights in Japanese culture, but this is just a small part of the use of bowing.

Bowing in Martial arts takes on several purposes, not only is it used as a greeting for the instructor but it is also used when asking a question or coming up to an instructor as a way of apologizing for interrupting them and then again after the answer is given to thank them for their time. Its all about respect!

A bow is also done before and after sparring. The bowing before a sparring match is a way of thanking a partner for their help, as a promise be considerate and not harm the other person while training. It’s a sign of respect. Also the placement of the open hands on the side was to show the partner you are about to train with that you are not using a weapon, a closed fist while bowing may contain a hidden weapon so it is considered rude to bow to a training partner with clenched fists.

Is bowing a form of worship? NO, it is as natural a social movement as shaking ones hand to say hello, to establish a promise or to say think and showing respect. Some cultures have strict taboo’s against bowing to others, I am not going to get into that one here on a public blog. You want my answers on why Jews, Christians and Muslims don’t bow to others or my thoughts on it…come talk to me, but out of respect for those religious beliefs I am not going to say anything in public.

So, we know how to bow and some of the most used reasons to bow, how about the times you need to bow in the Karate club? We bow when coming on and off the floor (in or out of the training area), we bow to the instructors when we first see them in class. We bow to our seniors if they are in class before us. And we bow to each other before and after Kumite.. We also bow before and after Kata and we bow to the front of the Dojo to show respect to the instructor and the Kimaza (representation of Funakoshi Sensei and other instructors). All of these are simply to show respect, that is all. Basically when in doubt….bow!