Bowing when entering or exiting Dojang area

[Jim Tindell]

If they have good manners, regardless of what they practice, they will bow correctly.

What's the 'correct' way to bow?

 

[bignick]

Well, a curt nod of the head in the general direction of the floor is a bad way to start, I see some people doing that it and it's annoying.

 

[Miles]

The "correct" way to bow (Kukkiwon style) is to draw your left foot to your right foot. You stand straight with your arms at your sides, hands slightly cupped (no fists!) and then from the waist, you bow 45 degrees looking downward.

Miles

 

[glad2bhere]

We do a 30 degree bow but the point that gets stressed is that I am looking at the other persons' shoes. And "no" its not a "Bruce Lee Thing". Fact is that bowing while looking straight down tends to appear subservient, while looking up at a person while you are bent over looks--- well-- "goofy". Its really not all that different if someone were a resident of the UK and was presented to a member of the Royal family. The movement is meaningful without being exaggerated or ostentacious. FWIW.

Tell ya the truth, the one that tickles me, is watching some KMA practitioner put his right hand over his left fist. Somebody needs to tell these folks to turn the TV off once in a while.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

 

[Blindside]

Tell ya the truth, the one that tickles me, is watching some KMA practitioner put his right hand over his left fist. Somebody needs to tell these folks to turn the TV off once in a while.

Hey now, thats what we (our school) does when entering the training floor!

Well the TKD school was a weird situation, the actual class is a pekiti tersia class held in a TKD school. The owner of the school was in the class, he bows in, the class instructor does the PT hand-on-the-heart thing, and I just defaulted to the surroundings of korean flags and TKD emblems so I bow in.
Apparently I did a bad TKD bow.

Lamont

 

[Sarah]

Nothing wrong with either bow....its what’s behind it that matters!

Our Bow is actually a mixture of both, as we are MMA based in TKD.

For me the bow is about a sign of respect to my Dojo my Instructors and my fellow students, we do not actually have a flag in our Dojo...??...

and yes I am always conscious of my bow. I am leaving the day, my worrys, problems at the door. oh and we are not allowed to swear in the dojo (which I admit im a potty mouth!) so for me its about showing respect and getting into the right head space ready to train.

 

[cali_tkdbruin]

When I bow, I do it to acknowledge the hard work of the people I train with. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't care why other people bow. That's their business.

I like your explanation! To me, yes, it is all about my fellow Taekwondists who have really trained hard, sweated and bled in training and competing in this martial art, and which has now become a very large part of my life. This is especially true since I will be attempting to obtain my second dan this May.

I think I speak for many Americans in that we do not buy into the formalities, and customs of bowing down to anyone or anything, but, as a Taekwondoist and martial artist, this issue transcends that.

I live as a Taekwondo practitioner, and I will die as one as well... :asian:

 

[glad2bhere]

".....Hey now, thats what we (our school) does when entering the training floor!...."

Do you really?! Now I feel bad. I was teasing, because sometimes I have students who bring things in with them from other MA experiences. Sorry about that. :asian:

Best Wishes,

Bruce

 

[Blindside]

Do you really?! Now I feel bad. I was teasing, because sometimes I have students who bring things in with them from other MA experiences. Sorry about that. :asian:

Ha! No worries, I wasn't insulted, that is what the smiley face was for.

Lamont

 

[MichiganTKD]

In any case, the bow should be deliberate and conscientous, not an annoyance to get through so you can get on or off the floor. Same thing with bowing to someone. How seriously you take the bow indicates how much you respect them. Even if you don't respect them personally, respect the rank and them as a fellow TKD student.

 

[Bushi40]

To answer your question simply. It is a means of respect to the art, the training area and those who teach and those you work out with. It is a polite way of thanking.

When an entertainer is on stage and finishes, he bows to show his thank you and also to be humble.

Grand Master Gene Perceval
[email protected]

 

[Sukerkin]

I hope you won't mind a gentle nudge, Bushi but there is an implicit etiquette on-line which holds that posting replies to years old threads is a tad gauche.

It is held to be much better to start a new thread on the topic if it interests you rather than post replies to people who maybe long gone.

 

[Balrog]

In Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do we bow when we enter or leave the Dojang. Why are you bowing, and to what/who? Do you think about this everytime you bow, and should you?

I think you should. It is a sign of courtesy and respect to your instructor and school, and to those who came before you and made it possible for you to train.

 

[GlassJaw]

I hope you won't mind a gentle nudge, Bushi but there is an implicit etiquette on-line which holds that posting replies to years old threads is a tad gauche.

It is held to be much better to start a new thread on the topic if it interests you rather than post replies to people who maybe long gone.

Well, if it's not really a reply directed toward a specific person but is,
instead, just additional commentary that someone feels they have to
offer on a discussion topic, I don't see much wrong with it (particularly
if it's a timeless topic like "Bowing").

Indeed, I would even prefer that they reply within the same
thread--as old as it may be--so that I can easily get context
and see what has already been said, if I wish (afterall, this
forum allows us to click "View first unread" to skip the old stuff).

However, I think it would be best that anyone doing so mention
that they're replying to an old thread.

Furthermore, I s'pose it's perhaps also a tad gauche of me to
reply to your metadiscourse withing the same thread and forum.
But I'm not really sure what would have been more appropriate.

Dan

 

[Tyler1]

Are you conscious of this each time you bow, or do you now bow out of habit?

I bow to show respect, to clear my mind by becoming humble, and to show gratitude to everyone in the class for training with me.

 

[Kacey]

Bowing shows respect; it also creates or severs a connection between the person and the location or person being bowed to - that is, in entering the dojang, one bows to create a connection between the student and the dojang; when leaving, one bows again to sever the connection between the student and the dojang - likewise, one also bows to one's partner in partner drills to create a connection at the beginning of the partner drill and at the end to sever that connection. This is the way I was taught; others were no doubt taught differently.