As a corollary, there are two kinds of Karate: there is "do" and there is "jitsu". The "do" is the part about the way of life, and to this extent is probably where the myth of the greeting had been introduced. The "jitsu" part concerns itself with the science of fighting, and any sort of symbolism is patently dismissed. Note that the "jitsu" part came about long before the "do" part.
Nevertheless, anyone practicing the "do" part of Karate can still live the life of Karate and even sit around their campfires ruminating about the symbolism of the covered fist, and still get in the practice for the actual applications they represent when they get back to the dojo.
From a Taekwondo or any classical Korean style, like Tang Soo Do or Hwa Rang Do, etc perspective, the same applies as it does for Japanese styles, but there is more thought about why these styles use the covered fist, and here also, the same greetings myth is spread about. Its forms go back no further than , so, one might consider the mindset back in when the forms were being drawn up. Ok, give or take a few years; it didn't happen over night.
Why would the Koreans implement such a movement that is not culturally relevant, at a time when they were desperately trying to re-Koreanize their culture when they became liberated from the Japanese? Why would they adopt any cultural influence from Japanese martial arts?
Answer: because they were probably never taught properly by their Japanese instructors, most of whom did not hold many Koreans in any regard as they were seen as an imperialized culture, who themselves were never held in very high regard by the Okinawans. The Koreans simply used what they borrowed from their Japanese style influences, and if any sort of greeting or existential symbolism was adopted into the Korean forms, it was because that was all they knew.
This we know from reading the Kukkiwon textbook or General Choi's encyclopedia, and there, such is not covered at all. If it was a deliberate decision to remove the practical aspects of covered fist and change the meaning to something like a greeting, then, besides copping out on technique, they will have short-changed self-defense instruction. And further, they'd have documented this in their respective tomes.
As it is, such is left primarily undiscussed. When we perform a kata, it seems well established that the student bows to the instructor, or to the judges, and then begins the kata. But why do so with another culturally-confused greeting? This makes sense to everyone?
That is like greeting your boss every morning with "Good morning! Bon jour! Or thanks them. That happens in the movies, but not in real life. There are millions of fights on YouTube alone, high school fights, gang fights, riots, CCTV prison fights, street fights, sibling fights, grannies duking it out over coupons in the express lane, kids duking it out over an ice cream cone, ad nauseum. Not a single one shows either combatant showing any sort of respectful courtesy before the pugilistic activity begins.
Have I seen all said millions of videos? Still looking though. Maybe my not having seen an example of two otherwise angry combatants mutually respecting one another which makes this is a myth is a logical fallacy?
Perhaps, the adversary is respected, much like we respect a venomous snake's ability to kill us. We do not greet the snake, we do not thank the snake for its We do not throw up a symbol of war and peace at it. We leave the damned thing alone! And when leaving the damned thing alone doesn't work, that is where the system of kata sort of takes over.
Greetings, dialog, turning the other cheek, tact, diplomacy - all of that has failed. We now have to defend ourselves from great bodily harm. We do not bow to the enemy, nor do we issue a symbol of culturally-dependent meaning to our adversary.
If so, we could justifiably replace it all with a "Yo, sup! Or maybe we cut it back a little, and use the less formal Chinese method of fist and rigid hand. It's a greeting, right? And that means, women use the right hand to cover the left fist, right? Or did they tell you about that little detail? Because that IS the greeting protocol, yes?
Yep, I'm going down this road:. Here's the primer: Men cover their right fist with the left hand; women do the opposite and cover left with right. They do this in formal settings when things are normal. But there's more: It's considered a sign of anger some say akin to "flipping the bird" when a man covers left with right, and when a woman covers right with left.
Unless, of course, they are all at a funeral, at which, the protocol to greet is the same as if in anger when not at a funeral so men politely cover left with right, and women cover right with left Ok, Asian society has a lot of strange protocols.
Question is, which one would the kata be following? Does your sensei allow you to change hands based on whether you are a man making a polite greeting, a woman making a polite greeting, a man saying "screw you", a woman saying "screw you", or either of you exhibiting a funeral rite?
I suspect not the latter. Just going out on a limb here, but it seems reasonable to dismiss this case. And what about the facial expression: aren't you taught never to show emotion? Why would you offer a polite greeting without smiling? Why would you give a neutral facial expression while telling someone to have sex with himself?
Why would you remain silent while making a polite greeting, telling someone to kiss off, or expressing regret at the loss of their loved one? Why, then, do so few kata have this greeting?
I don't know the numbers in Japanese forms, but for taekwondo kukkiwon there are 8 Palgwe, 8 Taeguek, and 9 yudanja forms - a total of 25 forms - same in ITF. About two use the "greeting", the numbers are not all that different in Karate styles. So now this begs the question: why are we greeting in a couple of kata, but not the others?
And what of the idea that the hands represent something that is weaponless? There is a clear contradiction in your forms.
How many times have you been told to perform this technique or that technique in such a way so as not to let the opponent optimally see your incoming technique or weapon? In other words, why show you are weaponless, and then split seconds later do something to hide your weapons?
And what of the idea that the covered hand represents war and peace? In our kata, our goal is to dispatch our adversary. It might be by way of a throw, or a choke, or a vital area in the throat to kill. This idea that the greeting before the form begins having to do with war and peace seems contradictory with the actions about to be performed merely seconds away from said philosophical statement of And what of subservience?
Come on. We are not indicating subservience to our adversary. Do we really need to go there? The answer is, the covered fist that is reminiscent of greeting, gratitude, subservience, anger, or sympathy in China is not the same thing in our forms. Such requires a complex social setting context considerations which is not applicable to self-defense. Such is an easy mistake to make: "Looks like a greeting, so, must be a greeting, so, not gonna use my brain and explore further.
The kata has to start somewhere. So we begin our bunkai by considering the posture we make when we begin the form. At that moment, we have been attacked.
Our opponent is white, and we are black. White moves first, and has done so, and now it is our move. Recall the rules of forms analysis and if you don't remember, refer to the link, below : If you touch yourself in a form, that represents you touching your opponent. Fists are grabs or they can be punches; but in a covered fist, I think we can all agree it's not a punch. Open hands are anything BUT a grab, but they can secure an opponent's grab so we can effect a technique like a S-lock, or something.
And, let's get into the nitty-gritty details of the "covered fist". We have a right-handed fist, and the left hand is wrapping the fist; or the left hand is straight and rigid, as would be the two cases in a Chinese greeting.
There is significant difference in bunkai; the covered fist means more tightly holding onto the opponent, whereas the straight hand could mean passive touch of the opponent. Either way, consider the differences and alternatives in your bunkai. And is the fist such that the top of the hand can balance a tea-cup, as is sometimes called for in some schools; or is the top of the fist more diagonal and the index finger's knuckle pointing upward?
Consider these alternatives in your bunkai as well. Without example of kata that uses covered first, it's hard to be specific about application, so, I'll generalize here.
If it doesn't apply to your kata, then keep analyzing. Ever notice how sometimes we move left or right immediately after the covered fist "greeting"? Ok, I'll stop calling it a greeting In this case, we imagine we have had one or both hands grabbed from behind. Settle low bending knees , bend elbows; this allows us to move the grabbed hands to the front. You may concern yourself with either of the opponent's hands, it doesn't matter.
But now you've got his hands in front of you and notice, you're not reaching so far forward with the covered fist as to throw you off balance, because his arms are surely not long enough to do this! With your left hand covering the fist means holding his grabbing hand onto yours: you now WANT him to keep grabbing so you can effect the next movement.
You turn to the side and Sometimes, we can move to the front when grabbed from behind. Consider much of the scenario from application 1; this time, though, when we bring his hands in front of us, we can step to the side with the opposite foot we brought the hand around; then we step forward with what will be the inside leg, and that hopefully off-balances him which is useful, say, for a throw.
With both hands lowered and unfisted, lift upwards, and catch his grab in the web of your right hand. As you lift higher, you grab his wrist, as if you take his pulse. This represents the fist in the covered fist. Now with your left hand, hold his hands there so he can't let go you want to finish him off, yes? Everything we do in Kung Fu has purpose or meaning behind it, and the three bows before class are no exception.
Our martial art is founded on a philosophy of respect and honour for the past, present, and future. Each bow is a way to acknowledge these aspects of Kung Fu, and every time we bow in for class, it is a promise to uphold these values while we train. Youth Student's Corner. Junior Student's Corner. Adult Student's Corner. In any other circumstances it would be a sign of disrespect.
The left palm signifies civilization, morality, intelligence, and physical fitness. The thumb is slightly flexed to indicate that it is not arrogant. The right fist signifies the Martial art. The left palm and the right fist together represent being endowed with both civilization and the Martial art, being eager to seek knowledge, and respectfully asking higher seniors or masters to teach it.
The use of this salute throughout the world of Martial Arts indicates the common culture of all Kung Fu and Tai Chi masters and practitioners. Nowadays, traditional etiquette will only be seen occasionally, on special occasions.
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