BOWING TO THE FLOOR/MAT

 by Yang Xuangxing

I was at a large, national seminar/conference a while back and just as one of the classes was about to begin, one of the instructors turned to me and remarked, “We need to have a class to teach people how to bow properly...” I had to agree.

Over the years, I have visited many martial arts schools and in most of them, I have seen the majority of students (and often, instructors) bow to the floor or mat with little more than a quick nod of the head. I spent many years training in both Kyokushin and Shito-ryu karate and my instructors insisted on a proper bow when stepping onto or stepping off of, the training area. When I first undertook the study of gong-fu, I saw that students didn't bow to the training floor; they just walked in and started warming up. But I was in the habit of bowing and so I always did it.

My teacher, Master W.C. Chen, thought it was appropriate and a good idea (although he never required anyone else to do it). I recall one day when I made a small, quick bow before hurrying onto the floor. I hadn't made it ten feet before sifu stopped me and said gruffly, “You didn't bow.” Huh...I could've sworn that I did, so I walked back to the entrance to his basement and did it again.

He stopped me again. “No!”, he said. “That is not a bow.” I looked at him quizzically and he explained, “This place is special. It is where you will learn and grow. You should take time to pay proper respect to it.” I realized that what he said was spot-on. I took my time and bowed properly, which satisfied him. Although he was Chinese (and China is not “the land of bowing”) he understood its significance perfectly.

The proper bow, especially in so far as the martial arts are concerned, requires more than just learning how to incline the body. The mind and heart must also be correct.