Bowing when entering or exiting Dojang area

[Andy Cap]

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?

 

[Kamaria Annina]

At our studio, we always bow out at the door, to the flags. It shows respect both to each country, Korea & the USA. Also, to me, bowing seems to show that what you learn, stays in the Dojo area, and you don't take it out and misuse your knowledge of Tae Kwon Do.

 

[Andy Cap]

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

 

[bignick]

Out of habit

 

[TigerWoman]

We just bow to the US Flag. Our master took the Korean flag down, six years ago. And its out of habit now, too though I tell newbies why they are bowing. In fact, I also unconsciously bow when going in an out of the tournament hall. TW

 

[cali_tkdbruin]

It's been instilled in me over the years so I've come to do it out of habit. I do it at any dojang I visit as well not just at our training hall... :asian:

 

[Marginal]

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 never understood this line of frettation. What/who am I saluting when I put my hand over my heart during the pledge?

 

[shesulsa]

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 bow when I enter the dojang to honor:

The U.S. flag - honor for our country is one of our tenets. I think about people who have died and families that sacrificed their loved ones so that we could be free from King George (and relive the irony in that statement today).

All the women and men who have sacraficed their lives to fight for what they believe in and live for, and those who have given their lives so that martial arts may still have a life today.

I honor all those martial artists who have come before me and all the martial artists to come who will carry the art forward.

I honor the training area as a place of learning, growth, trust and the other martial artists I learn and grow with and from.

 

[BrandiJo]

we bow when we cross the black line into the work out area and its to the USA flag and Korean flag i do it out of habbit now

 

[Hollywood1340]

We bow the floor, to the people who have trained before and after, and those training currently.

 

[MichiganTKD]

Whenever we enter or leave the dojang, we bow to the front toward the American and South Korean flags. This bowing serves several purposes:

1. Respect to the host country (United States)
2. Respect to the country of Tae Kwon Do's origin (Korea)
3. Respect to the dojang and all who practice there
4. Clearing your mind of all non-Tae Kwon Do thoughts.

Additionally, students always bow to the Head Instructor when he first enters the dojang, as well as any guest Master Instructors, in uniform or not.

 

[Adept]

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.

 

[TX_BB]

My first instructor always had us bow in upon entering the gym floor and leaving the gym floor. We asked him why we did this, he related this to focus and concentration. Once we entered the floor we dropped all our outside thoughts at the door and prepared our minds for the task at hand remembering what we are about to do was dangerous and if we didn't have proper focus that we may hurt ourselves or worse a fellow student. Upon exiting it was always nice to pick up the rest of your brain.

 

[glad2bhere]

In the classes I teach we bow from a kneeling position to the center of the circle. It is our way of acknowledging our joint bond.

When we enter or leave the training area we bow out of respect to the atmosphere (the "space") in which we have come together for a higher purpose.

The concept of bowing is required of participants to underscore the participatory nature of the activity and that all of us are joint members of a group effort towards a greater good. FWIW.

Best Wishes,

Bruce

 

[Miles]

The concept of bowing is required of participants to underscore the participatory nature of the activity and that all of us are joint members of a group effort towards a greater good. FWIW.
Bruce

Bruce, I like the way you phrased that concept.

FWIW, in Korea, they don't bow as they enter/exit-they merely turned toward the flags and placed their right hand over their heart in the form of a salute. When I got back, I instituted this practice. We still bow to each other, just not to the flags.

Miles

 

[FearlessFreep]

I once red a book (fiction) that had within it a description of some sort of MA challenge. Within it, one character explains to the other that they bowed to thank the floor for softening their falls and protecting their bodies.

Anyway, sometimes I do it by habit, sometimes I'm more thoughtful. When I'm more aware, I use it as a chance to pray that I will be safe and that I will learn, when enterting, and to pray for thanks that I was safe and for what I learned and experienced. When I'm not so thoughtful, it still at least gives me a few seconds to relax and focus on what I'm about to do or have done.

 

[MichiganTKD]

You can tell how good someone's manners and etiquette are by the way they bow. If they have good manners, regardless of what they practice, they will bow correctly.
We've had outsiders come to class to practice in the past who did not bow correctly. These were black belts by the way. Color belts get a little more leeway. They paid for it in free fighting. They never came back.

 

[Andy Cap]

The reason I asked this question is that I have recently realized that although i bow everytime I enter or leave the Dojang, that my mind is not on why I bow or what i am bowing for. So, although I am "showing" respect, I realized I was not thinking or feeling respect.

Now, when I bow I think about why I am bowing. One of the reasons this came to mind is that my instructor always half bows when he comes and goes from the Dojang, and that strikes me as wrong. Although I understadn how much these things become old hat to someone, it strikes me that the instructor or more senior people should have an even greater understadn and feeling of respect - otherwise, why do this at all?

I think teh same is true when we bow to training partners or in any situation for that matter. I am trying to be ever conscious of who or what I am paying respect to.s

 

[MichiganTKD]

You are correct. The higher you are, the more important it is to demonstrate proper manners and etiquette. It is one thing for a lower belt to forget to bow once in a while. I've seen children and teenagers forget themselves and not bow because they got impatient. These are forgivable.
It is quite another when a black belt, or worse an Instructor, doesn't bow or bows half heartedly. Dan students are models to lower students. What they do the color belts do. Also, one of the responsibilities of being a black belt and an Instructor is to show you know manners and respect. I'd actually have more respect for a color belt who did not bow correctly. They at least don't know any better. A black belt who refuses to bow correctly really makes me angry. It's like a slap in the face and a personal insult.
If I'm observing a black belt or Instructor and see that they don't bow or do it incorrectly, that's all I really need to know about them. I'd be wasting my time with further contact.

 

[Blindside]

You can tell how good someone's manners and etiquette are by the way they bow. If they have good manners, regardless of what they practice, they will bow correctly.

I was visiting a TKD school last week, and I did bow in when I entered the training floor. But just so I know what is the "correct" way to bow? I've been taught about three different ways.

Lamont