A new student notices the bow in the first minute and almost always misreads it. Some take it for a religious gesture and feel uneasy. Others take it as submission to the teacher. Others still assume it is a Japanese habit that attached itself to a Chinese art somewhere along the way.
None of that is right. This piece explains what the bow is, where it comes from, and which rules apply in our hall in Ljubljana - so you do not have to guess.
What the bow means
In Chinese martial arts the salute is baoquan li (抱拳礼, “the wrapped-fist salute”): the right hand closes into a fist, the open left palm wraps it, and both come in front of the chest.
The symbolism is old and unexpectedly down to earth. The fist is skill, force, the capacity to do harm. The open palm covers it - the knowledge is under control, not in use. Together it says roughly: I know something, and right now I am not using it against you.
That is not submission. It is a statement of intent, exchanged with someone who answers with the same one.
Three moments when we bow
- Entering the hall. The passage from a corridor into a space where different rules apply. That passage needs a boundary, or the phone, the meeting and the shopping list come in with you.
- At the start and end of a session. Together, facing the teacher and each other. The hour gets a clear beginning and end - which, especially after a working day, is surprisingly valuable.
- Before and after partner work. The most practical of the three. It means: we are starting, I am ready - and afterwards: thank you, none of that was personal.
Why it is useful even if rituals do not interest you
It creates a boundary. An hour that opens and closes with the same gesture is recognised by the body as a completed whole. It is the same mechanism that makes a fixed training time useful.
It levels relationships. The bow is identical for everyone: for someone who has trained ten years and for someone who walked in today. In a room where people differ in skill, strength and weight, that matters.
It settles partner work. A drill that begins with a salute almost never degenerates into competition. When it does, the bow at the end repairs it faster than a conversation would.
It trains attention. A bow done absent-mindedly is not a bow. It asks for a second of presence - and that second is practice, like everything else.
The soft overcomes the hard. The gentle overcomes the rigid.
What is not compulsory here
Since it comes up often: the bow is not a religious gesture. It is not worship of anyone or anything, including a statue or a mural on the wall. If it still feels uncomfortable, say so - nobody will make an issue of it.
We also use no titles of address, require no uniform, and do not expect you to know any etiquette on your first day. All of it is shown to you as you go.
The other rules of the hall
- Shoes stay at the entrance. The hall has a wooden floor and we train barefoot or in thin shoes.
- The phone stays in your bag. Not out of discipline, but because the hour passes faster and better without it.
- If you are late, wait at the edge. The teacher will wave you in at a suitable moment. Being late is not a problem; an interrupted drill is.
- You do not try techniques on someone who is not expecting them. This is the one rule taken genuinely seriously.
- If something hurts, say so. Quietly enduring it is not politeness.
Your first time
None of this has to be learned in advance. When you come to the hall at Ziherlova 44 for the first time, we will show you where to change, where to step and what we do at the start of the hour.
If you forget the bow in your first week, someone will remind you kindly. Nothing worse than that will happen.
