Martial Arts Etiquette and Bowing

In the Martial Arts the Bow often referred to as the Salute, seems to be used a great deal, we bow when we enter the Kwoon, we bow when we leave, bow to the shrine, bow to the Sifu, to senior students, junior students, training partners before during and after training we seem to be bowing to everything.

In the orient the Bow does not mean subservience as it is sometimes mistaken in the west.  It doesn’t mean that one person is acknowledging the other as a superior or a master, or one is a lesser being even if that person is the Master of the school.  Bowing, to the Asian culture, is much the same as shaking hands here.  It’s a sign of friendship, respect and mutual admiration.

It is important to understand that when learning Martial Arts knowledge and skills, one must also learn great responsibility, respect and humility. The Bow is a simple sign of these virtues.

One of the first things a student is taught when starting Martial Arts is how to bow. Though the bow may change in different Kung Fu schools, generally in Wing Chun Kung Fu the bow is represented by, the left hand fist and right hand palm. At Lifestyle Kung Fu the left hand held in a fist with a straight wrist, the right hand, forms a palm with fingers out stretched and together, thumb bent. Then the right palm is placed over the left fist’s knuckles. Both arms are bent at chest height forming a circle.

There are many interpretations as to the meaning of this etiquette. A widely accepted explanation is that the extended four fingers indicates all Martial Arts in the world or across the four oceans are of the same line and share the same goal, the bent thumb means that the practitioner is modest and humble, to place the fist and palm together means you are willing to make friends through your martial arts practice, and to form a circle with the arms shows that all Martial Artists on earth are of one family.

Most Kung Fu schools will hold the right hand in a fist and left hand in a palm. This is also often referred as Yang (masculine) as men most commonly practiced the fighting arts. In Wing Chun Kung Fu the left hand fist, right hand palm meaning Yin (feminine) pays respect to its founders who were female namely Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun.

When entering the training hall, bowing is a way of showing respect for the Kwoon, the martial art in which you are learning, to all past masters and students who have gone before you.

In some schools students will bow to a shrine. This in no way represents worship or has any religious significance. To bow at a shrine means simple respect to the past masters who dedicated their lives to training and passing on their knowledge in which we are privileged to have today.

Bowing to the Sifu or Instructors of the school and always addressing them by their correct title means you are giving him or her respect for the hardships they went through to achieve their position. The student is saying that he / she has respect for the training that they are learning and if it were not for their instructors efforts the student would not exist  Students are also saying that they will do their best to uphold the honour of the school and to strive to be the best that he / she can be. A student, who tries to be first to bow, shows alertness quick reflexes and above all respect, while a student who chooses to ignore these values shows little respect.

It is important to pay respect to all for the hard work we have performed, as well as appreciation for each other’s worth as human beings. It shows that you bear no hard feelings towards your partner and you will always stay aware and in control during training.

Years ago in the Shaolin Temple, the monks would first look for manners and respect before accepting disciples. To truly bow with genuine honour and respect shows that one is ready to undertake the discipline of the martial arts.

An old Chinese saying is: When you drink a glass of water, you should always think of the source, next time you bow, remember that this is the key to understanding the respect and etiquette of the martial arts.

This is a repost from the source, thanks for the article!

Central line: Wing Chun application in life

By Igor Tunik, Master of Traditional Wing Chun Kun Fu

Our society is built in such a way that values define a person’s life first and foremost. Even the physiological peculiarities of the organism play a secondary role for us, and there are plenty of examples. One of the brightest ones – urge for self-preservation, a dominating instinct of any of us. In case of certain values a person can even override this instinct and keep completing the set task. In other words, s/he is ready to risk everything s/he has, even own life. All that matters is knowing why.

What is the core of values, and why are they our basis?

We get our values from childhood. We grow up with them like with an axis, with an inner center line around which our whole life rotates. Time gives us a lot of trials to see how durable we are. If the values are genuine, the person goes through everything, learns his/her lessons and moves on. I had a lot of acquaintances who didn’t make it. And just a small number of friends who coped with everything that happened in their life, disregarding all the distresses and even physical pain. And they moved on.

Nowadays many speak of success. I think there is no universal definition of this notion. If for someone success is a fat wallet, financial security, precious papers, then for someone else it is happiness of their children or serving the motherland. To my mind, happiness is when a person is in harmony with themselves. As soon as you reach this inner state, you find a way out of any situation. Everything happening around is a reflection of our inner world.

I cannot speak whether we pay for our success or not. But I know for sure we all make mistakes. And the attitude to these mistakes forms each of us. For someone, a mistake becomes a stimulus for further development, some try to just forget about it, are hiding, some cannot get up after a mistake and stop existing as a personality. Such a mistake becomes fatal for them – their inner axis turns out to be not strong enough and breaks under the circumstances.

However, the values are – ours. This means we have all the power to manage them and become stronger and more durable. To be strong means to live in such a way that all the unexpected happenings, as much as it is possible, are understandable to us, and that we have a possibility and additional time to react to them correctly. It is values that help us stay in the center of events, keep our own central line and keep order in our own inner world. Life is the strictest teacher, and all our experience influences our values, changing them, destroying or strengthening those we live with.

Our central line shows in any life situation, and the best it is seen in stressful moments: a corporate problem, death of a close person, or on the contrary, development of a new product in which no one believes, and about which no one even knows or has ever heard of. If your values are right, with each new movement you will acquire more and more inner strength and confidence in the correctness of your actions.

Center line in business builds on reputation. This is a value of the product made by the company, or of the company itself, or in both cases. At first the reputation is created, which then works for you. The stronger your values are, the simpler the challenges are for you on your way.

But this doesn’t mean that you won’t suffer a defeat. Knowing your values doesn’t mean having a magic wand, but only the fact that you understand what you are fighting for, till which limit you are ready to go, and whether you have that limit at all.

Values also help choose optimal means for gaining what you want. This is like in war strategies – minimum effort, maximum results. All that is necessary is accurate calculation and coordinated action, and that’s all.

But, for coordinated work with other people it is very important to understand if your central lines match. If no, you will keep having disagreements. You won’t be able to live in “one line” as you will have to fight for your own central beliefs, opinions, vision and so on. You will continuously jump into fighting, deceit, anything in order to go around the values that contradict yours.

Of course all the values cannot correspond – we were brought up in different families, grew up and matured in different conditions. But the principal values (usually there are just a few) need to correspond, otherwise it is better not to start anything together. Yes, there is a possibility that the values of those who work with us, will show with time, but it is not hard to learn about them. All big deeds start from small ones. And until you start making big money you will have to do small things. You will be signing contracts, fulfilling your promises, paying in time, doing all that is necessary, and if you are doing all this professionally and in time – this all helps you to strengthen your own values and at the same time, to see what your partners value.

It happens so that the business is already created and in development, and suddenly contradictions arise on various levels. Since the company already exists, it means what its products used to be in demand. And if the work is based not on the product but on relationships, then in case of a mismatch of any company worker’s values with yours, you will have to fight for your centerline. In case of product being the main focus – with time something is bound to happen where personal interaction will come first, and everything will return to values yet again.

It so happened that in our country (Ukraine – translator’s remark) at present moment a fight is going on – this is the only possible way of existing there. And that is why, choosing a product, partners, a company, at the end, when making a decision, we are asking ourselves a question – do we trust these people and what they offer, or not? Because it makes sense to fight only for what is precious to us. And if suddenly there are any reasons for doubts, most likely, there will be no business there any more. The risk of not getting what you agreed for would be too high – thus there is no guarantee of mutual fulfillment of obligations, and so there is no sense in spending time and effort on this deal at all.

Exactly this is why I think that the strategy “win-win”, when all the involved parties get a benefit, is the most beneficial. With such an approach there is maximum space for trust. Still, there is a belief that those who are more aggressive, tougher, – those win, and that it has always been like that, a barbarian always wins over an intellectual. I think that’s how it is indeed, but when you are walking on people’s heads, you need to understand exactly that at any moment your own head may become just a step to walk on for someone else.

When people start piling up initial capital, developing their business, often they forget about it. And then it all definitely returns – and as a result, everything falls apart, or the health deteriorates, or something else happens. In the long term, “win-win” is the most effective approach to any relations. Taking care of yourself in the first place and sticking to your values are crucial. Then every participant of the deal looks for agreement with the partners and then without unnecessary tensions fulfills his own obligations.

Sometimes a contract itself becomes precious as it contains all the conditions of the common deal. In this case there appears a value, common for all the participating parties: profit. But at a certain moment everything again does down to the personal values. If I am greedy, and you are not, sooner or later I will start thinking how to deceive you and get more. And this is where, again, we return to what we value the most.

Concluding, I want to repeat once again – a person always acts based on their values. Business, personal relationships – everything gets down to the central line. And there is a universal and very simple rule for working with it: be yourself. Listen to yourself. If you need to do something – go for it. If you feel you shouldn’t – never start. You need to understand exactly – you are just scared or it is something you cannot do at all, as it is against your values. And if you and your partners have coinciding values, there is nothing to be scared of – you can take on any experiment, and your risks will be shared equally, and the success with be your joint victory.

Original article: May 2011

Translated by Tetyana Kushniruk

Three happy things in life

— Life gives a person three happy things. A friend, love and work. Each of these happy things even on its own has a huge value. But how seldom they get together!
— One can manage without love, of course.
— Yes, one can. But this means that there will be one happy thing less, and there are only three of them.

© Strugatsky brothers

It is a common knowledge that you can get anything you really and honestly want. In order to get it, you need to know what exactly you want. Do you already have these three happy things in your life? If yes, we are wholeheartedly happy for you and your story is worth sharing! If not, what can you do already now to get those things?

Step #1, of course, would be… to find out for yourself exactly what these things are… and this is where it starts!

Share your stories, your success, your experiences and achievements on your way. We know you can, even if we haven’t met yet. All the success to you!

A donkey and a well

Once a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. While the farmer was thinking what to do, the animal was crying for hours. Finally, the farmer decided: he realized that the donkey is old, and the well needs to be closed in any case. It wasn’t worth it to get out the old donkey. He invited all his neighbours to help him bury the well. Everyone together took the shovels and started to dig and throw the dirt into the well. The donkey immediately understood what was happening and started screaming horribly. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he became silent. After a few throws of dirt the farmer looked down to see what was happening. He was amazed with what he saw.

With every piece of dirt that was falling on his back, the donkey was doing something unbelievable. He shook it off and stood on top of the fallen dirt. While the neighbors kept burying the well, every time the animal shook off the dirt and stood on top of the dirt. Very quickly everyone was amazed as they saw the donkey get up, jump over the well’s edge and run away like mad!

In life, you will experience a lot of dirt and every time life will be sending you yet another portion.  Every time, when a piece of dirt falls on you, shake it off and get up, only this way you can get out of the well! Every problem – it’s like a stone helping to cross the river. If you don’t stop and don’t give up, you can get out of the deepest well. Shake off and move up!

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Monikulttuurinen perhetapahtuma la 11.5.2013 klo 10–15, Oulussa

Monikulttuurinen perhetapahtuma

la 11.5.2013 klo 10–15

Kaakkurin asukastuvalla ja monitoimisalissa

Pesätie 13 90420 OULU

Intialainen lounas ruoka klo 11–13, hinta 6 €/annos

Työpajat klo 10–13

OREGAMI taittelua

Suola Taikina askartelu lapsille ja lapsenmielisille

Hennatatuointia

Myynnissä:

Kouruja

Oriflame -tuotteita

Ohjelma alkaa monitoimisalissa klo 13

Ohjelma:

• Lasten muotishow
• Bamboo instrumentti soitto
• Nepalilaine kulttuuri esittäytyy
• Soittoa sahalla ja mandoliinilla
• Soittoa pianolla
• Kungfu – näytös ja lopuksi voit itse kokeilla Kungfua ohjattuna
• Nepalilainen kansan tanssi esitys

Tilaisuuden järjestää: Kaakkurin suuralueen asukasyhdistys yhdessä

Oulun seudun Setlementti ystävyystalon kanssa

102,516 dollars and 17 cents

A manager asked, “Do you have any experience in sales?”

A young guy eagerly replied, “Of course! Where I came from, I used to work as a salesman!”

The manager liked the young fellow, “Start working right now!”

The first working day was very tough, but the young guy managed. At the end of the day the manager came up to him, “So, how many people have purchased from you today?”

“One.”

“One? At our trade center the salespeople usually sell from 20 to 30 items a day! How much money did the customer left with us?”

“102,516 dollars and 17 cents.”

“Wow! What did you sell him?”

“At first I sold him a small fishing hook, then a medium one, and then the biggest one. Then I sold him the most fashionable fishing rod. When the items were being packed, I asked where he is planning to fish – he answered, in the Gulf of Finland (Suomenlahti). To which I answered that there he won’t be able to move around without a boat.

“We went to the department of boats, and I suggested he buys a two-motor diesel boat. He liked it but then he doubted if his sports car could tow such a boat. We went to the car department, and I wondered if he would like a jeep Pajero with a trailer. So such were the purchases of my first client.”

The manager’s jaw was dropped all the time he was listening to the story.

“So you want to say that this customer came to buy a fish hook, and ended up buying a boat and a jeep with a trailer?”

“Oh no, no. He came to buy a pack of tampons for his wife. And I told him, since the weekend is spoiled in any case already, it is better to go fishing…”

How to make the most out of this summer

Answer these 4 questions:

1. Place you have wanted to visit for a long time.

2. One thing you would like to do before you die (memory for the whole life)

3. One thing you would like to do every week.

4. One thing you have always wanted to learn.

This is YOUR plan for your HAPPINESS this summer.

Please share in your comments how it’s going 😉

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