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Variation in Salutes within Chinese Martial Arts

By Gene Ching

Bowing is one of the most important gestures in the martial arts. It opens and closes the practice space with a promise to be courteous and respectful to your school and fellow practitioners. The prevalent Korean and Japanese styles use a simple bow where the upper body leans forward at the waist. In contrast, within the Chinese styles a bow is supplanted by a salutation gesture – commonly this is expressed with the left hand covering the right fist. There are variations and layers of meaning within the Kung Fu salute worth examination as they reveal the complexity behind the simplest of gestures.

The covered fist salute dates to the Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BCE) however this is form is traditional etiquette for all Chinese where the wrists are held close together (Top China Travel, 2015). This civilian bow differs from martial arts salute where the wrists are not bent so the forearms are in line with the fist and hand. The right hand makes the fist, and the left hand covers it. It is preferable to the handshake for martial artists because there are many ways to attack from there.

The International Wushu Federation standardized a salute for competition. It is defined in the first point of Protocol of Wushu Taolu Competition as so:

“Fist-Palm Salute - In a standing position with feet together, place the right fist against the upright left palm, with the former’s knuckles at the root of the latter’s fingers, in front of and 20-30cm away from the chest” (IWuF, 2005, p.62).

There are several interpretations of the martial salute. The hand-covering-fist may represent martial strength (the fist) being restrained by wisdom (the open hand), akin to China’s prevalent scholar warrior notion. The covered hand may also symbolize the crescent moon (月) while the fist represents the sun (日). The shape of the hands echoes the Chinese characters, so much so that some Chinese practitioners refer to the ‘Sun’ fist (Ching, G, 2010). In Chinese, combining the characters for sun and moon means ‘bright (明)’ which is the name of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE). The Ming is venerated as a high point of Chinese culture (Pang, 2022, p.11; Oh, G., and Ching, G, 2003, p.85-86).

Variant Salutes

While the covered fist is a standard salutation within the Chinese martial arts circles, there are variations within many of the different sects. Secular practitioners of styles like Shaolin (少林), Wudang (武當), Hung Gar (洪家), and Pak Mei (白眉) have unique salutes, each with their own meaning. 

Disciples of Shaolin Temple have a unique salute without a fist. Shaolin is Buddhist so they generally adopt a Buddhist bow with both palms pressed together in front of their hearts for a salutation gesture. However, Shaolin disciples sometimes do this with only one hand. This is in honor of Huike, the first disciple of the founder of Zen and Kung Fu, Bodhidharma. Legend tells of how Bodhidharma rejected Huike’s request to become a disciple until the ‘snow becomes red.’ In response, Huike cut off his left arm to show his resolve (Ching, 2010, p.58). In honor of Huike’s commitment, Shaolin followers perform a Buddhist bow using only the right hand.

In contrast, disciples of Wudang Temple are Daoist. Shaolin is classified as ‘external’ or ‘hard’ while Wudang is ‘internal’ or ‘soft.’ Externally, the Wudang salute looks like the standard martial salute. However, Wudang followers make their fist wrap around their left thumb. This forms a tiny yin yang pattern that only the saluting person can see. It reflects the internal and esoteric nature of Wudang as well as the devotion to Daoism where the yin yang is a prominent symbol (Ching, 2002, p.11).

In the southern Chinese style of Hung Gar, the right hand is still held in a fist but the left hand changes to a tiger claw. The tiger claw is a predominant hand used for attack in this style. The hands do not touch (Lam, 2003, p.22). This salutation is accompanied by two steps forward and two steps backward. Despite the notion that the salute is less aggressive than a handshake, there are also many hidden combat applications in the Hung Gar salute (Tiger Crane Kung Fu, 2007).

The salute in Pak Mei Kung Fu has a vertical right palm atop an upright left fist. The five clenched fingers of the left hand symbolize the five major lakes of China while the four fingers of the right palm stand for the four seas surrounding China. As Sifu Williy Pang describes it “The notion of 5 lakes and 4 seas implies an all-encompassing idea of kinship among the inhabitants of China, hence, a universal unity.” (Pang, 2022, p.12).

There are more salutation variations than these but that is beyond the scope of this article. This is just a sampling to demonstrate the diversity of the martial arts, as well a few of the hidden meanings behind common expressions of the art. Within authentic martial arts, every gesture has meaning, and it is important to preserve these meanings lest the intention behind the arts become lost.

Reference

※ Views in this writing are the author's own.