Why do you bow in martial arts?

Why do you bow in martial arts?
Bowing in any martial art is a sign of respect and should be a sincere slow bow. It is sometimes more disrespectful to bow incorrectly than to not bow at all as this is a sign that you do not understand the reason behind the gesture.Some martial arts may differ but in Taekwondo you must always be in attention position when you bow. So make sure you have no gaps between your feet and your hands are placed smartly at the sides of your body.From your waist bend 45 degrees and lower your eyes to the floor. Hold the position for a split second before coming back to your original standing position.Things to remember when bowing: Bow from attention position with your feet touching. Looking at your instructor or partner (in Taekwondo) shows mistrust, so ensure you always lower your eyes. Bow 45 degrees from your waist slowly. Never bow while you are moving. Always stop and stand in attention position.It is important that you also know and understand the correct time to bow. Sometimes you see students bowing all the time without understanding what they are doing. Bowing constantly makes bowing meaningless. It is often just seen as something you have to do and go through the motions of before and after a lesson.When you bow to someone you are making a public gesture that you respect them as a person in the martial arts and what they stand for. That is why every time you bow it should mean something both to you and the other person. Half hearted bows or a simple nod of the head don't symbolically mean anything it is a lack of etiquette if anything.Bowing, especially for adults, is also a very humbling experience. To acknowledge that someone else, irrespective of age, has more experience and knowledge than you can sometimes be quite difficult to grasp. Also bowing when you enter and leave the Dojang is not for anyone else but you. This simple action reminds you that you are there to listen to the advice of the instructor and approach learning with an empty cup. Another view: The above answer is enjoyable and well-stated, and I am sure it applies completely and correctly to Taekwando.Other forms, however, do this slightly differently and with slightly different meaning. The Japanese say no-one who is not Japanese will ever understand all the nuances of bowing, and it's amazingly easy to make a mistake.In my ryu, Kenpo, the format is Hawaiian derriving form Okinoawa, Japan and China, and -- as you can imagine -- many of the customs changed as time goes on.In our form (and also many of the fully Japanese forms), it is polite to maintain eye contact while bowing unless you are either appologizing for a grave offense or bowing to a very high ranking superior. Your boss at work would not be this elevated, but perhaps the head of the company might be -- and your sensei might as well be, but such a bow would be presumptive on first meeting.Between equals, the bows should be of equal depth and last equally long. Making your bow more shallow or more brief could be conisdered an insult. Bowing to your sensei prior to sparring depends a lot on the local customs -- some ryu demand you constantly respect the sensei -- others say respect must be earned and offering respect before you know the person is presumptuious. Yet others say Sensei and the lowest student are equals on the mat.We also bow on the mat as part of a very carefully prescribed ritual that is likekly intended to prevent the contest from accidentally starting too soon and having one contestant accidentally sucker-punch another. So it's Bow, Stance, and wait for the start command. Likewise, at the end, to some of us, the bow signifies an honorable end to the sparring session, after which hostilities cease.We, in the tradition of the Edo court, allow bowing from the kneeling position. The meaning remains unchanged. This is especially important as we also practice a form of drawing and striking or blocking with the sword from the kneeling position.Bowing while entering and leaving the Dojo -- for us -- is done because we are entering and leaving a private world. Here, do we not allow hostility or anger. We act respectfully. There is an equality in some cases (my rank in the real world is unimportant here), and a ranking system in others, (when I wear a red Instructor's belt (NOT a Black belt), I am expected to give orders --- politely). When we leave, the bow is the final act of transition back into the real world. In the dojo, we do not discuss payment, for instance.Hands on the sides of the body -- in Japan at least -- is generally reserved for very formal bowing, from an inferior to a superior. Instead, a less formal bow would have your hands placed on the tops of your thighs. Bowing in an extremely formal manner to a female flight attendant on a JAL flight will assure you don't get good service or an upgrade :Finally, in the ryu where I have studied, this symbolism is a covenant between members that we will treat each other in a civilized, carefully prescribed manner. Our school believes that, while manners must endure, true respect can only be earned over time and, as such, we do not pretend to respect people we don't know -- we only promise to treat they in a mannerly way.So -- we bow to reinstill our covenant to treat others in a mannerly fashion, and to signal the end of sparring... the end or beginning of training for the day, etc. As Americans, who don't quite get the difficult nuances of bowing, we try and avoid varying the bows -- some that might send the message that I know more or less than you, that I am your superior or inferior, etc. The simpler and more uniform we make our bow, the less confusion, is my experience.NOTE -- I don't intend this as a rebuttal of the original answer. My response is simply the view taken by a different school or ryu. Both are right; neither is wrong.