Sometime in May I was walking around the mall with a couple of friends, when I went into a Gamestop to check out the new games and look through the newest Game Informer. I was browsing the XBOX 360 section of games, when I looked up and came face to face with a living legend: Anderson Silva, the best pound-for-pound UFC fighter in the world right now! I don't usually get starstruck, but this guy was a favorite of mine in the sport for a long time, and although I held dry hopes of meeting him someday, I never thought I'd be standing right in front of him in a video game store, of all places! So as soon as I said hi to him, I turned around and grabbed my friend by the shirt and whispered to him, "It's ANDERSON SILVA! He's here." I asked the cashier for a pen and paper, and I confronted Silva again and asked him for an autograph, and he delightfully accepted. I told him it was an honor to meet him and the renowned Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor played it down like he didn't deserve to be praised so well. After the autograph I asked if we could get a picture and he didn't mind that either. Upon finishing the shot, I bowed to him and he bowed in return.
For being such an excellent veteran fighter, he was definitely a humble individual, and that I have great respect for. He's also a lot bigger in person than I expected! Then I later discovered he moved up in a weight class for his future fight with Forrest Griffin.
I posted Silva's autograph in the photo as well. Great guy.
The meaning of the bow
"Traditionally, bowing is the first thing you do when you enter a dojo and the last thing you do before you leave. It is a reminder that you come and go in peace. Bowing is a form of respect used in the martial arts, as well as throughout Asia. In a dojo the act of bowing is considered proper etiquette, equivalent to a handshake in Western cultures. In sparring the gesture sets an atmosphere of good sportsmanship, trust, and safety--implying that no one is there to hurt anyone else.
There is hidden meaning to the bow--it is recognition of the Divine in another person. This notion is literal. Within each person and everything in our universe is a portion of Divine energy. This may sound blasphemous, but traditional martial arts teaches you to bow to another person because you see the Divinity in that person, because you are both directly connected to the Infinite and thus to each other. The study of martial concepts is a way to unlock this amazing power and to discover what can be done with it.
Another hidden concept of the bow is the praying hands--where you position your palms to face each other and hold them together as if praying. The gesture is an ancient sign of humility and respect that is often combined with a bow as a greeting. Symbolically, the right hand represents the spiritual self. It reminds you that life is a composite of both body and spirit, and your mind is the pathway between the two. Ceremonially, martial artists form the right hand into a fist and cover it with the left. This represents your partnership to everything in the universe. It also signifies that you can always be entirely who you are, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and still be part of something bigger--what many call the Infinite or God. It marks your agreement with the world to be authentic at all times and to heighten joy. All life is physical and spiritual. Agree to honor both in everyone and everything."
I got that passage out of a martial arts philosophy book. Very profound definition of the bow.
For being such an excellent veteran fighter, he was definitely a humble individual, and that I have great respect for. He's also a lot bigger in person than I expected! Then I later discovered he moved up in a weight class for his future fight with Forrest Griffin.
I posted Silva's autograph in the photo as well. Great guy.
The meaning of the bow
"Traditionally, bowing is the first thing you do when you enter a dojo and the last thing you do before you leave. It is a reminder that you come and go in peace. Bowing is a form of respect used in the martial arts, as well as throughout Asia. In a dojo the act of bowing is considered proper etiquette, equivalent to a handshake in Western cultures. In sparring the gesture sets an atmosphere of good sportsmanship, trust, and safety--implying that no one is there to hurt anyone else.
There is hidden meaning to the bow--it is recognition of the Divine in another person. This notion is literal. Within each person and everything in our universe is a portion of Divine energy. This may sound blasphemous, but traditional martial arts teaches you to bow to another person because you see the Divinity in that person, because you are both directly connected to the Infinite and thus to each other. The study of martial concepts is a way to unlock this amazing power and to discover what can be done with it.
Another hidden concept of the bow is the praying hands--where you position your palms to face each other and hold them together as if praying. The gesture is an ancient sign of humility and respect that is often combined with a bow as a greeting. Symbolically, the right hand represents the spiritual self. It reminds you that life is a composite of both body and spirit, and your mind is the pathway between the two. Ceremonially, martial artists form the right hand into a fist and cover it with the left. This represents your partnership to everything in the universe. It also signifies that you can always be entirely who you are, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and still be part of something bigger--what many call the Infinite or God. It marks your agreement with the world to be authentic at all times and to heighten joy. All life is physical and spiritual. Agree to honor both in everyone and everything."
I got that passage out of a martial arts philosophy book. Very profound definition of the bow.
