is it common that your instructor is addressed as sir, or ma'am and theres all

[la mas deseada]

this bowing? call everyone sir, bowing upon entering the dojo, leaving also. he even made us bow to this heavy bag we were kicking. LOL is this normal in modern american martial arts?

[Loren]

yes. its respect. bowing to the bag is kind of odd, but if you imagine it as your opponent or competitor then it would be correct

[Joe Mama]

Bowing to the bag may be a little much, but adressing your instructor with "sir" and "Ma'am" and bowing upon entering the room/mat is actually very common in traditional Asian martial arts.

If you have religious beliefs that do not allow bowing to people and objects, be sure to speak to your instructor and let them know. He/She should have no real problem with it.

[Dachman]

Yes it is common in a lot of traditional martial arts, Kung Fu, Karate, TKD etc...

It is all about hierarchy and gaining belt status. This keeps people and kids hungry to get that status and keep paying those monthly dues.

Much of the move more towards MMA has made martial arts more sport which I like instead of all of spirit, chi and inner warrior crap you always hear about.

They always want to give you the idea they have an answer to a question that you are not worthy to get the answer to. Find a good school without all of the junk. I would look to a BJJ or Muay Thai school.

[katydint]

The closer it is to the real thing, the more common it is.
They're trying to instill in you the notion of respect.

[bossslimthug]

yea its normal idk about the bowing to the heavy bag kind of weird. It just depends because at my old school which was tae kwon do we had to do all the bowing but at my new school which is judo an bjj we bow at the beginning and end of class an that's it its more relaxed.

[ATWolf]

Yes, it's perfectly normal.

Well, maybe not bowing to the heavy bag... ha ha.

But most popular martial arts came from Asia, and according to their customs, bowing is a sign of respect.

Obviously, "sir" and "ma'am" is a sign of respect as well.

It's just common courtesy, really.

[topgunpilot22]

its a sign of respect to do those things and martial arts are about respect and honor both physically and mentally

[NeRdYkId1101]

absolutely, martial arts is a discipline, proper respect is required