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Kuk Sool Won™ Pledge                   Calendar of Events                   Terminology   Syllabus                                           Etiquette                                 Sparring Gear Etiquette in Kuk Sool Won™ Since Kuk Sool Won™ is a traditional Korean martial art, etiquette plays an extremely important role in developing the martial art character of the student. Following the rules of etiquette develops self-control which is an essential prerequisite to advanced martial art training. Proper etiquette demonstrates respect for the art, for one’s instructors and for one’s fellow students. In act, etiquette is the first section of the Kuk Sool Won™ Progress Chart and is the single most important requirement to be eligible for further training in Kuk Sool. Bowing is one of the most visible manifestations of martial arts etiquette. Unfortunately, it is also the concept most often misunderstood by the beginning student. Western culture, in particular, has typically had little experience with the act of bowing. Those experiences are, by and large, associated with either some form of worship, or with subservience or an admission of inferiority. For this reason, the Western mind often reacts to the idea of bowing with a host of (at best) ambiguous or (at worst) completely negative feelings. In the East, however, the vow is not seen as a sign of subservience at all, but rather as a sign of respect and more mundanely, as a simple method of greeting. The Asian bow is, in many ways similar to the Western handshake or to the military salute.