Crossing The Threshold

Another thing that I've noticed about various different martial arts and disciplnes is that they all usually have some sort of little ritual at the start. In fencing we salute the President, judges and opponent. In martial arts there is usually some sort of bow as there is in the suburi exercises I am practicing at present. In this the practitioner performs a seated bow or zarei prior to commencing the exercises which serves as an indication of his/her intent to commit to the training. It also acts as a threshold between the everyday world of mortgages, jobs, television and brain activity that we all deal with and provides a moment of clarity for the practitioner. I have observed many fencers who just give the most cursory of salutes as if it is a minor and slightly embarassing inconvenience to get through. Even if we ignore the fact that historically, etiquette demanded respect for one's opponent prior to the potentially mortal combat you and they were about to indulge in, the modern fencer should consider the salute a good use of a couple of seconds to concentrate, clear your mind, assess your opponent and cross the threshold of the business at hand.