The below is taken from the website:
Kenpo StudioKenpo salutation
Our formal salutation which we use in the beginning and ending of our classes is a combination of an old Shaolin salutation and today´s modern Kenpo. The first half, the walking part, is Shaolin and is homage to those who created the art before us - the Chinese. The last part in horse stance is modern Kenpo. Ed Parker created this salutation to show that modern Kenpo is a mixture of old and new.
The foundation to our art and many others is called ”Shaolin” where a open left hand resting over a closed right hand were used to salute before a set or form. There were several meanings for this;
(1) Respect for the founder of the system and everybody who has trained with him in the past and present.
(2) Respect for those who were about to see the form or the set.
(3) Respect to both the scholar and the warrior.
First part
The left open hand represents the scholar and the closed right fist represents the warrior. The closed fist because it is the warrior that really uses his knowledge physically.
During the Shaolin-period under the Ching dynasty (1644-1912) the meaning of the former Shaolin salutation were changed when two additional movements were added. The changes were that the left hand now referred to the sun and the right hand referred to the moon. With this change and this combination of the sun and the moon the Chinese character Ming were represented. Thus the meaning "revolutionary defender for Ming´s rehabilitation". The two movements that were added into the salutation where the placing of the hands back to back with palms out. The hands were now placed in a claw type of formation and were pulled in toward the heart. The symbolism was "We are against foreign intruders and our heart belongs to China". In the last movement they closed their fists and pulled them back to the hips. The symbolism for this was "if we work together we can take back our country".
Second part
The second part of the salutation is created by Ed Parker and represents the modern Kenpo in our present day. Three different hand positions are used; the open hands with palms out, the open hand above the closed and last the praying position. This part of the salutation also reflects the ideology behind the Kenpo creed. The creed gives a fundamental moral view which the Kenpo practitioner should have.
Kenpo Creed
"I come to you with only Karate, empty hands. I have no weapons, but should I be forced to defend myself, my principles or my honor, should it be a matter of life or death, of right or wrong: then here are my weapons, Karate, my empty hands".
Further meaning
There are further explanations of the hand position in the second part. The open hands which form a triangle symbolize that you are friendly and unarmed. The open hands that points out shows this. The open hand above the closed means "I hide my knowledge". Shorei-Ryu Karate has another good interpretation "I control my Karate". The last part, the praying position, symbolizes that you are praying for forgiveness for being forced to use your knowledge.Most of what I had written on my own in my journal was illegible so I thought I would save some time and find it online. This coincides with what I was taught.
If you're interested I found a
Casa de Kenpo video that shows the play by play of the Long Greeting as well.
I should say that I have no affiliation with the guys that put on the Casa de Kenpo videos on youtube, but I find that for the most part, their style coincides closely with what I have been taught, so I continue to use their videos for demonstrations.
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