LMA Salutation / Creed

Salutation

We do the salute at the beginning and end of class, and also before sparring.

At the beginning of class, just after opening with prayer, the instructor will say "attention" (attention stance, stand up straight, hands to the sides, face the front of class), and "acknowledge origin" (everyone faces the home place, salutes toward the homeplace, repeats the creed aloud, and returns to attention stance). Then, the instructor says "acknowledge instructor", and the students salute the instructor as the instructor salutes the students.

At the end of class, we repeat this in reverse order, "acknowledge origin" is both first and last.

To do the salute, make a fist with your left hand and cover the fist with your (open) right hand. The left hand (fist) represents power, violence, and the right hand represents wisdom, restraint.

Then, raise this symbol up high (but not high enough to cover your eyes), and forward toward the person you salute.

The reason the right hand represents wisdom, and the left hand power (instead of the other way around) is because, in the scriptures, there are several metaphors in which the right hand is considered greater than the left, for example:

"A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left" (Ecclesiastes 10:2)

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you... Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire..." (Matthew 25:34/41) 

Creed