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Re: When you bow do you worship or just...
When bowing to the front of the dojo, you are showing respect to all the people that have practiced and taught Aikido before you. When you bow to your instructor, you are showing respect to the instructor who will be teaching you now.
Our style has tried to limit the amount of ritualistic practices that reflect may have at one point reflected O'Sensei's religious and spiritual beliefs, but now are done as dogma by people practicing Aikido. Our Sensei believes that so many Aikido schools have just adopted the practice of going through certain motions without questioning them and understanding their original purpose.
-- Jim
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