Doubtful,unless it's a practice from a particular region.Otherwise I'd have to say somebody made that up. Never run across this idea before "in all these years". Welcome to MAP!
Not familiar with that either . Left palm (claw)out , right fist out signifys challenge/ready to fight , as taught to me at beginning of form in the little hung gar I have done .
The positions are called Ging Lai Hoi Kyun (greeting before the start}) and Ging Lai Sau Suk (greeting at the end). It is based on yin and yang theory and therefore there is a wide variety of interpretations, one being the Ming Dynasty revolutionary code YouKnowWho recalled (and ancient hand symbol used as a secret sign of allegiance), but many far older ones, such as Daoist formats. These could be any of the following opposites or pairs: sun/moon light/dark male/female hard/soft heaven/earth It should be noted that these aren't to be taken as 'superior' or 'inferior', rather, a balanced harmony requires both elements. So in the Hung Gar 'bow', your hard clenched right fist in a soft and open left palm represents several things: a show of balance (in the Empty Leg or Diu Ma stance, another show of balance); a secret Ming handshake to tell you friends to fight the Ching; and a technique! That bow has a striking application in Hung gar, and if you know the preceding movement, it's basically just hiding an already clenched fist with your open palm, and then striking with closed fist of the 'bow'.
Death In short, left over right is what fighters use as a sign of respect toward one another. This isn't just to acknowledge one's power, it's to tell your opponents that this will be a good fight and I won't hold anything back. However, right over left still shows the same amount of acknowledgment in ones power, the difference though, is in the fight itself. Left over right is a fight for victory. Right over left is a fight to the death. Same respect in eachother, but different motives. Now this isn't the actual history behind it, but this is how the right over left can be seen.
That's not the point I already know that, but what I mean is that, the right over left has a different feel to it. When it's intentional and the person doing it actually means to kill, then you would be able to tell. It's just something a person can understand if they were against someone that actually wanted to kill them.
Welcome to MAP. Where did this information come from, as I understand the salute to have a lot more symbolism than just a want to kill. In fact kill seems a bit of a strong term. There are also symbolic reasons the thumb on the left hand is bent and some differing opinions on the 4 fingers.
No known origin It didn't really come from anywhere. It was just something people knew. Like a Guy or Girl code type of thing. Again, there is no history behind it, it's just something that most people know of.
If you cannot source it it probably isn't true Martial arts are full of bunk, legend, myths and complete bollocks...this is one such example When you have a verified and historically referenced explanation an unsourced "man in the pub" anecdote is certainly wrong
You don't understand It has no source. No origin. Not everything has to have some sort of historical background to be true, somethings can just be true to certain individuals. If you don't believe this is real then that's fine, but don't go opening your mouth to things you can't understand. All you had to say was simply, "this isn't something that I personally would believe in"
Obviously the meaning you give is indeed a meaning understood by some people, e.g. you. That much is truth. To claim that this is a widely understood meaning, one that "most people" know, well that doesn't seem to be holding up to be very true.
If I want to "kill" my opponent, I don't think I would let him know ahead of the time. It's doesn't make any logical sense. Ancient Chinese liked to hide their knifes behind their smiles. Ancient Chinese were not that honest and stupid.
Man, Jackie Chan wanted to kill me. I was at a book signing when his book came out. I saluted him left over right, he saluted me right over left.
Wow You need to go back and re read my posts. I never said that when a perosn does a right over left it always means they want to kill you.
So in other words I can call a fish a table because as long as I think that's what it means it's golden yeah? If it was true everyone would know - why? Because otherwise how would you know whether a match was to the death or not? It's myth...bunkum...nonsense passed off by the same type of people who reckon you need to register your hands as weapons or that you can kill someone by palming their nose into their brain
