The Salute is a sign of respect. It is also a gesture on your part to show that ready to start your martial arts journey. There are many types of Salutes or Bows. Our school uses the right fist and left palm placed together in front of you. Stand straight up as you salute entering the school. Always bend forward a little when saluting your seniors and bend more for your Shifu（master）. If your are practicing Hung Gar, your salute may look a bit different then others. They use a right fist and left Tiger claw with a left cat stance. There even other schools that their salutes look even more different. Don’t get hung up on what or how a salute looks like. It is more important just to show respect, than to worry about how it looks.
There are also many different origins of the Kung Fu Salute. Through research and detailed conversations with many masters, I have found that Salute is different for each school and different origins. Some say right fist is martial power and left palm is knowledge of how to use it. Some say right fist is Yang and left palm is Yin. Some say the different positions of palms and fists were like secret hand shakes or code signs for rebel factions. If you did not know the correct hand position, you probably were not a member and did gain access to their gang or club. You might have even been killed if you stumbled across a triads hideout and did not have the correct Salute or hand code. Yet another origin of the Salute is that the salute had a practical application. Martial artists were always very cautious in the old days, and a hand shake was considered either too threatening or an invitation for attack. Warriors would try to avoid contact with unscrupulous people, leery of surprise attacks. Many Chin Na (joint locking) techniques begin from a handshake.
