Bowing avoid bumping heads. The kowtow is the highest sign of reverence in Han Chinese culture, but its use has become extremely rare since the collapse of Imperial China. In many situations, the standing bow has replaced the kowtow. However, in modern Chinese societies, bowing is not as formalized as in Japan, South Korea and North Korea. Bowing is normally reserved for occasions such as marriage ceremonies and as a gesture of respect for the deceased, although it still sometimes used for more formal greetings. In China, three bows are customarily executed at funerals including state funerals, ancestral worship, and at
Bowing one performs it to and hands pressed together generally at chest level. Practised throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia, the gesture is most commonly used in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Indonesia. Gestures across the region are known by different names such as the "wai" in Thailand, "sampeah" in Cambodia and Laos, "sembah" in Indonesia, "namaste" in India and Nepal, and in Sri Lanka the gesture is used as a greeting with the word "Ayubowan". Bowing is an integral part of traditional martial arts. Bows are used to begin and end practice, sparring bouts and