History Main / ReverseArmFold

* This is a signature pose for WrestlingMonster Wrestling/{{WALTER}}. It helps to his "Ring General" gimmick.

* The video for "Leave It" by Music/{{Yes}} has singer Jon Anderson in this position.

* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': When [[spoiler:the Wasp King eats the Everlasting Sapling's last leaf and [[OneWingedAngel turns into the Everlasting King]]]], he mostly keeps his arms folded behind his back. On top of making him look more intimidating, it's also a subtle indication that he doesn't need to use his arms much anymore thanks to his new magic powers. On the lesser note, General Ultimax's default pose has him fold his arms behind his back, as befitting for a militaristic general.

* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': When [[spoiler:the Wasp King eats the Everlasting Sapling's last leaf and [[OneWingedAngel turns into the Everlasting King]]]], he mostly keeps his arms folded behind his back. On top of making him look more intimidating, it's also a subtle indication that he doesn't need to use his arms much anymore thanks to his new magic powers.

** [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Master Xehanort]] does this a lot, but as with the Master Chen example, he's not as frail as he looks.

** The [[CreatingLife God of Light]] normally clasps his hands in front of his body when communicating with mortals in his humanoid form, and always presents an air of patient wisdom. When the [[TheMaker two gods]] unite together to pronounce their judgement upon [[BigBad Salem]] for her actions, the [[DestroyerDeity God of Darkness]] clasps his hands behind his body. While it lends him the same air of timeless, patient wisdom that his brother normally exudes, the reversal of his stance compared to his brother's still emphasises that he and his brother [[SiblingYinYang are not alike]].

* In the US Military, personnel are forbidden to have their hands in their pockets, as it appears unprofessional. This leaves 3 main stances -- hands across the chest, hands across the back, and hands straight down. Hands across the chest is a defensive position and usually avoided (unless it is cold). Hands straight down is strongly associated with the position of Attention, and [[DrillSergeantNasty a lot of yelling]], and is discouraged unless a lot of yelling is needed. Hands behind the back tends to be used in a more casual environment, such as when the Old Man is lecturing his troops ([[RamblingOldManMonologue no, not like that...]] well, O.K., maybe sometimes). Often the "at ease" stance is used to signal to the troops that what follows will be a "business as usual" speech (or maybe even a FatherToHisMen moment).
** For more formal occassions, usually while in formation, the command of "Parade Rest" is given instead. While some shuffling and looking around is allowed when At Ease, Parade Rest requires standing stock still and looking forward. It does have the advantage of being less likely to cause personnel to pass out either from locking their knees or tensing their leg muscles (both very easy to do at that position, and both being likely to cause a blood pressure drop leading to fainting while standing.)

** This stance is also favoured by the Atlas Military characters, most notably General Ironwood who almost always stands with his hands behind his back. He even does it when he only has one free hand, most notably [[spoiler: when his left arm is in a sling during the last few episodes of Vol 7]], resting that hand at the small of his back. Winter, Clover and other military characters do the same, and [[spoiler: Penny]] has also picked it up by Vol 7 despite not being technically a part of the military herself.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The [[CreatingLife God of Light]] normally clasps his hands in front of his body when communicating with mortals in his humanoid form, and always presents an air of patient wisdom. When the [[TheMaker two gods]] unite together to pronounce their judgement upon [[BigBad Salem]] for her actions, the [[DestroyerDeity God of Darkness]] clasps his hands behind his body. While it lends him the same air of timeless, patient wisdom that his brother normally exudes, the reversal of his stance compared to his brother's still emphasises that he and his brother [[SiblingYinYang are not alike]].

* A signature tic of {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}, Franchise/{{Superman}}'s awesome foe, is to go arms behind the back while doing some exposition about how whatever the heroes can throw at him will mean nothing, or stuff like that. The counter to Superman's WorldOfCardboardSpeech in ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' is a good example, as is his beating of both Superman and Supergirl in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanApocalypse''.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Ser Loras Tyrell adopts this pose in Season 3 whenever he wishes to appear relaxed; examples include his greeting of Queen Cersei and King Joffrey in "Valar Dohaeris", while he walks away from Sansa Stark in "Dark Wings, Dark Words", and [[spoiler:Tyrion Lannister and Sansa's wedding ceremony]].

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%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1367301008095621400
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[[quoteright:299:[[Series/{{Hornblower}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Hornblower_Reverse_Arm_Fold_8552.jpg]]]]

The physical inverse of the BadassArmFold, where the arms are folded behind the back. The hands may be clasped together just behind the waist (more common in the West and pictured at right), or gripping the opposite forearm higher up (more common in the East). This posture generates strong connotations of patience and consideration.

There are four basic character types who use this, for their own reasons:
# Martial artists, especially the OldMaster, who will hold this pose constantly while his hands are not occupied, unless he's a monk, in which case one hand will hold a prayer position in front of his chest.
# Old people of the Asian persuasion in general, who take the same pose but lean forward as if for balance.
# The ContemplativeBoss. See the picture on that page for an example.
# Military personnel, while on duty but not actively engaged in some activity (for instance, in formation but not being inspected, waiting for inspection formation, or waiting to be told to form up for inspection). The stance shown in the picture is known as "At Ease" in UsefulNotes/{{The Commonwealth|OfNations}} and US armed forces. When done in formation with the implication that the troops should stand still and look forward, the US armed forces call this position "Parade Rest."

Villains are also fond of the pose, as it allows them to lean forward intimidatingly and not look silly as they would if they just let their arms hang loosely. Compare and Contrast CoyGirlishFlirtPose.

----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'' franchise:
** Mercenary Tao and less often Master Roshi.
** Frieza also has this as one of his trademark poses, normally when he's in his first form.
** Beerus also does this, such as while talking with Goku in space after their fight. Actually, you could say this is his standard position.
%%* Zeno Zoldyck from ''Manga/HunterXHunter''.
* You sometimes see Gendo doing the Western version in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''.
** The Eastern version is practically Rei's trademark pose: grasping right forearm with left hand with right arm hanging straight down. No one else in the show does it, just her. It suits [[TheStoic her]] rather closely and [[InnocentFanserviceGirl heavily emphasizes her femininity]] if she does it while wearing a [[LatexSpaceSuit plugsuit]].
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Serena has this as a common default pose, and she even does it in the final episode of the ''XY'' series after she [[spoiler:([[IUhYouToo kinda]]) confesses her feelings to Ash and kisses him]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* [[http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd499/muffinformybday/Veidt%20stuff/1.jpg A signature pose of]] [[Film/{{Watchmen}} Adrian Veidt]], who qualifies for both the ContemplativeBoss and martial artist reasons.
* A signature tic of {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}, Franchise/{{Superman}}'s awesome foe, is to go arms behind the back while doing some exposition about how whatever the heroes can throw at him will mean nothing, or stuff like that. The counter to Superman's WorldOfCardboardSpeech in ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' is a good example, as is his beating of both Superman and Supergirl in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanApocalypse''.
* ComicBook/LexLuthor, one of Superman's other {{Arch Enem|y}}ies, is also fond of this pose.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* From ''Film/KillBill'', Pai Mei, as per tradition, holds this pose almost constantly when his hands are not in use.
* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' adaptations, Gandalf does this on the rare occasion that he's not clutching his staff or a pipe.
* Morpheus does it all the time ''Film/TheMatrix'' when he is not kicking ass. His variation particularly stands out because he's frequently gripping his arms at the elbow. Note that this [[FridgeLogic isn't particularly comfortable or relaxing, especially if you're a reasonably well-muscled guy in a bulky]] BadassLongcoat, so either it's simply RuleOfCool, or it's emphasising his flexibility and badassery that he's able to relax in this pose. This particular variant of the pose is typically identified with the OldMaster, so doing so suggests his mentorship to the rest of the crew as well as the general badassery required to make the pose work.
* Darth Vader from ''Franchise/StarWars'' is sometimes seen doing this, as are many Imperial officers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In the first ''Literature/{{Burke}}'' novel, Burke drops in unannounced at the home of snuff-film producer Goldor. When the door opens, Goldor is standing in this position and Burke notes that it's an old bodybuilder's trick -- squeezing your hands behind your back to pump blood into the upper body, thus making yourself look bigger. [[spoiler:Burke finds out too late that the real reason Goldor is standing like this is because he's holding a taser pistol behind his back.]]
* [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Vetinari]], as a ContemplativeBoss, is stated to do this whenever he stands in front of his big picture window.
* In ''[[Literature/TheStormlightArchive The Way of Kings]]'', the enslaved Kaladin makes a point of assuming parade rest between bouts of having to carry a bridge in order to show his discipline. Eventually the rest of the bridge crew join him.
* In ''[[Literature/HoratioHornblower Lieutenant Hornblower]]'' the officers on the quarterdeck are described as walking "with their hands clasped behind them as a result of the training they had all received as midshipmen not to put their hands in their pockets." The novel ''The Commodore'' has a pointed [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] with Lieutenant Mound, who repeatedly reaches for his pockets before remembering that he's in the presence of a very senior officer. Commodore Hornblower eventually orders him to just do it and quit fidgeting, at which point Mound falls into a comfortable slouch.
* In ''Literature/IslandInTheSeaOfTime'' and its sequels, [[TheCaptain Marian Alston]] frequently adopts this pose, because she's a Coast Guard officer.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', Rand takes to doing this after [[spoiler: losing a hand]]. The Asha'man do it occasionally as well.
* In ''Literature/TheGoldenHamsterSaga'', some of the illustrations show Freddy standing like this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* If Avon of ''Series/BlakesSeven'' is not LeaningOnTheFurniture, he's doing this.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Ser Loras Tyrell adopts this pose in Season 3 whenever he wishes to appear relaxed; examples include his greeting of Queen Cersei and King Joffrey in "Valar Dohaeris", while he walks away from Sansa Stark in "Dark Wings, Dark Words", and [[spoiler:Tyrion Lannister and Sansa's wedding ceremony]].
* ''Series/{{Hornblower}}'':
** [[TheCaptain Captain]] Pellew folds his arms behind his back many times during the first instalment when he commands HMS ''Indefatigable''.
** Horatio Hornblower holds his arms with joined hands behind his back quite often. He does it especially when he's in command. The first time when he does it makes it look like he's imitating Captain Pellew's quarterdeck stance.
* ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'': Starsky stands like this sometimes.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** [[TheSpock Spock]] In ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]'' uses this pose many times in the second season onward.
** In early seasons of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Jadzia Dax walked about with her arms behind her back, to demonstrate the "old man" that was inside her. A later episode, in which Dax's colleagues temporarily embody the symbiont's previous hosts, reveals that she got it from an earlier host, a politician who started doing it when she realized her male colleagues were making fun of her prolific gesticulating, and continues trouncing them all on the debate floor anyway.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''.
*** Captain Janeway does this [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness in the early episodes]], later replaced by her iconic hands-on-hips posture.
*** In "Meld", Tuvok does a MindMeld with a psychotic murderer, and starts to pick up some of his more unstable traits, including twitching his hands. But when Tuvok goes to visit the murderer in his cell the latter does this trope, showing that he in turn has picked up Tuvok's mental discipline.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* The back cover of ''Music/TheBlackParade'' album depicts some of the members of Music/MyChemicalRomance in the pose.
* The video for "Leave It" by Music/{{Yes}} has singer Jon Anderson in this position.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* This is a signature pose for WrestlingMonster Wrestling/{{WALTER}}. It helps to his "Ring General" gimmick.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'': Imperial Guardsmen do this when capturing a point.
* ''Videogame/TheElderScrollsOnline'': This is a stock animation that characters will use in dialogue. Most typically, it's some sort of person of nobility or importance. Queen Ayrenn and [[spoiler:Meridia]] are notable examples.
* General Zod in ''Videogame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' does this by default.
* In ''VideoGame/Injustice2'', this is also Darkseid's default stance. While it's nothing new for the character, this version does it ''constantly'', even while ''jumping''. 90% of his time is spent with [[WithMyHandsTied at least one hand behind his back.]]
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Master Xehanort]] does this a lot, but as with the Master Chen example, he's not as frail as he looks.
** [[BlowYouAway Xaldin]] does this too, as his non-combat pose. [[ThatOneBoss Fittingly, he's one of the harder members of the Organization.]]
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** Thane Krios uses this stance a lot, underlining his calm and composed personality. Shephard imitates him in an interrogation scene, adding to the formality of the set-up.
** Shepard often adopts this pose when speaking with superior officers or the Council during the first game, or while receiving a briefing from Hackett during an N7 mission in the third.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Cyrus from ''Videogame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' does this regularly.
** Serperior in ''Videogame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' crosses two leaves behind its back in mimicry of this pose, combined with an upturned nose to establish a general air of superiority.
** Aegislash in ''Videogame/PokemonXAndY'' mimics this pose with its tassels when in Shield Forme.
* ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'': President Max adopts this pose when discussing Matters of State.
* ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'':
** Master Chen walks around hunched over like this, but wow, that old guy can dodge a punch.
** Lan Di, too, by way of ArrogantKungFuGuy.
* Characters with the "thoughtful" stance in ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' will stand like this.
* OldMaster Wang Jinrei of ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' gained one of these during his intros circa ''Tekken 5''.
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'': Citan Uzuki is frequently shown doing this.
* Solas from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' often settles into this pose during cutscenes when he is advising or educating the Inquisitor on various Fade-related topics.
** Cullen is also seen doing it at moments when he's relaxed. In the earlier parts of the game, it's more common to see him with his arms folded across his chest, but as he grows more comfortable with his role and his relationships with the people around him, he gradually is seen to use this pose more often. It's particularly noticeable at the end of the ''Trespasser'' DLC, when the inner circle is all gathered together for one last scene, and especially if he romanced the Inquisitor and they are the last two left standing at the railing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The [[CreatingLife God of Light]] normally clasps his hands in front of his body when communicating with mortals in his humanoid form, and always presents an air of patient wisdom. When the [[TheMaker two gods]] unite together to pronounce their judgement upon [[BigBad Salem]] for her actions, the [[DestroyerDeity God of Darkness]] clasps his hands behind his body. While it lends him the same air of timeless, patient wisdom that his brother normally exudes, the reversal of his stance compared to his brother's still emphasises that he and his brother [[SiblingYinYang are not alike]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', General Tarquin does this quite often, and Xykon does it on occasion as well.
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' uses the military connotations of the pose as a plot point, when a civilian Gav clone assumes it unconsciously [[spoiler:[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness because he's been brain-hacked]] by a spec ops soldier.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Many villains demonstrate this trope in the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse. Among them are Lex Luthor, Ra's Al Ghul (though it might just be his cape), Vandal Savage, and Gorilla Grodd.
* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' it seems to be [[EvilutionaryBiologist Dr. Londo]]'s favourite stance.
* Velma from ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' does this quite a lot, especially in the oldest series.
%%* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Slade does this.
* Dyson from ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'' is extremely fond of this stance.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', Ultron does this, particularly when [[{{Technopathy}} possessing Iron Man's armour]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' this is Grand Admiral Thrawn's default stance.
* [[CausticCritic Anton Ego]] does this in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'' when he interrupts Linguini's press conference to announce he's going to review Gusteau's for a second time.
* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'': [[spoiler:Toph Beifong]] does this due to her age... and also to demonstrate just how much better she's gotten at bending: being based on actual martial arts, it requires a lot of arm movements, but she doesn't even need to move them to comprehensively kick Korra's ass.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In the US Military, personnel are forbidden to have their hands in their pockets, as it appears unprofessional. This leaves 3 main stances -- hands across the chest, hands across the back, and hands straight down. Hands across the chest is a defensive position and usually avoided (unless it is cold). Hands straight down is strongly associated with the position of Attention, and [[DrillSergeantNasty a lot of yelling]], and is discouraged unless a lot of yelling is needed. Hands behind the back tends to be used in a more casual environment, such as when the Old Man is lecturing his troops ([[RamblingOldManMonologue no, not like that...]] well, O.K., maybe sometimes). Often the "at ease" stance is used to signal to the troops that what follows will be a "business as usual" speech (or maybe even a FatherToHisMen moment).
** For more formal occassions, usually while in formation, the command of "Parade Rest" is given instead. While some shuffling and looking around is allowed when At Ease, Parade Rest requires standing stock still and looking forward. It does have the advantage of being less likely to cause personnel to pass out either from locking their knees or tensing their leg muscles (both very easy to do at that position, and both being likely to cause a blood pressure drop leading to fainting while standing.)
* In at least Canadian military drill, the position is known as "At Ease" and consists of laying the back of your right hand against the palm of your left behind your back with your thumbs intertwined, your fingers extended, your shoulders square, your elbows tight to your body, and your feet apart.
* Some martial arts schools incorporate this as a stance before being called to attention. Since being called to attention commonly involves clapping one's arms to their sides, it avoids having to awkwardly flap when already in the desired pose.
** Same for the Air Force. Typical routine is for the airmen to fall into formation at the position of Attention, then be put either At Ease or at Parade Rest until it's time for them all to snap to Attention at once.
[[/folder]]
----

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

* A signature tic of {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}, Franchise/{{Superman}}'s awesome foe, is to go arms behind the back while doing some Exposition about how whatever the heroes can throw at him will mean nothing, or stuff like that. The counter to Superman's WorldOfCardboardSpeech in ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' is a good example, as is his beating of both Superman and Supergirl in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanApocalypse''.

* In the first ''Literature/{{Burke}}'' novel, Burke drops in unannounced at the home of snuff-film producer Goldor. When the door opens, Goldor is standing in this position and Burke notes that it's an old bodybuilders trick -- squeezing your hands behind your back to pump blood into the upper body, thus making yourself look bigger. [[spoiler:Burke finds out too late that the real reason Goldor is standing like this is because he's holding a taser pistol behind his back.]]

* In ''[[Literature/HoratioHornblower Lieutenant Hornblower]]'' the officers on the quarterdeck are described as walking "with their hands clasped behind them as a result of the training they had all received as midshipmen not to put their hands in their pockets." The novel ''The Commodore'' has a pointed subversion with Lieutenant Mound, who repeatedly reaches for his pockets before remembering that he's in the presence of a very senior officer. Commodore Hornblower eventually orders him to just do it and quit fidgeting, at which point Mound falls into a comfortable slouch.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Ser Loras Tyrell adopts this pose in Season 3 whenever he wishes to appear relaxed; examples include his greeting of Queen Cersei and King Joffrey in "Valar Dohaeris," while he walks away from Sansa Stark in "Dark Wings, Dark Words," and [[spoiler:Tyrion Lannister and Sansa's wedding ceremony]].

** In early seasons of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' Jadzia Dax walked about with her arms behind her back, to demonstrate the "old man" that was inside her. A later episode, in which Dax's colleagues temporarily embody the symbiont's previous hosts, reveals that she got it from an earlier host, a politician who started doing it when she realized her male colleagues were making fun of her prolific gesticulating, and continues trouncing them all on the debate floor anyway.

** Thane Krios uses that stance a lot, underlining his calm and composed personality. Shephard imitates him in an interrogation scene, adding to the formality of the set-up.

* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' it seems to be [[EvilutionaryBiologist Dr. Londo's]] favourite stance.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Slade does this.

* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'': [[spoiler:Toph Beifong]] does this due to her age... and also to demonstrate just how much better she's gotten at bending: being based on actual martial arts, requires a lot of arm movements, she doesn't even need to move them to comprehensively kick Korra's ass.

* Zeno Zoldyck from ''Manga/HunterXHunter''.

** [[TheSpock Spock]] In [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]'' uses this pose many times in the second season onward.