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In 1953, Master Tatsuo
Shimabuku was teaching in the court yard of his
home, in Okinawa. In the yard, the Master had
a tank, which was used to collect water in case
of drought and to supply hard-working students
with a refreshing drink between workouts.
One day, after a full-day
of teaching, the Master sat on top of the tank
in order to enjoy his tea. The day's activities
and tensions began to float away, leaving the
Master in a very restful state. Soon, he fell
asleep and began to dream. In his vision, he heard
a man enter the gate of the courtyard and approach
him. When the man confronted Shimabuku, he challenged
the Master to a fight, but instead of accepting
his challenge, Shimabuku waved the man away with
his left hand and made a fist over his head with
his right hand.
Symbolically, Shimabuku
put out an open hand, meaning peace, but backed
up the peace with a closed fist representing his
ability to destroy the stranger if he tried to
hurt the Master. (This open left hand and closed
right fist is also the salutation before performing
each Isshin Ryu Kata)
Instead of leaving in
peace, however, the man encircled the Master in
flames, and as mysteriously as he appeared, the
man disappeared. This left Master Shimabuku in
a rather difficult position, but instead of running
about in panic, the Master kept a cool head and
used the bucket in the tank to pour water over
the flames. Before too long, all the flames were
extinguished - so was his dream.
This left a lasting impression
on the Master, so much so that he couldn't get
the dream out of his mind. The next day, when
he went to Naha (Capital of Okinawa), for business,
he entered a great house and there hanging on
a wall was a picture of a woman waist deep in
water. Immediately he ran to an employee of the
building and asked her who that was in the picture.
The Master was told that it
was Mizu-Gami, the Shinto Water Goddess. What
impressed him most about the picture was that
the lady, this Mizu-Gami, was in the same stance
that he took the night before in his dream against
the strange man.
Furthermore, Mizu-Gami was in
water - like he was on the tank - and she was
using water to extinguish flames in the sea -
as he used to extinguish the flames around his
body.
The Master came to the realization
that water was the symbol of purity, strength,
goodness; whereas fire was the symbol of evil,
aggression, and destruction.
As the Master discussed the
woman's image and how he would like it to somehow
represent his karate system, an understanding
and creative GI, who was studying with Master
Shimabuku at the time, set-out to design and incorporate
the Master's thoughts into an emblem. The soldier
also did this to honor the Master.
The Isshin Ryu patch as it is
known today is of oval shape to represent the
vertical Isshin Ryu fist. In the center is
the figure of Mizu-Gami (water goddess) and
at the top are three stars representing Master
Shimabuku's three teachers: Chojun Miyagi (Goju
Ryu), Chotoku Kiyan (Shorin Ryu), and Choki Motobu
(Snorin Ryu).
The stars are at the top to
represent the Masters' looking down on the developing
karateka, Tatsuo Shimabuku. They are in heaven,
and if you follow the right path, they too, will
guide you to attainment.
The emblem is bordered by a
red (sometimes orange) circle signifying the flame
that surrounded Shimabuku in his dream. The flame
signifies evil; the water purity; and Mizu-Gami,
the equalizer, and it is always worn on your uniform
over the heart symbolizing the "one heart
way."
Above Mizui-Gami flies
a dragon. The dragon in Eastern mythology represents
good fortune. Also, the serpent, like the karateka,
is born of the sea (or starting from The bottom),
and when the dragon matures (or the karateka developes)
he ascends into the heavens and achieves attainment.
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