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I practice/practiced/taught Isshinryu karate of Okinawa, created by Shimabuku Tatsuo Sensei early 1950’s. The symbol most notably know in that community is the Isshinryu ‘no’ Megami. Symbolism is used extensively in human communications especially in regard to cultures, traditions and history of mankind be they of any descent.
Symbols are meant to convey history, culture, ideas and/or qualities that represent, stand for or suggest beliefs, idea’s, theories, actions or entities. Symbols are also represented by colors that express a variety of meanings attributed to facts, objects movements or styles using both color and images to express and teach toward a state of mind that is often followed by actions. In short, a method of conveying idea’s, concepts and facts of length and complexity through a terse image or color to others of like mind, beliefs, and concepts.
The symbol attracts attention and triggers imagination and creativity of one’s mind leading to questions that often open the door to great history of a culture and group. Example I use is kata, one kata can symbolize a multiple methodology of principled based abilities that would convey a full and complete system of combat, or self-protection in modern social realities, to one individual that is such it can be used as a teaching tool of many concepts, idea’s and methods. All you need is one who came before who understands the kata and the key to opening the potential and goals of that kata.
Symbols can also be words, characters and/or pictographs, i.e., such as the characters/pictographs of the ken-po goku-i that lead to terse words that convey longer more complex meaning all used as a gradual tool to lead a curious student toward proverbial enlightenment of a spiritual psychological physical philosophical nature.
Symbols are not static in nature and they can and do change in meaning and objective as time moves and humanity evolves. It can originally connect to concepts and events of a certain past time and place and because of their fluidity in translated meaning dependent on a person, at any time or moment, as to their perceptions, understanding, learning, study and experiences into something relevant and new to a given situation in the moment.
Symbols connect us to the past and provide a means of understanding while changing in subtle ways for the present moment without repeating the past to one’s detriment.
Just one symbol has the potential to teach about a certain event, about the times of that situation and about how humans dealt with it for evolutionary survival creating growth of the individual and the group.
One symbol can trigger mind-states in each of us that is different and unique while remaining steadfast toward its origins and original intent, the magic and gift of symbols in communications, past present and toward the future.
Isshinryu no Magami:
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