Mizu [水]
In the symbol of Isshinryu, the goddes is in water, the ocean, which is the life giver to the earth and all that inhabits it.
“The dragon ascends from the water into the sky or heaven, and stands for heaven.” - Advincula
It has been stated the goddess of Isshinryu has nothing to do with water and I have to disagree because the figure used is represented by the goddess of water that has been set in the patch to symbolize a goddess for the isshinryu system of the empty hand. The mizu gami as to water symbolizes the fact that all life on earth under the heavens comes from several sources to include the all important “water” that all life must have to exist.
As we can easily perceive in what follows, water is the life giver giving birth to the mizu-gami and Tatsuo-sama who gave life to Isshinryu and thus gave life to the roll of the gami as megami or isshinryu… which, due to Tatsuo-sama’s deep belief and practice of sumachi and knowledge/understanding of the Chinese classics like the I Ching influenced and guided him to study and “change” his karate creating, giving birth to, isshinryu or one heart school of karate!
Everything of heaven and earth of the universe requires “water,”that gives birth to the myriad of things as taught in the tao of the tao te ching, I ching and the teachings of Chuang Tzu, Lao Tzu, Mencius as well as Chuang Chou and others resulted in the creativity of Tatsuo-sama’s Isshinryu karate-do!
The Codes of Karate can also be found in the Isshin-ryu patch.
1. A person's heart if the same as heaven and earth. Dragon (heaven) overhead and tiger (earth) in the headress.
2. The blood circulating is similar to the sun and moon. The dragon which leaves the water and flies overhead to return to the sea. The never-ending cycle.
3. The manner drinking (inhaling) and spitting (exhaling is either hard of soft. Open hand and fist of the Megami.
4. A person's unbalance is the same as a weight. There is a balance of the yin and yang in the symbol.
5. The body should be able to change directions at any time. The dragon flying overhead is Tatsuo who looked at change in a positive light.
6. The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself. This again is represented by the opened and closed fist, to strike only as a last resort.
7. The eyes must see all sides. Represented by the stars or teachers who light or guide the way.
8. The ears must listen in all directions. Megami is alert and listens. Listening leads to knowledge and understanding.
Be your true nature, being like (the nature of) water!
- Water is like heaven and earth;
- Water flows fast and water flows slow;
- Water seeks all sides and water seeks all places;
- Water senses all possibilities and water seeks all possibilities;
- Water seeks balance in all things;
- Water stands in stillness and reflects like a mirror;
- Water becomes rough and hides the calmness beneath its surface;
- Water understands its purpose and water symbolizes the great tai chi;
- Water goes with it’s true nature and water does not fight its nature;
- Water can be contained and water always finds its path to freedom;
- Water is undeterred and water can erode granite;
- Water is a primary concept of the I Ching.
Water is:
- Soft yet powerfully hard;
- Natural yet easily directed;
- Detached yet flowing with nature;
- In short, essential to life.
To be like (the nature of) water, is to be in the flow like (the nature of) water.
Water always keeps moving, even still waters are being revitalized from waters deep; springs, rains, and snowmelts.
Water benefits all, it remains in the lowest places (seeks its own level), and overcomes all obstacles and barriers. Water is the symbol of Tao or “the way.” Water forms into the shapes and voids of all things.
Bruce Lee’s “water training and practice,” is heightening awareness, tempering our methodologies and seeking our own path.
Presence and Awareness: (Sonzai-kan to ishiki [存在感と意識]) to be present in a state of awareness is the way.
Water responds and water reacts naturally to its environment. Water does not react, water merely responds to fill its needs and potential. Water doesn’t react impulsively but merely responds.
Water is always present, in the now, and exists moment to moment.
Water is fluid or pliable, it responds to its environment and the obstacles that environment presents.
“Living Water (Ikite iru mizu [生きている水]);” like the flow of a stream or the ebb and flow of the ocean waves; “Like flowing water, life is perpetual movement.”
Water flows and the water changes.
Water is soft and pliable and tempers the hardest steel of the katana, sword 🗡️.
To be like water is to temper into steel our minds and bodies, thus our spirit and still allow its pliability that is symbolized in the making of the Japanese sword of the samurai.
In Chinese philosophy, water (Chinese: 水; pinyin: shuǐ) is the low point of the matter, or the matter's dying or hiding stage. Water is the fifth stage of Wu Xing, the five elements. Water is the most yin in character of the five elements. Its motion is downward and inward, and its energy is stillness and conserving.
Water is associated with the color black, with the planet Mercury, with the moon (which was believed to cause the dew to fall at night), with night, with the north, with winter or cold weather, and with the Black Tortoise (Xuan Wu) in the Chinese constellation Four Symbols.
Water is representative of intelligence and wisdom, flexibility, softness, and pliancy; however, an overabundance of the element is said to cause difficulty in choosing something and sticking to it. In the same way, water can be fluid and weak, but can also wield great power when it floods and overwhelms the land. In Chinese medicine, water is believed to govern the kidney and urinary bladder, and is associated with the ears and bones. The negative emotion associated with water is fear/anxiety, while the positive emotion is calmness.
Waters natural state is calm and serene but if the wind kicks up (or any natural agitation occurs) water changes Ti fill and fit whatever state of nature results.
The colours black, blue, and grey also represent water.
In the regenerative cycle of the Wu Xing, metal engenders water, as it traps falling water from a source, and water begets wood as "rain or dew makes plant life flourish"
In the conquest cycle, water overcomes fire, as "nothing will put out a fire as quickly as water". Earthovercomes water as earth-built canals direct the flow, and soil absorbs water.
Chinese are perceptive observers of nature: having a profound appreciation of water’s movement and temperaments while contemplating their relationship in the cosmos.
Water is believed to be the medium through which heaven communicates its judgment to the earth. The invisible force that governs the rise and fall of water between heaven and Earth is embodied in the mythical creature, the Chinese dragon. The Chinese dragon, combining the bodily features of a fish, a turtle, and a snake, is believed to be the living force that moves bodies of water. Not only is the dragon the symbol of the emperor in imperial China, but also a unique cultural, and spiritual identity of the nation.
The Chinese often use the term “Descendants of the Dragon” to refer to their ethnicity. Wherever there is the presence of water, there lives the dragon, who controls rain, thunder, storms, and flood. The Dragon is both benevolent and powerful, just like the force behind water that can both cause life to flourish and kill.
Dao: The highest virtue is like water
Water nourishes myriad creatures without contending with them
It flows to the low loathsome places
Therefore, it comes close to the way.
Live in accordance with the nature of things.
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In action, watch the timing
No competition,
So no blame.
The mountain depicts stillness and the water represents change. Together, they are intimately entwined in the composition of the transience and continuity in nature.
Water is like the mirror that reflects the nature of the people who form their lives around the water. It does not take a brilliant mind to see the link between the dammed, polluted river courses and the wellbeing of the people today. As modern humans, we may feel superior walking on the frontline of evolution. We continue discovering new knowledge and inventing new technologies, but on the inside, we are all lost children, failing to remember our ancestors’ story: we all come from the same cosmic fluid.
Soft overcomes the hard - water
Rain nourishing the earth - water
Life as we know it requires biogenic elements, a source of energy, liquid water, and a suitable, reasonably stable environment for evolution to take place.
Water is essential for life as we know it, and so the search for life elsewhere often begins with the search for water. Water has been detected in many places in space — in the atmosphere of Saturn, in star-forming clouds, and even (as water vapor) on the surface of the Sun. Water was present in the raw materials that formed the Earth, as well as in comets that rained down on Earth (particularly early in its history).
Since life on Earth requires liquid water to survive, many scientists think that our search for life elsewhere should begin in places where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for water to exist in liquid form.
Being water is to be at peace with where you are in the course of life.
Being water is to be fluid in circumstances involving others.
Being water is to heal life from its roots: water.
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