Five Rings. Three Battles. One Path.

Last night while thinking about adding a blog for the BBD, I got to wondering about a caption or motto for the dojo. As I was brainstorming, 5 Rings, 3 Battles, 1 Path popped into my head. So, I am throwing it out there for my students...and non-students if it makes sense to them and if we need to adopt it as our 'motto'...and put it on a patch. So, what are the five rings, three battles and one path?

The famous Japanese swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, wrote in 1645, the book, "Gorin No Sho", or "The Book of Five Rings." It is his written treatise on swordsmanship as well as how to handle your life. It is derived from his personal experience mixed with deep philosophical and pscyhological underpinnings. In future blogs, I will go over the Five Rings and discuss their relevance to today's martial artists.

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a Sanchin Kata fanatic, perhaps bordering lunacy. Sanchin, for those who are not aware, is Karate's oldest kata. Sanchin translates as "Three Battles." The interpretation of what those three battles are have been lost in time. Dependent upon the instructor you speak with, you will get a different interpretation of those three battles. Future blogs will go over how it is interpretated in Zen Goshindo Karate.

The One Path. This is Zen. Zen practice to be exact. This is the path beyond concepts, words and images. It is the path of directly encountering reality in its exact 'suchness'. Also, future blogs will address Zen practice and its relevance to the practice of Budo.

So, the Blog begins.

Hope to hear from you.

Sensei David Nelson
Chief Instructor
Zen Goshindo Karate
The Broken Bokken Dojo