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The Dragon
The dragon represents the intellectual and spiritual part of our
art: Spiritual strength, humility, and self-restraint. This is
the goal that we work to obtain.
The Tiger
The tiger represents the earthly strength of the early stages of
learning. This is the stage where the individual is more impressed
with his or her own physical prowess.
The Circle
The circle is symbolic of several things:
(1) It depicts life itself, a continuous cycle where there is no beginning
and no end. So it is with the art of Kenpo -- It too is a cycle of
perpetual and unending movements or motion. Techniques follow a
cycle; movements are part of a cycle; humility, self-restraint, and
physical prowess are no more than components of a progressive learning
cycle.
(2) The circle is the base from which our alphabet stems.
(3) The black lines on the circle represent the clock principle, a mental
and visual aid used when teaching.
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The Two Red Bars
(located on the sides of the word Kenpo)
These symbolize Mr. Ed Parker, the only tenth degree black belt in our
system.
The Chinese Writing
This is a reminder of the originators of our art, the Chinese.
It shows that we respect them, though we do not serve them. The
lettering on the left (by the tiger's head) means "Kenpo Karate"
(the law of the fist and the empty hand), the art that we practice.
The lettering on the right (by the dragon's head) means "spirit of
the tiger and the dragon", a constant reminder that we want to attain
the spiritual level and that the physical level is only a stepping stone,
or vehicle, that we use to reach the higher or spiritual level.
The Colors
The white background is symbolic of the many beginners who form the
base of our art. The yellow stands for the first level of
proficiency, the mechanical stage. The gray is symbolic of the
brain, reminding us that this is a thinking art. The red, white, and
blue is representative of the fact that ours is an American art.
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