The CMAC Diamond
The Classical Martial Arts Canada Diamond
Under your Goju Fist may reside another crest. It is diamond-shaped, with a red border, and inverted maple leaves of black and white. You may also find its likeliness all throughout the dojo. Symbolically, there is much significance behind the official emblem of Classical Martial Arts Canada.
The Colour
As touched upon in our previous blog post, the colours of our crest represent three segments of karate practice:
– The empty mind of a beginner on the path in karate-do (white)
– The ideals and guiding principles abided by in being a black belt in the martial arts (black)
– The highest degree of proficiency in the art, that of the master (red)
The Maple Leaves
As you may have established, the maple leaves indicate our status as Canadian martial artists. Our Goju style of martial study, which does not have an abundance of surviving archived information, has translated from China and Okinawa, to Japan, to the United States and through to our dojo in downtown Oakville with its essential spirit intact. It is our duty and privilege to develop our traditional art and promote it for the benefit for all who choose to participate.
Black and White
Aside symbolizing the blank canvas of a beginner and the rich experience of a black belt student, we can find a similar interpretation in our logo with the yin yang. As our hard and soft style of karate-do parallels the fluctuations of life, so too does the Taoist symbol of yin yang. Just as this ancient symbol shows the harmonized balance of soft and hard, with a little bit of each inside of the other, our maple leaves reside on the colour contrasted to their own.
The Four Dots
These dots represent four sets of virtues that we aspire to, which make up…
…The diamond shape itself.
–Strength and Power–
The sweat-equity of our training, the dynamic, physical product of our practice…to be strong and robust for ourselves, and others who need it.
–Value and Purity–
Who we can be as a person, the role we can play in the dojo and community…and to be an honest and open-hearted individual.
–Refinement and Clarity-
The virtue that closely resembles the forging of the katana, of constant re-evaluation and reflection in order to be a better person each day, as Funakoshi Gichin stated, “Karate is like boiling water; without heat, it returns to its tepid state.” It is important to use that reflection as an understanding of who we are and what we want.
–Flawlessness and Perfection-
A diamond of over 100 karats is known as a paragon, which is synonymous with a shining ideal. Although perfection is sometimes considered an impossible pursuit for such imperfect beings as we, it is our duty to want it anyway. Much like the aforementioned katana, a martial artist must remain sharp.
The Classical Martial Arts Canada organization was created to assist affiliated professional and semi-professional Martial Arts Schools. As a governing body for grading black belts and ensuring the levels of knowledge and proficiency standards remain high, on-going training and development of associated instructors and their students is its top priority.
CMAC interfaces with other Martial Arts organizations both nationally and internationally to make available seminars, competitions and research trips to members. The Martial Arts tradition evolved through China, Okinawa, Japan and the U.S.A., but as Canadian Martial Artists we must now complete our part as Canadians for future Canadian growth.
Written by Mr. Kenney McCoy, Shodan