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Okinawan Ryu Karate Do Shuri Te
Seibukan Crest |
Our crest represents the three kingdoms of The Ryukyu's, Hokuzan, Chuzan and Nanzan. One of the kings of the Sho dynasty, Sho Taku, adopted this symbol as his crest. Today in martial arts circles, this crest is referred to as the "Sho".
In addition, our crest is seen to have "three tears" within it, here my teacher shared with me the explanation of the "Three Tears":
The three tears represent three warriors, One was a Ryukyuan Warrior (Okinawan Samurai) captured by the two Japanese Samurai, these Japanese warriors were ordered to drown the Ryukyuan Warrior into a boiling urn of oil, the Okinawan warrior, to demonstrate his indifference to death, fought and grappled with the two Japanese Samurai and here he forced them into the urn of oil with him.
If you look carefully into our traditional crest, you will indeed see three tears. This action was to demonstrate "Death before Dishonor".
Courtesy Hanshi Gary O'Connor Kudan
Okinawan Ryu Karate Do Shuri Te Seibukan |
