Rishin Kan Budo

Craigieburn Martial Arts Centre also has a Japanese Dojo name, “Rishin Kan Budo”. This dojo name is formed by three parts; “Rishin”, “Kan” and “Budo”.

Rishin

This is comprised of two Kanji 理心. The first Kanji “Ri” means “rational” or “intelligent” and the second “Shin” means “heart” or “spirit”. Together they mean, “Making rational, intelligent decisions while being aware of your moral and social obligations”. The abbreviated meaning is “Right action”. Students of Rishin always try to apply the “Right action” to any given circumstance.

“Right action” – this is to apply the right action to whatever problem/issue faces you. The right action can be difficult as the right action is not always the easiest path. However it is the path to being true to yourself. In martial art terms, “Right action” means to not fight “force with force” but rather make rational, intelligent decisions and “go with the flow”, launch a counter strike or apply a direct action, cutting through the attack.

Kan

“Hall” – the place where we train. “Kan” can also be replaced with “Ryu” which means style. So, Rishin Kan is where we train and Rishin Ryu is the style we learn.

Budo

“Way of War” – This sounds violent but in reality it is the way to peace and inner calm. The Japanese have another word “Bujutsu” – “Art of War”. Bujutsu was what was taught to the Samurai of ancient Japan. Bujutsu is about learning the techniques of war. The word Budo is made from two parts (kanji) “Bu (武)” – war and “do (道)” – way, road or path. Many of the modern arts like Judo, Aikido, Kendo and Karate-do (sometimes the “do” is left off in Karate-do) utilise the 道 (do) character to indicate that they are not just interested in fighting skill but rather developing the human spirit through learning about conflict. For the true Samurai, the best victory is when he did not have to draw his sword.

What it all means together…

When the words/characters are joined, Rishin Kan Budo (理心館武道) implies:

The hall of martial art training with the “right action”.