About The Logo
The story about our logo is meant to apply to everyone. beginning at the spelling of HarmOni.
Oni 鬼 is the Japanese word for demon. HarmOni Martial Art, is about exactly what the name is. Having Harmony with ones own inner demons, or to add a bit more clarity, ones internal struggles.
These could be something as simple as maybe, you're a kid/teen getting bullied in school, and you want to learn to stand up for yourself. Or for you adults out there who want to try and do something for yourself, the stresses of every day life constantly seem to be getting in the way.
Whatever your struggle, from anxiety, ADHD, Low Self-esteem to just wanting to get in shape and learn quality self defense. In the dojo, on the mat you'll discover, how through training, what your demons are, and ultimately how to overcome them.
Slogan:
Everyone's got internal demons, Learn how to train yours
Black and White. Good and Evil. Yin Yang. For our definition 2 opposing forces working together in harmony. Often thought of as opposites, in eastern cultures, the yin yang is thought of a whole. They work together to provide the whole experience. Hot and cold are just extremes of the spectrum of temperature.
The Koi fish themselves have a fascinating lore. Theres an ancient story about a school of golden koi fish swimming upstream fighting against the current. When they reached the waterfall many of them turned back. However, one, refusing to give up the lone koi began to summit the waterfall.
Its attempts began to gain the attention of some nearby local demons. Mocking their efforts and heightening the waterfall just to be bullies. 100 years later, refusing to give up, one koi achieved the seemingly impossible. The gods, recognizing the perseverance and determination, transformed it into a golden dragon, the image of power and strength.
The complimenting of each other, you get comfortable. The 2 Koi fish circling each other in a continuous dance represent the balance of, not to get too esoteric, the universe. Without one there cannot be another. In martial arts the idea of counter-torque, driving forward with the punching side and pulling the other hand on guard, personifies the symbolism.
Koi Fish
Because of this fable, the Koi Fish have become symbols of good fortune in many ways. Both represent perseverance, determination, resilience, and considering the lore, reaching the top of the waterfall represents the achievement of goals. The black koi represents the overcoming of personal obstacles and challenges and the successful battle through struggle in one’s life. The white koi, representing good luck and prosperity, also is a symbol of success in one’s upcoming endeavors and career.
The Crane: 鶴
Starting with the Crane; teaches us balance. To start anything there must be balance. Balance in the schedule, balance as a skill, like if you start a new discipline. Martial arts, gymnastics, horse riding. You need to have balance to even to do the thing.
The Tiger: 虎
The 2nd character, the tiger, teach us power and tenacity; never giving up. When you start something, and you start practicing, you can start picking up the intensity to get better at the new skill. Putting power into it. And you cant generate power without a good stable and balanced foundation. For martial arts we can really start discovering our own power quite early on in our training.
The Dragon: 竜
A staple in nearly every culture. The attributes the dragon teaches are self-control, and wisdom. “With great power comes great responsibility”-uncle Ben, Spider-man. Learning martial arts your learning punching and kicking. Yes this is learned in the interest of self-defense. But inevitably it does mean that you’re is hitting someone else, to deter them from hitting you back. Self-control, you cant just go around hitting someone who gives you the weird side-eye. Learning these skills involves learning to have self-control as well. For wisdom, learning from past experiences to improve on your skills. Focusing on the animals for a second, wisdom also means drawing skills from the other animals to become a more well-rounded martial artist. And without wisdom and self-control everything falls apart.
The Leopard: è±¹
When we start getting better at our new discipline, we can start really picking up the speed. The leopard, the 4th character on the bridge teaches us speed. Speed is developed through repetition and practice. “Repetition is the mother of all skill.” – Tony Robbins. The more skill the faster you can get at whatever it is you’ve started.
The Snake: 蛇
Probably one of the most important attributes, patience. It’s going to take a while. We’ve all heard the phrase by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” And it’s going to take, well time. As an example, earning a black belt can take 5 years. Sometimes longer. But anything worth achieving is going to take time.
The Bridge
Everyone has a story; a journey. The bridge represents that journey. Everyone has to start somewhere to go somewhere. Martial Arts could be a start to your journey. The thing about journeys is they sometimes aren't easy. Sometimes you fall and scrape your knee. Hence the color of the bridge. The blood sweat and tears that go into your journey; into you training. And one could say the reasons we fall; is so we can learn to pick ourselves up.
Blue: Sky
The key; it represents the limitlessness of training. No matter what there's always so much more to learn. and theres no end to it. Whether your a white belt or a black belt you can always learn and apply your training differently. As Bruce Lee once said, "having no limitation as limitation." Bruce Lee, Jeet Kune Do Creed
Blue:Water
"You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be Water My Friend."
Probably one of the most famous quotes about water, ever. Its true in every way. Water is adaptable and can become whatever it needs to be. High pressure to cut steel or solid enough to sink a ship. And yet without it life as we know it could not exist. Throughout our training the more adaptable we can be the better we can be at adapting to our situation. "Using no way as way."- Bruce Lee, Jeet Kune do Creed