About the Five Rings

Five Rings Training takes its name from the classic Samurai text The Book of the Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, commonly regarded as a manual on how to succeed in life and how to overcome struggle and conflict; and the Five Elements from Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, in which the body is seen as a microcosm of the universe and subject to the same universal laws and seasonal changes as the natural world. The Five Elements are: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

Our logo uses the Zen Enso symbol (Japanese word meaning circle) which represents enlightenment, strength, the universe and the void and is an ‘expression of the moment’.

At Five Rings our philosophy is based on understanding the body as an energy system and training the mind and body in a manner in which personal development, mental focus, respect for others and physical training go hand in hand and the Zen disciplines of meditation, mindfulness and living in the moment.

To live the way of the warrior is to move through life resolved on death, ie., without fear. If you pass through life with no fear, you pass through with no possibility of failure and perform properly. People fail, don't act, don't take responsibility through fear. This is the reason why focusing on the way of the samurai, the way of the warrior, is central to the concept behind Five Rings.

If you are empowered to live life without fear, you can live life to the fullest and perform properly with virtue and no evil.

Central to martial arts and oriental healing systems is the concept of Ki (vital life force also known as Qi or prana) which runs through the body in a network of channels called Meridians. A large part of our training has been in developing our own Ki and in our workshops, we pass on many of the Qi gong and Ki training exercises we have learnt which increase strength, health and vitality.