Priority

Our priority is to develop a true feeling of respect, courtesy, friendship, trust and loyalty thus creating a balanced individual benefiting him/herself both physically and mentally helping others and thus establishing a better society that we live in as a whole.

Training concentrates on mutual respect and understanding between fellow companions so that both parties enjoy the benefits of training and progress on the basis of mutual development.

To ensure the overall development of its students ShinKen-Do addresses not only the body but that to of the mind through courtesy, respect, and spirit.
ShinKen-Do is highly effective. Our code is to never attack first but to resolve the situation as quickly as possible if attacked immobilizing an aggressor causing little or no injury.

The practice of ShinKen-Do provides an excellent release of stress through self-discipline in breathing.
The development of physical, mental, and spiritual health are some of the great rewards in practicing ShinKen-Do.

Paired Work

ShinKen-Do can only be mastered through co-operative practice in paired form.
A feeling of co-operation is called for and not competition between partners.

Overwhelming and defeating one’s training partner is not the objective. We do NOT stress learning to brawl.
We do not cultivate bullies. We stress the real goal of Martial Arts training is learning how NOT to fight.
We DO NOT advocate violence. However, do not confuse “kindness” with “weakness”

Philosophy

There are a number of factors that affect a student’s philosophical growth in ShinKen-Do. The first factor is the destructive potential of ShinKen-Do techniques from a purely physical viewpoint.

As a student becomes more knowledgeable in the use of nerves and pressure points he will also develop the ability to create and control pain without doing any real harm to the assailant.

Combine both of these elements with the ability to create real pain and disabling injuries and you can recognize the potential control and havoc that a skilled practitioner can deliver to an attacker.

Because of this destructive potential, ShinKen-Do places a strong emphasis on the concept of non-violence.
A physical confrontation should be avoided whenever possible. There are two additional reasons that support this concept of non-violence.
First, as the ShinKen-Do student is confident of his skill he/she recognizes that they have a better than average chance of defending himself successfully.

Thus it is unnecessary to prove he/she can if such a confrontation can be avoided.
Second, a physical confrontation indicates that all rational means of resolving the problem have failed.
It is humanly degrading to become involved in a physical confrontation–it indicates that reason and intelligence have failed.