There are four crosses bearing great symbolism in the Zen Do Kai fraternity. These include the infamous Bushido Cross, the Ishoa Cross, the mysterious Kyunnin Cross and the traditional Tomadachi Cross.
The Zen Do Kai Crosses are as steeped in the history of the BJC as the Zen Do Kai tradition itself. They are as highly revered as the elusive and coveted Zen Do Kai black belt. These days they are awarded to black belt students, whose teachers feel have earned them, through demonstration of loyalty, strength and dedication, whilst following the path of the warrior. Once having been awarded the Cross, a Zen Do Kai practitioner will wear it (usually on a neck chain) everywhere with pride and honour. It truly affords the individual a sense that wherever one may go, help will not be too far away should it be needed.
The Cross is an important symbol of acceptance into the more senior echelons of the Zen Do Kai family and exemplifies commitment to the protection and instruction of the brothers and sisters in the ranks of Zen Do Kai. The Cross itself bares its origins in the country of Finland and it has been embellished with geometric shapes symbolic of Senjo battlefield strategy and the words Bushido, Ishoa, Kyunnin and Tomadachi.
Bushido
The original Zen Do Kai cross was the square cross. It was modelled on
the Finnish cross of bravery and was originally awarded by Soke Bob
Jones to two of his protection services men, Dave Milne and Bill
Sabotka. During the sixties, as his security firm grew, Soke awarded
more of the crosses to his personnel. The early seventies saw Soke
engrave the word 'Bushido' onto the cross. This translates literally as
'the way of the warrior'. Suddenly the cross took on a slightly new
meaning. The Bushido Cross (as it is still known) was presented by Soke
to his higher grade Zen Do Kai students as a symbol of protection of the
junior Zen Do Kai brothers (students in the ranks). This instilled an
unrivalled incentive for every new student to maximise his efforts to
gain acceptance in "the new family of security". Still today, male Zen
Do Kai practitioners train fiercely to earn the honour and privilege of
being awarded the Bushido Cross.
Ishoa
The round cross was introduced initially to acknowledge the understanding and commitment of the wives and partners of the security personnel in Soke's protection business. Most of Soke's security staff worked long hours, often six nights a week. The women folk received the small circular cross which identified them as 'those who understood'. This cross was developed further during the seventies in Zen Do Kai and the word 'Ishoa' was engraved onto it. This means, literally, 'enlightenment', the perfect blending of mind and body.
The Ishoa Cross was awarded to the "Karate wives" to exemplify their understanding of the men folk training with Soke up to six nights a week. The wives and partners were proud to be acknowledged as members of the Zen Do Kai family. Soon the first wave of female Zen Do Kai students were also afforded acknowledgement as dedicated martial artists with the presentation of the Ishoa Cross. And, suddenly, this cross took on a new meaning. Its new reverence mirrored that of the Bushido Cross. It too, became a symbol of protection of the junior brothers and, now also, sisters, in the Zen Do Kai ranks.
Tomadachi
During the mid 1970's Zen Do Kai had grown to in excess of a thousand students. Many of Soke's first generation students had risen to the third degree black belt level with Sensei titles. Soke furnished them with the right to present the crosses to the second generation students on his behalf. They did this and the Zen Do Kai family continued to grow.
During the late seventies, an analysis of the corporation's business affairs determined that one of the prime reasons for the corporation's struggle with commitments was the sponsoring of new family members crosses all around Australia and the continuous replacement of 'lost' crosses. To counter this, Soke designed a new, rectangular cross called the 'Tomadachi' (friend) Cross. The idea was to sell this cross to all Zen Do Kai students as a lead in to them earning the elusive Bushido or Ishoa crosses. Profits from sales of these would cover the cost of the elite crosses which would continue to be awarded at no cost to recipients.
Soke presented prototype Tomadachi crosses, and his idea, at a meeting of black belts. The black belts didn't like the idea of the words 'money' and 'cross' being used in the same breath but did like the idea of the 'long' cross. They thought it would be a great idea to give them away to lower grades whilst they train and anticipate that illustrious moment when they would be presented with a square or round cross. A further less than successful meeting with the corporation's accountants led to an almost two year lull without any crosses at all.
Kyunnin
The Kyunnin (Administrators) Cross, triangular in shape and seen held by
the Red Dragon (see Red Dragon section), is a recent addition to the
cross family. It remains a rare award today and stands for exemplary
business acumen demonstrated in pursuit of advancing the standing (which
includes among other things, the standard) of Zen Do Kai and its ideals
