Water (tao)

Lao Tzu used water as his favorite symbol for the Tao. He states in the Tao-te-Ching, "There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that  are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it; - for there is nothing (so effectual) for which it can be changed. Everyone in the world knows that the soft overcomes the hard, and the weak the strong, but no one is able to carry it out in practice."

The ken-po goku-i provides us the thread to this lesson by its references, both implied and actual, to the hard and soft of practice. The tome, "The manner of drinking and spitting is either soft or hard."

Just goes to show that the lessons did not stop with the first black belt. It was then that Tatsuo provided the black belt, the honor and trust of fifth or sixth dan, and a copy of the ken-po goku-i. The three gifts he provided back in those days was not lost on all who received them but sadly most did gloss over the gifts and assumed the trusted ranks long before Tatsuo intended.

Tatsuo made the one mistake because he didn't truly understand the mentality of Americans and Servicemen. We didn't take time to understand the source either since we spent the little time there learning the physical and thus never learned the customs and such of Okinawa and the core of their systems of fighting, civil and martial.

Understanding that the goku-i is also a dualistic key to the Way, the actual and direct interpretations along with the other side of that coin the implied interpretations one can achieve  through the study of the ancient classics, etc.