 The Shodokon Tiger is one of the most recognizable symbols in karate, and the ideas it represents along with the striking design make it one of my personal favorites. The official name is Toro no Maki, and that generally means master scroll, but sometimes Toro means tiger, so it's not uncommon for the term tiger scroll to be used. It was designed by Ho-Won Kusugi, friend of Shodokon founder Gijin Funakoshi. Now, even though there are no tigers in Japan, they are a symbol of immense power, and here it is depicted in the circle that say that a true martial artist should contain his great power only to release it when absolutely necessary. The tiger is composed of patterns that individually represent nothing, but when together as a whole make up the image of the tiger. Just like any martial system is not just one idea, but many attributes constructed together for an identity. Now, if you look closely, you can also spot the artist's signature as he truly caught this tiger by the tail.