Circle Square Triangle

Why shapes matter

A friend and a student recently asked me why my logo is a circle, square, and triangle. It was a great question because I realized I had not thought about it in quite a while.

These three symbols appear in many places. They show up in martial arts such as Aikido, in beauty and design education, in Zen and Japanese symbolism, in sacred geometry and Western philosophy, and even in popular culture through Harry Potter created by J. K. Rowling.

What I realized is that through training these shapes have become personal to me, and the order matters.

Circle is the “us.”

Aikido begins with the possibility of turning the other into us. The circle represents the willingness to enter relationship rather than opposition.

Square represents my roots.

Community, values, and moral grounding remain intact. The need for connection and acceptance does not require abandoning a moral code. Stability still exists.

Triangle acknowledges reality.

I cannot meaningfully practice nonviolence without understanding where violence could actually occur. The triangle represents clarity about direction, structure, and the point where conflict might emerge.

So for me the shapes become a sequence.

Circle invites relationship.

Square preserves integrity.

Triangle recognizes the reality of conflict.

Only when all three are present together does nonviolence become real rather than imagined

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