Each of the fish has one eye the color of its companion and they appear to be identical twins and at the same time polar opposites. There is some of each to be found in the other. What is-is not. This impossible statement is, of course, a Zen koan. A riddle, without logical answer, designed to be a focal point of meditation and contemplation.
Every koan has a solution that results from being, feeling, and doing.
This particular riddle is the crux of the contradictions that I have been recounting here. It sums up many of the paradoxes that I have already mentioned as well as several larger, more all-encompassing aspects of martial arts study. The ultimate paradox of Karate-do is its reconciliation of visceral warrior and peaceful idealist. I feel, at this point in my training, that I can almost grasp how such a deadly discipline could spring up from a mixture of ancient religious temples and secret warrior training and ultimately be shaped by men who were, first and foremost, philosophers. However, I still have feelings of wanting to prove myself against an opponent even though I know that scoring a point is only the outward display of my internal discipline.