This book is about the First Black Belt level of the martial art Shim Gum Do. Shim Gum Do means Mind Sword Path. It is an original Zen Art that integrates the practice and principles of Zen Buddhism with the action meditation of martial art practice. This book is the authoritative text on how the Zen experience is fully integrated into the nature and practice of Shim Gum Do. The author is Shim Gum Do Founding Master Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim who is the absolute authority on Shim Gum Do. This book is divided into three sections: Part One - The History of Shim Gum Do, Part Two - The First Star Black Belt of Shim Gum Do Zen Sword Course Material and Part Three - The Mind Sword Path of Shim Gum Do. Part One is the life story of Zen Master Chang Sik Kim. This section tells the story of his early life and how he met his teacher and entered the Hwa Gye Sa Zen Buddhist temple in Seoul, Korea. Zen Master Kim shares the personal journey of his enlightenment and discovery of Shim Gum Do, the Mind Sword Path. Also included in Part One is Zen Master Kim s complete Dharma lineage that began with Shakyamuni Buddha and includes the renowned Zen Master Bodhidharma. Part Two details the traditions and formalities of the Shim Gum Do practice. The nine courses of the First Star Black Belt of Shim Gum Do Zen Sword are explained step by step, including descriptions of the Sword Basic Forms; the techniques and sequence of Sword Forms #1 through #15; the Sword Fighting Forms #1 through #7; and the requirements for taking the First Star Black Belt Test. Numerous photographic images accompany the narrative in Part Two. Part Three contains the Proclamation of Shim Gum Do, which explains Shim Gum Do s Doctrine and reflects its spirit. This document describes the direct correlation of Shim Gum Do to Zen Buddhist doctrine and Dharma. This section also sets forth the entire Shim Gum Do martial art system and its thirty-three Star Levels. Shim Gum Do Founding Master Great Zen Master Chang Sik Kim is the 79th Patriarch of his Dharma lineage that began with Shakyamuni Buddha. Great Zen Master Kim was born in Korea in 1944. He entered a Zen Buddhist Temple in Seoul when he was 13 years old. While on retreat in 1965 he discovered the martial art Shim Gum Do, which translates to mean Mind Sword Path, and attained spiritual enlightenment. He began teaching Shim Gum Do in Korea and came to the United States in 1974. In 1978 he established the American Buddhist Shim Gum Do Association. In 1981 he established Shim Gwang Sa, The Mind Light Temple, in Brighton (a neighborhood of Boston), Massachusetts. Shim Gwang Sa is the main teaching center of Shim Gum Do. In 1991 he established the World Shim Gum Do Association. At Shim Gwang Sa he teaches classes in Shim Gum Do, conducts workshops, and runs a residential training program. He also cooks, works in the temple gardens and around the temple grounds, writes poetry and is a calligraphy artist. He has published 18 poetry books in six different languages. As Shim Gum Do's Founding Master he is the absolute authority on Shim Gum Do.