Quotes by Martial Artists - Page 3

To make a change, you must be: willing to commit, willing to change, willing to have an open mind, and willing to take action!
Tae Yun Kim
Your own thoughts can be your worst enemy!
Tae Yun Kim
Freedom is your birthright!
Tae Yun Kim
Satori - in the awakening from a dream. Awakening and self-realization and seeing into one's own being - these are synonymous.
Bruce Lee
Truth is universal. Perception of truth varies.
Bohdi Sanders
You have become more and therefore expect more, but never become too purpose-driven to step back and realize just how far you have progressed.
Chris Matakas
In the modern world we are surrounded by so much abundance that we cannot see it.
Chris Matakas
I do not begin to think that I could possibly understand its inner-workings and the deepest truths of the cosmos with the 28 years that I have lived in Central New Jersey of the United States of America.
Chris Matakas
. . . for any worthwhile martial arts skill to be pragmatic, it has to be done live, otherwise it is of limited or no use in actual combat
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
Emotion can be the enemy, if you give into your emotion, you lose yourself. You must be at one with your emotions, because the body always follows the mind.
Bruce Lee
This was not uncommon in government-run operations, where a request that someone do their job often induced a catatonic state that might last anywhere from a couple of minutes to an hour.
Matthew Polly
Don't seek to be respected by everyone, rather seek to be worthy of being respected by everyone.
Bohdi Sanders
We have an obligation to ourselves to foster the environment that allows for our self-actualization. Rather than my gifts serving me, I must serve them. I want to be a steward of the best aspects of my character and assist them in their fulfillment through proper discipline and habits.
Chris Matakas
We are never truly ourselves as we are mid-roll.
Chris Matakas
Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
Bruce Lee
In Life There are No Limits, Only Plateaus.
Bruce Lee
Dawn is a precious time of day. It reminds us that every glory must fade, and that all things, cruel or sweet, come to an end.
Simon Higgins
It is important to realize that we so often define ourselves by what is in opposition to ourselves.
Chris Matakas
This constant mental diatribe and the frustrations, worries, insecurities and muscular tension that ensues are the self.
Chris Matakas
That nagging state of constant thought that exists somewhere between the ears and behind the eyes is the self.
Chris Matakas
We tend to view ourselves as this, lying in contradiction with everything that is not ourselves, that.
Chris Matakas
We are the estranged orphans of our nations and tribes, and we now bear the weight not of survival of the group but of personal identity.
Chris Matakas
The knowledge you acquire in an area of study is accompanied by an incalculable ignorance. The farther we get into anything, we learn that we have even farther to go.
Chris Matakas
Your job as a young adult is to become as valuable to the marketplace as you can. Your job as a human is to do so without working a day in your life.
Chris Matakas
Everyone, no matter how historically famous or modernly praised, has no idea about the ultimate truth of what it means to be human.
Chris Matakas
He plays the same game, but for the first time in his life he is truly playing, rather than working, being a human, and this is a vast distinction realized by few.
Chris Matakas
just as a stool requires three legs to stand upright so the taekwondoist must cultivate basic skills, meaningful forms, and effective sparring in order to have both feet firmly planted in the art
Doug Cook
Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else; it'll spread over into the rest of your life. It'll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being... There are NO limits. There are plateus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.
Bruce Lee
The very fact that you can observe this thinking mind is proof that you are not this thinking mind.
Chris Matakas
Karate is not about techniques and their execution, but about boldness, integrity and fight for justice and common good
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style or system.
Bruce Lee
In spite of what most assume, it is surprisingly tough to make the mind and body work together as a unit.
H.E. Davey
In Japanese swordsmanship, it is not uncommon to speak of a unity of mind, body, and sword.
H.E. Davey
A Martial Artist may become A professional fighter but not every Fighter is capable of becoming A martial artist. Martial Arts are about restoration of physical and spiritual balance and fluidity; they are about observing restraints and 'setting example'. Every practice session is A reminder of the play of opposites (yin and yang), . . . .
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
Language has created a barrier that prevents us from seeing existence as it truly is.
Chris Matakas
There is an opportunity cost for everything we do. This is why we must have the awareness to ensure that what we are pursuing is really what we value, because the pursuit leaves countless lost opportunities in its wake. We choose one experience at the sacrifice of all other experiences.
Chris Matakas
A saw by itself holds no value, but when coupled with your labor can clear forests.
Chris Matakas
To react, is to be A slave to someone else's actions. Sometimes, A warrior is faced with the decision to strike pre-emptively, trusting his intuition, wisdom and years of training
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
A threat should never be spoken, your enemy should not be told of your intentions. Either take decisive action or refrain from it, but never threaten
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
It is too facile to say that the way to follow Tao is to simply go along with the flow of life. Sometimes, like the carp, we must know when to go it alone.
Ming-Dao Deng
We may be floating on Tao, but there is nothing wrong with steering. If Tao is like a river, it is certainly good to know where the rocks are.
Ming-Dao Deng
Relationship is understanding. It is a process of self-revelation. Relationship is the mirror in which you discover yourself -- to be is to be related.
Bruce Lee
In Jiu Jitsu, we often fall into the trap of simply trying a technique "harder," rather than recognizing that it is a poorly chosen tool for the task at hand.
Chris Matakas
Imagine a true master of the art, someone with complete skill in every aspect of Jiu Jitsu. This master would not force anything. He would simply allow the roll to take whatever form it does, and in every position would act in the most efficient way based off what the circumstance dictates, and not what he himself prefers.
Chris Matakas
It appears, at least from my perspective, that each and every position in Jiu Jitsu regardless of the seeming complexity is really governed by no more than a handful of minimum viable products. Pursue to understand these essentials, and you will see that complexity is a myth perpetuated by lack of understanding, and it is this understanding which is possible for each of us.
Chris Matakas
We must not learn to try harder. The key is to learn how not to try in the first place.
Chris Matakas
Any advanced student will tell you the best way to recover guard is simply not to get your guard passed in the first place.
Chris Matakas
We can either approach Jiu Jitsu through the lens of the "real world" or we can approach the real world through the lens of Jiu Jitsu. I have found the latter to be far more rewarding.
Chris Matakas
If you follow the classical pattern, you are understanding the routine, the tradition, the shadow -- you are not understanding yourself.
Bruce Lee
I'm moving and not moving at all. I'm like the moon underneath the waves that ever go on rolling and rocking. It is not, "I am doing this," but rather, an inner realization that "this is happening through me," or "it is doing this for me." The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.
Bruce Lee
Grappling with fate is like meeting an expert wrestler: to escape, you have to accept the fall when you are thrown. The only thing that counts is whether you get back up.
Ming-Dao Deng
White is associated with purity because the entire spectrum is functioning in unity. White is a healing color. White is appropriate for weddings because the unity of male and female symbolizes the unity of allness.
Tae Yun Kim
By becoming a black belt, you will become whatever it is you wanted to be in the first place, and Jiu Jitsu will have served its aim.
Chris Matakas
we must remember that the end of personal mastery is service to others.
Chris Matakas
In my own life, I have always viewed personal mastery as simply a medium through which I become capable of providing more service toward my fellow man.
Chris Matakas
I can think of no more worthwhile aim than pursuing mastery in this craft while transcending one's own limitations.
Chris Matakas
In whatever we do, we should be investing in ourselves and not our jobs. Everything I have ever pursued has been for the sole goal of who I was becoming in its achievement. I competed and fought because of the man I became. This is the only worthwhile victory. You cannot take the trophies with you.
Chris Matakas
. . . there are two types of fighters, the former strike all over the place hoping one would land, the latter, assured of their prowess and capabilities, hit once and destroy the opponent's desire to continue the fight
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
Failure leads to a decrease in motivation only when it is accepted as failure. Failure leads students to improve when they see it is a stepping stone on the road to success.
Sang H. Kim
Today's world is flooded with participation trophies. In an attempt to promote equality we have robbed our youth of the most growth-inducing aspect of competition, failing. If you want to be resurrected, you have to first be crucified. Everybody wants to be reborn, but no one is willing to die. Losing, in the context of whatever arena it may be, is a microcosmic death. When we learn from our failures and grow because of them, we are reborn.
Chris Matakas