Quotes by Martial Artists - Page 5

A club hurts the flesh, but evil words hurt the bone. -Traditional Chinese Proverb
Matthew Polly
I envision a world in which the vast majority of us are actively striving toward our potential by serving others through mediums we are most passionate.
Chris Matakas
Words make the intangible aspects of human experience communicable, and a single sentence can shatter our world view and assist us in the formulation of a new one.
Chris Matakas
The spirit of the individual is determined by his dominating thought habits.
Bruce Lee
The rare opportunity to exist, no matter how brief, is worth the pain left in the wake of its disappearance.
Chris Matakas
Jiu Jitsu is the vehicle. Not the road.
Chris Matakas
Bring the mind into sharp focus and make it alert so that it can immediately intuit truth, which is everywhere. The mind must be emancipated from old habits, prejudices, restrictive thought processes and even ordinary thought itself.
Bruce Lee
The greatest effects we have on the world are the ones we can never see.
Chris Matakas
You can't improve anything if you don't first know what needs to be improved.
Bohdi Sanders
Basically, if the mind stays in the present, it’s impossible to worry. Upon careful consideration, it becomes clear that human beings are capable of worrying only about an event that has already transpired or one that may take place in the future (although the occurrence might have just happened or may be about to happen in the next instant). The present moment contains no time or space for worry.
H.E. Davey
All teachings are mere references. The true experience is living your own life. Then, even the holiest of words are only words.
Ming-Dao Deng
Wherever it is you may be, it is your friends who make your world.
Chris Bradford
It is a shock to many college graduates that their segway into the real world is one of obligation, profound debt, and countless sacrifices of the soul.
Chris Matakas
Systems and processes will always surpass motivation.
Chris Matakas
Anyone who has ever achieved anything has been a steward of his potential.
Chris Matakas
Your loyalty to friends and family should have no limit, although it may be expressed in ways that others cannot understand.
Bohdi Sanders
The more specifically you define your goals the more attainable they become.
Chris Matakas
I believe that which you study is only matched in importance by the sincerity with which you approach it.
Chris Matakas
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
The young should not think of themselves as immature and the elderly need not view themselves as feeble. Our minds control our bodies. Have no age, transcend both past and future, and enter into naka-ima—the “eternal present.
H.E. Davey
The very fact that you can observe this thinking mind is proof that you are not this thinking mind.
Chris Matakas
It is important to realize that we so often define ourselves by what is in opposition to ourselves.
Chris Matakas
Contained within a given lesson or particular technique is the essence of all techniques. You imitate and study a particular form to grasp the universal principles that allow the technique to work in the first place and that will finally enable you to transcend the form itself to discover the formless.
H.E. Davey
In Chinese business culture, humility is a virtue.
Stefan H. Verstappen
Physical training is mental warfare!
Tae Yun Kim
By means of personal experimentation and observation, we can discover certain simple and universal truths. The mind moves the body, and the body follows the mind. Logically then, negative thought patterns harm not only the mind but also the body. What we actually do builds up to affect the subconscious mind and in turn affects the conscious mind and all reactions.
H.E. Davey
If you have a good idea, use it so that you will not only accomplish something, but so that you can make room for new ones to flow into you.
Ming-Dao Deng
Mastery, to whatever degree your circumstance allows, is determined by a handful of choices repeated daily.
Chris Matakas
If you don't want to slip up tomorrow, speak the truth today.
Bruce Lee
Emotional baggage,” which is carried over from the past, colors our perceptions. Likewise, past conclusions and beliefs, based on reasoning that may or may not have been accurate, also tint our perception of reality. Retaining our capacity for reason is common sense, but definite conclusions and beliefs keep us from seeing life as it really is at any given moment.Emotional reactions can be unreasonable, and reason can be flawed. It’s difficult to have deep confidence in either one, especially when they’re often at war with each other. But the universal mind exists in the instant, in a moment beyond time, and it sees the universe as it literally is. It’s the universe perceiving itself. It is, moreover, something we can have absolute confidence in, and with that confidence, we can maintain a genuinely positive attitude.
H.E. Davey
. . . most martial artists want to know how A technique is done, A seasoned Sensei will demonstrate why
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
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
Real Martial Arts is Mathematics, Physics, Poetry; Meditation in Action
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
The innate harmony that exists between mind and body is one of the secrets behind the amazing power of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, which is weakened by an inefficient use of the body. Our bodies must be strong, relaxed, and healthy to respond to our minds’ commands.
H.E. Davey
I am acutely aware that all I have been able to achieve has been in large part due to circumstances outside my control. This is why I teach, and this is why I write. I want to be one of those opportunities for others. Perhaps this is the true measure of success.
Chris Matakas
Yellow is a very favorable vibration for mental or intellectual activity, as it promotes a clear state of mind. Yellow heightens your awareness and alleviates depression, sadness, or any kind of despondency. Yellow vibration foods are: pineapples, bananas, grapefruit, lemons and corn.
Tae Yun Kim
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
The essence of warrior traits are demonstrated by : integrity with self, and honesty with others
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
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
It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.
Bruce Lee
Life is always easier when lived for others, and living for others is the best way I know to live for yourself.
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
Orange strengthens your emotional body, encouraging a general feeling of joy, well-being, and cheerfulness. Orange vibration foods are: oranges, tangerines, apricots, mangoes, peaches and carrots.
Tae Yun Kim
In Buddhism, there is no place for using effort. Just be ordinary and nothing special. Eat your food, move your bowels, pass water and when you're tired go and lie down. The ignorant will laugh at me, but the wise will understand.
Bruce Lee
When you express "purity" which is the truth about yourself, you feel a love for yourself that is expressed by self-respect, self-esteem, and self-confidence!
Tae Yun Kim
The essential quality of living life lies simply in the living.
Bruce Lee
But willpower is necessary only where _ability_ to do is lacking. Learning ... is not the training of willpower but the acquisition of the skill to inhibit parasitic action and the ability to direct clear motivations as a result of self-knowledge. [Introduction]
Moshé Feldenkrais
Don't make the mistake of underestimating your enemies.
Bohdi Sanders
Never strike out of anger if at all possible, this will give your enemy the advantage and strengthen his resolve and psyche
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
Our past cannot be changed, and to be preoccupied with it is inefficient in time and effort. Likewise, by fretting over the future, we only exhaust ourselves, making us less able to effectively respond when the future is actually upon us. By worrying about a mishap that may or may not take place, we’re forced to undergo the event twice—once when imagining it and once again if and when we actually experience it.
H.E. Davey
A true friend is someone you can count on no matter what.
Bohdi Sanders
Retaining our capacity for reasonis common sense, but definite conclusions and beliefs keep us from seeing life as it really is at any given moment.
H.E. Davey
Language has created a barrier that prevents us from seeing existence as it truly is.
Chris Matakas
I envision a world in which the vast majority of us are actively striving toward our potential as human beings by spending our lives serving others through mediums we are most passionate.
Chris Matakas
Jiu Jitsu opened up doors in my mind that public education had bolted shut. In hindsight, I see just how superficial my thoughts had been prior to this art. It is no coincidence that my efforts in reading and writing have run parallel with this craft. I began training Jiu Jitsu at twenty-two, and at the time of this writing I am about to turn thirty. I have learned more in the past eight years than the previous twenty-two, and have no doubts that Jiu Jitsu opened up my mind in a way traditional organized education never could. Jiu Jitsu gave me a life when I didn't know how to live. It is the best thing I have ever done, and is the foundation upon which all I will do.
Chris Matakas
Self-improvement is generally a removal of a vice rather than an acquisition of a virtue.
Chris Matakas
I would more appropriately define mastery as the technical ability possible within the constraints of your particular existence. It must be noted that this is a subjective definition, and that this degree of mastery would be individual to each of us.
Chris Matakas
I believe the devil exists in those little, seemingly unnoticeable moments when we choose to value our own insecurities over the service of others.
Chris Matakas
The warrior guided by the spirit serves humanity, the warrior without, serves the ego
Soke Behzad Ahmadi
You are the space in which these thoughts arise, but not the thoughts themselves.
Chris Matakas