Signature Quotes: Martial Arts

These are my collection of sig quotes, collected from years of crawling about the Internet. Share and Enjoy...


"Traditionalists often study what is taught, not what there is to create." - Ed Parker, Grandmaster, American Kenpo.
"If you don't realize you can kill someone with a bokken, I don't want you using one in MY dojo..." - Frederick J. Lovret
"The fastest draw is when the sword never leaves the scabbard,
The strongest way to block, is never to provoke a blow,
And the cleanest cut is the one withheld."
"The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants." -- Master Gichin Funakoshi
"Karate is a defensive art from beginning to end" - Gichin Funakoshi
"Knowledge does not grow like a tree where you dig a hole, plant your feet, cover them with dirt, and pour water on them daily. Knowledge grows with time, work, and dedicated effort. It cannot come by any other means." -- Ed Parker.
"The Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) were conquered and united into one kingdom. To insure his rule, the king confiscated and banned possession of weapons by people other than his troops. A second ban on weapons was instituted by Japanese conquerors approximately 200 years later. These two incidents are generally credited as the cause for the intense development of the emptyhanded fighting techniques..." -- Special Forces (USA) manual ST 31-204
My instructor once told me that the first five dan ranks come for what you've gotten out of the system, the next ranks come for what you've given back.
"You may train for a long time, but if you merely move your hands and feet and jump up and down like a puppet, learning karate is not very different from learning a dance. You will never have reached the heart of the matter; you will have failed to grasp the quintessence of karate-do." - Gichin Funakoshi
"We tottered together upon the brink of the fall. I have some knowledge, however, of baritsu, or the Japanese system of wrestling...I slipped through his grip..." The Return of Sherlock Holmes
The FAQ that can be read is not the True FAQ
The answers that can be posted are not the True Answers.
The Superior Man hears not the whining of newbies
and is not singed by the flames of the Net.
Belts do not bind him, nor trophies burden him.
Discarding all, he gains all, and follows the Way.
Got any spare change, pal?
-- Lao-tzu, as paraphrased on rec.martial-arts
"Aikido is not a defensive martial art. Being defensive is a terrible way to go through life." -quote on a dojo wall. This means be proactive. It does not mean hit first.
"An unwillingness to deal forcibly with violence does not equate to moral rectitude." -- Mary Malmros
"It should be easy to spot a black belt in a crowd, s/he should walk like a Marine on roller skates" - Fredrick Lovret
I am a Cobra And these Words are my Venom And through My Magickal Lore
I shall capture your Mind And Spew My Poison into Your Eyes Then My world
will become Your world And You Shall Die
-- Some Twit on rec.martial-arts who let his Prozac perscription run out.
"We staunch traditionalists know that appearence is everything. Technique is nowhere near as important as having your pleats straight when you die" -- Steve Gombosi
"When in trouble or in doubt, Cut down all who move about." -- Frederick J. Lovret
"When in doubt, knock 'em out" - "Big" Vinny Girolamo - NY Hell's Angels
Never leave an enemy standing. -- Shaka Zulu (the original one, King of the Zulu Nation...not the American karate instructor who appropriated his name)
He who hesitates, meditates in the horizontal position. -- Edmund K. Parker
"When pure knuckles meet pure flesh, that's pure Karate, no matter who executes it or whatever style is involved." -- Ed Parker
"When two tigers fight, one is certain to be maimed, and one to die." -- Master Funakoshi
"Of those who start TaeKwonDo training, only about 5% stick with it until they achieve the Black Belt Rank. Then perhaps 80% of those who earn a Black stop there." (Duk Sung Son, Black Belt Korean Karate)
"1-2 out of every 100 students reach Black Belt and of those only 1 out of every 1,000 achieves his 2nd Dan. (Masutatsu Oyama, This is Karate.)
"We are creating a fighting force of extra-ordinary measure! We forge our bodies in the spirit of our ancestors." - Kentucky Fried Movie: Fistfull of Yen.
"The Time to Strike is When the Opportunity Presents Itself." -- 6th Code of Isshinryu Karatedo
"Hoping to see karate included in the universal physical education taught in our public schools, I set about revising the kata so as to make them as simple as possible. Times change, the world changes, and obviously the martial arts must change too. The karate that high school students practice today is not the same karate that was practiced even as recently as ten years ago [this book was written in 1956], and it is a long way indeed from the karate I learned when I was a child in Okinawa."
-- Gichin Funakoshi, in his book "Karate-do: My Way of Life" (page 35-36):
"It's not just self defense, it's about...self control, body discipline, and mind discipline...and breath techniques. It involves yoga. It involves meditation. It's an art, not a sport." - Elvis Presley.
The Art of Peace is medicine for a sick world. There is evil and disorder in the world, because people have forgotten that all things emanate from one source. Return to that source and leave behind all self-centered thoughts, petty desires, and anger. Those who are possessed by nothing possess everything. -- Morihei Ueshiba
"The teaching of one virtuous person can influence many; that which has been learned well by one generation can be passed on to a hundred." -- Jigoro Kano (1860-1938)
"Follow not in the footsteps of the masters, but rather seek what they sought"
If you can't beat your computer at chess, try kick-boxing.
"'Ow' is not a Kempo word" -- Jonathan Vance
"That which does not kill us, must have missed us." -- Miowara Tomokata
"Unarmed hand-to-hand fighting does not change through the ages; only the name changes, and it has only one rule: do it first, do it fast, do it dirtiest."  -- Robert A. Heinlein, Sci-fi author
Under the sword lifted high
There is hell making you tremble:
But go ahead,
And you have the land of bliss.
-- Miyamoto Musahshi
Deja Fu: The feeling that somehow, somewhere, you've been kicked in the head like this before.
"All Martial Artists are beginners; Some of us have just been beginning longer!" -- J.R. West
"One of the most striking features of karate is that it may be engaged in by anybody, young or old, strong or weak, male or female." -- Gichin Funakoshi's Karate-Do: My Way of Life
"Kempo fits itself to you, not the other way around." -- Shaolin Kempo Grandmaster Fred Villari
"What is simulation? It is the artful-science of profiting from experience in advance. That is the purpose of kata and sparring. Practice is profiting from experience in advance." - American Goju Grandmaster Peter Urban
"Do not get into a fight if you can possibly avoid it, but never hit soft. Don't ever hit a man unless you must, but if you hit him, put him to sleep." -- Theodore Roosevelt
The reason why Kajukenbo practitioners wear black gis is "you didn't have to wash it as often and it hid the blood stains better!" -- Kajukenbo founder Grandmaster Adriano Emperado
A dog at play has the mind of a wise martial arts master; a mind capable of perfect focus." -- Marc-Christophe
"Firm footwork is the fount from which springs all offense and defense." -- Giacomo diGrasse, 1570
"When an old man is able to defeat many attackers, how could it be due to his strength." -- Wang Chung Yueh
Two hands are two doors. It takes footwork to open the door.
"Karate is a form of martial arts in which people who have had years and years of training can, using only their hands and feet, make some of the worst movies in the history of the world." -- Dave Barry
"Strategy is the craft of the warrior." -- Miyamoto Musashi
I am undefeated in all of Asia. Of course, I have never fought in any of Asia. Which pretty much guarantees I'm undefeated there.
"Do not covet illustrious titles and certificates; practice your technique and adhere to the Way, for the wind will not read." -- F. L. Lovret
That which does not kill us, sets up a counterpunch.
"Talk is cheap, pain says so much more..." -- Old bugei proverb
Sensei will give you the first fish,
but if you ask for more,
he'll give you a fishing pole.
Hit something hard with something soft. Hit something soft with something hard.
"In true budo there is no enemy or opponent. True budo is to become one with the universe, not train to become powerful or to throw down some opponent. Rather we train in hopes of being of some use, however small our role may be, in the task of bringing peace to mankind around the world." - Morihei Ueshiba
"The black belt is not a mark or symbol of the end of the journey to ones mastery of the arts; rather it is the mark that one is done packing for their journey and may now take the first step in their true journey. This a journey which can not ever be complete, only traveled..."
TKD just is Shotokan with with serial numbers filed off and aggressive marketing...
"I tried a very fancy attack I'd learned in France, which involved a beat, a feint in quarte, a feint in sixte, and a lunge veering off into an attack on his wrist. I nicked him, and the blood flowed." -- Corwin, Nine Princes in Amber
"They speak of "This Dojo" and "That Dojo". They are looking for profit." -- The Book of Five Rings.
"Cry in the dojo. Laugh on the battlefield." -- Samurai Maxim
"I'm just tired of seeing the same stupid threads resurrected by the same kind of know-it-all newbies every 3 months. In another couple of weeks, it'll be the "Gracies can lick anybody" thread, followed by the "invincible streetfighter" thread, followed by the "Bruce Lee is God" thread, etc., etc. I don't own a gun, but every time I hear Pat Robertson or Jesse Helms I thank God for the Second Amendment." -- post made around rec.martial-arts, December 9, 1992
"To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders." -- Lao-Tzu
A black belt is nothing more than a belt that goes around your waist. Being a black belt is a state of mind and attitude.
Even though surrounded
By several enemies set to attack,
Fight with the thought
That they are but one. -- Ueshiba Sensei
Ars sine scientia nihil est
Skill without knowledge is worthless.
"Killing with the point lacks artistry, but don't let that hold your hand when the opening presents itself." -- Dune
"Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick." -- Bruce Lee
"A good backfist really can never be overrated." -- Billy Chaka, Hokkaido Popsicle
The most powerful weapon is the undrawn sword.
Martial Arts help develop patience, responsibility and self-descipline. -- Oleg Volk
"A continuous development of the mind is essential to success in the martial arts." -- Shaolin Kempo Great Grandmaster Fred Villari
The bully is looking for a victim and not a challenge.
"The requirements for each level vary in each Karate style and in each dojo according to the sensei's standards, which reflect the degree of perfection which he demands of himself." -- American Goju Grandmaster Peter Urban
"What is the difference between a teacher and an instructor? An instructor indoctrinates. A teacher causes one to discover new knowledge on a daily basis even between lesson-sessions." -- American Goju Grandmaster Peter Urban
"Kempo is for the street first; everything else is secondary." -- Professor William .K.S. Chow
"Nothing is more harmful to the world than a martial art that is not effective in actual self-defense." -- Motobu Choki
"The wood should fear your hand--not the other way around. No wonder you can't do it--you acquiesce to defeat before you even begin." -- Pai Mai
"The man whose profession is arms should calm his mind and look into the depths of others. Doing so is likely the best of the martial arts." -- Shiba Yoshimasa
"Its weird how people just take what someone else developed and try to claim it as their own."
yea, totally. like how japanese karate is really White Crane from China. lol, i know exactly what you mean. -- From some online MA forum
"Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft!" -- Theodore Roosevelt
"When you are wrestling for possession of a sword, the man with the handle always wins." -- Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash
Let your stillness be as the wooded glen. And sit up straight. You'll never meet the Buddha with posture like that.
"I fear not the man who has practiced 1,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 1,000 times." -- Bruce Lee
I am seeking sparring partner. Any level. Looking for blondes or redhead. 5'2" to 5'9". Between 115-135 weight class. Females between 17-30 only need apply. Will extensively work on grappling.
"Don't think - feel. It is like a finger pointing out to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory." -- Bruce Lee, Enter the Dragon
"Gouging of the eyes is as a much a part of Karate as in Seiken; however, very few students practice it." -- Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, "What is Karate"
"A martial artist is always sore, but never bored."
"The whole secret of the actual force of a terrific punch is in its timing, coordinated, of course, with the accuracy of its aim." -- Bruce Lee
"In practice, never allow speed to replace good form."
"Always restomp the groin." -- Master Ken
"The karate that has spread to Tokyo is incomplete. Those who believe that karate consists only of kicks and punches, and think throws and joint locks are exclusive to judo or jujitsu, have been misinformed. We should have an open mind and strive to study the complete art." -- Kenwa Mabuni 1889-1952
"Karate has no philosophy. Some poeple think it came from Buddhism and has a connection with the space and universe, but I don't belive in that. My philosophy is to knock my opponent out with a single blow!" -- Mikio Yahara
"Many karate instructors today teach a watered down style - no hip action and shallow punching. It's easy to say that these teachers have no depth to their knowledge." -- Yuchoku Higa (1910 - 1994)
"There is no glory in practice, but without practice, there is no glory."
"...the grand secret of defense - economy of motions." -- Self-Defense for Gentlemen and Ladies by Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery
"You should not have special fondness for a particular weapon, nor anything else for that matter. You should have as much weaponry as suits you." -- Miyamoto Musashi
"Good timing is invisble. Bad timing sticks out a mile." -- Tony Corinda
"There were two kinds of men who carried karambits. Morons who liked to spin them around and show off who were more likely to cut themselves than their opponents, or psycho knife fighters who were really good at hooking limbs and severing tendons." -- Larry Corriea, Monster Hunter Bloodlines
Flowing like water,
Shaolin Kempo strikes with grace,
Martial art beauty.
Effortless motions,
Aikijitsu's joint techniques,
Subduing with ease.
Two blades dance in flight,
A deadly storm of petals,
Death comes in pairs.
"You don't have to be flashy, you have to be fundamental." -- Joe Lewis
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