Gichin Funakoshi
Antidote To March Madness
If you happen to live in the U.S. of A. you know that there is hardly a way around March Madness.
Well, how about a healthy antidote without any known negative side effects and no FDA approval needed?
Yep, martial arts quotes. Some will make you think and others will make you smile.
Enjoy!
“A warrior may choose pacifism; others are condemned to it.” – Author unknown
“Don’t hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit softly.
“- Theodore Roosevelt
“Cry in the dojo. Laugh on the battlefield.”
- Author unknown
“Each of us has his cowardice. Each of us is afraid to lose, afraid to die. But hanging back is the way to remain a coward for life. The Way to find courage is to seek it on the field of conflict. And the sure way to victory is willingness to risk one’s own life.” – Mas Oyama (Kyokushin Karate)
“He who hesitates, meditates in a horizontal position.” – Ed Parker (American Kenpo)
“Do or do not, there is no try.” – Yoda (Jedi Arts)
“Always be able to kill your students.” – Masaaki Hatsumi (Bujinkan Ninjutsu)
“A good martial artist does not become tense but ready, not thinking but yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come.” - Bruce Lee
“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” - Muhammad Ali
“Courage is being afraid, but then doing what you have to do anyway.” - Rudy Giuliani
“The one who has conquered himself is a far greater hero than he who has defeated a thousand times a thousand men.” - The Dhammapada
“Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill
“Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts.” – Winston Churchill
“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” - Napoleon Bonaparte
“The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.” - Navy SEALs
“Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered, those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win.” - O Sensei Ueshiba
“The measure of a man is not in how he gets knocked to the mat, it is in how he gets up.” - Unknown, but could have been me. Really.
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” - Mahatma Gandhi
“You carry on no matter what the obstacles. You simply refuse to give up … and, when the going gets tough, you get tougher. And you win.” - Vince Lombardi
“If you’ll not settle for anything less than your best, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives.” - Vince Lombardi
“No one can defeat us unless we first defeat ourselves.” - Dwight Eisenhower
Some Great Martial Arts Quotes
I found some quotes that begin with Bruce Lee and end with Bruce Lee. Enjoy!
To me, the extraordinary aspect of martial arts lies in its simplicity. The easy way is also the right way, and martial arts is nothing at all special; the closer to the true way of martial arts, the less wastage of expression there is.
- Bruce Lee
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
Aikido is not a defensive martial art. Being defensive is a terrible way to go through life.This means be proactive. It does not mean hit first.
- Dojo wall
The ultimate aim of karate-do lies not in victory or defeat,
but in the perfection of the character of its participants.”
- Gichin Funakoshi
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.”
- Rick English
The art of the sword consists of never being concerned with victory or defeat, with strength or weakness, of not moving one step forward, nor one step backward, or the enemy not seeing me and my not seeing the enemy. Penetrating to that which is fundamental before the separation of heaven and earth where even yin and yang cannot reach, one instantly attains proficiency in the art.
- Takuan
He who knows not and knows not he knows not, He is a fool- Shun him. He who knows not and knows he knows not, He is simple- Teach him. He who knows and knows not he knows, He is asleep- Awaken him. He who knows and knows that he knows, He is wise- follow him.
- Bruce Lee
Truth has no path. Truth is living and, therefore, changing. Awareness is without choice, without demand, without anxiety; in that state of mind, there is perception. To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. Awareness has no frontier; it is giving of your whole being, without exclusion.
- Bruce Lee
The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
Thanks again for stopping by and sharing your keen interest in martial arts and related topics.
Another week has flown by and it’s time for The Week In Review.
Enjoy!
Learn The Muay Thai Clinch From Walter “Sleeper” Michalowksi Also Known As Neck Wrestling Demonstrated By A True Professional
FREE: 5 Unique Pushups To Elevate Your Training Program Just About Anywhere, Anytime And Without Any Equipment
“Karate, The Art Of Empty Hand Fighting” By Hidetaka Nishiyama The Best-Selling Karate Book Turns 50 This Year!
Another Glimpse Of Astonishing Filipino Martial Arts This FMA Master Uses Not A Stick, Not A Knife, But A Horse Whip!!
Wing Chun: Chi Sao, Also Known As Sticky Hands A highly important exercise for anybody serious about Wing Chun Kung Fu.
The Talented Mr. BJ Penn, aka ‘The Prodigy’ Learn More About The UFC-Lightweight Champion From Hilo, Hawaii And Most Probably One Of The Best Fighters Of All Time.
Enjoy your Sunday!
“Karate, The Art Of Empty Hand Fighting” By Hidetaka Nishiyama
An absolute karate classic turns 50 this year!
I am talking about the a book that is regarded as THE text book when it comes to Karate Do and the way it was meant to be interpreted, performed and lived.
“Karate, The Art Of Empty Hand Fighting” by Hidetaka Nishiyama was published in 1960 and today it is still the best selling karate text book in history.
Nishiyama Sensei started his karate training under the founder of Shotokan, Gichin Funakoshi, at the age of 15.
By the age of 18 he was a 1st degree black belt and two years later he was a Nidan.
When he was only 24 years old, he was already training U.S. military of Strategic Air Command and just a year later he was invited to tour and teach Shotokan karate on U.S. mainland military bases.
In 1960, “Karate, The Art Of Empty Hand Fighting” was published.
Throughout the years or better decades, Nishiyama Sensei taught and promoted martial arts and Shotokan Karate in specific.
His lifelong work was recognized through numerous awards and honors in the U.S. and overseas.
Nishiyama Sensei (10th Dan) died in 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
R.I.P., Nishiyama Sensei.














