Martial Arts Quotes

. . . 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

I can think of no more worthwhile aim than pursuing mastery in this craft while transcending one's own limitations.

~ Chris Matakas

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 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

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

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

Out in the field, any connection with home just makes you weaker. It reminds you that you were once civilized, soft; and that can get you killed faster than a bullet through the head.

~ Henry Mosquera

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

The best fighter is never angry.

~ Lao Tzu

Karate is not about techniques and their execution, but about boldness, integrity and fight for justice and common good

~ Soke Behzad Ahmadi

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

We are never truly ourselves as we are mid-roll.

~ Chris Matakas

Justice is rendering each killer that which is his due.

~ Mark M. Derobertis

Have a clear-cut plan on what you wish to improve, and seek opportunities to improve it. The more conscious and honest we can be about our shortcomings, the more strength we will have to improve them. We are going to train hard anyway, we are not going to sweat any more or less. It is simply imperative that the sweat is properly directed.

~ Chris Matakas

Autopilot is great, and removal of thought is one of the highest ideals of training. But removal of thought in the moment must be preceded by purposeful thought beforehand.

~ Chris Matakas

Karate is not A religion, cult or dogma. It is incumbent on every generation of martial artists, to find the weaknesses of the previous generations, not to revere it . . .

~ Soke Behzad Ahmadi

To base your self worth relative to others is to play a losing game. If you are at the bottom, you will be filled with self-loathing. If you are at the top, you will be filled with self-aggrandizement and ego. This will most certainly be one of your greatest obstacles to achieving whatever degree of mastery you are capable.

~ Chris Matakas

Being a samurai is all about selfless service and if the lord abuses the servant, it is no longer a situation of service; it becomes the situation of a victim. It is never acceptable for a samurai to be a victim. It is never acceptable to allow a lord to abuse you or rob you of your dignity. In such a situation, it is acceptable to walk away.

~ Alexei Maxim Russell

The historic beauty of BJJ rests not with its ability to allow a smaller man to maim a larger man, but with its ability to allow any man of any size to survive.

~ Cameron Conaway

Being like a rock wall is when a master of martial arts suddenly becomes like a rock wall, inaccessible to anything at all, immovable.

~ Miyamoto Musashi

The highest aim was never to master Jiu Jitsu, it was to master myself.

~ Chris Matakas

True mastery, it turns out, is not found in accumulating each and every tool under the sun. True mastery is learning that there are really only a handful of tools, and it is the proper application with correct timing and setting that makes them so useful.

~ Chris Matakas

If you are fortunate enough to have a particular activity with which you find greatest joy and technical success, it is your responsibility as a growing human being to continue that study. Whatever your endeavor, if you can expand upon the knowledge in your strongest subject, that new found understanding of all things will trickle down to every other area of your life.

~ Chris Matakas

We must remember that regardless of our differences in rank we are all equal as human beings. You can always tell how caring and compassionate others are in their actions towards those below them. Of course you are going to treat your black belt professor kindly, but how do you treat the white belt taking their first class? In spite of the division in belt rank there must be no division as people.

~ Chris Matakas

Consistently failing is nothing more than an indication that you are progressing. The more we fail the farther we will see. Failure is not an option, it is the only option. A master is a master because he has had the courage to fail and the wisdom to learn from it.

~ Chris Matakas

Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.

~ Zhuangzi

Preoccupied with a single leaf you won't see the tree.

~ Vagabond

Though we are not together in body, know that I will always be with you in spirit. I will be in the whistling wind and in your dreams. Think of me in the joy of watching snow fall and know that I am thinking of you always.

~ Amy Jarecki

When she straightened, he leaned back in the chair, his eyelids heavy. “My God, woman, you know how to make a man melt.

~ Amy Jarecki

He hadn’t landed on the battlefield to save Christina, at least not entirely. He’d landed there because it was meant to be – because his destiny lay with a bonny woman who would capture his heart and show him honor and respect on a uniquely deep level that had been lost in the twenty-first century.

~ Amy Jarecki

My mum always taught that the truth will set you free.” “Did she now?” “Mm hmm,” Lachlan brushed the pad of his pointer finger over her cheek’s silken skin. “But she kept one truth hidden from me until very recently.” “What was that?” He gulped. “You know the truth thing on the medallion? “Aye.” “Well, if that’s my rallying cry, then it will mean the world to me if you trust that I’m not lying.” She let the disk drop back to his chest. “Ye can tell me anything, I’d reckon.” He needed to tell her the truth. “My father is – was William Wallace.

~ Amy Jarecki

Before Christina could stop herself, her gaze dipped lower. Holy saints, the outline of his manhood stretched the cloth taut. She’d never seen a man so well endowed. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her hand against her forehead and tried not to swoon while she forced herself to snap her gaze to his face. “They’re braies, not box-ers.” She bent down, picked up his blue ones and held them up. “Ye ken?” “Right, bra-ie-s,” he said as if it were a new word for him. “How do you keep them up?

~ Amy Jarecki

God, you’re beautiful,” he growled while his cock throbbed with need. “Ye keep telling me that and ye’ll have me believing it,” she said with the sexiest, most breathless voice he’d ever heard. His fingers sank into her supple flesh. Her breasts were so full, so pliable, he craved to have his mouth on them, craved to suckle her nipples and listen to every soft moan. “You’d best believe me, because whenever you’re near, I feel like a caveman.” “A wild beast?” He nearly roared. “The wildest imaginable.

~ Amy Jarecki

There is no such thing as a fair fight.

~ Bohdi Sanders

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.

~ Maya Angelou

Martial Arts does not teach you how to fight, it teaches you why not to.

~ Lakshya Bharadwaj

The sword is a handle onto the Way of the world that is offering itself to you. If you are willful it will weigh a ton and wear you out. If you lose focus it will cut open your hand. Mindfulness keeps your mind on the blade; and if you are mindful you will not think about the future or past, there will be no blocks to the flow of Tao, and the Way of the world will flow through the sword and through you. You will become the sword of the world.

~ Doc Pruyne

Anyone can be tough for a season. It takes a special kind of human to rise to life's challenges for a lifetime.

~ Chris Matakas