These are from various sources and as far as the webmaster knows are in the Public Domain.
There was a student studying the martial arts.
One day the student asked his instructor how long it would take to achieve the rank of black belt.
The instructor responded that it would take two years. The student then asked how long it would
take to advance to black belt if he practised twice as hard and twice as long every day.
The instructor responded that it would take four years.
Puzzled, the student then asked how long it would take to advance to black belt if he practised four
times as hard and four times as long every day.
The instructor responded that it would take eight years.
Even more puzzled, the student then asked how long it would take to advance to black belt if he
practised eight times as hard and eight times as long every day.
The instructor responded that it would take sixteen years.
The student, feeling very frustrated at this point, asked why it would take longer to earn a black
belt when he was trying harder and practising constantly to earn it.
The instructor responded "If you have one eye constantly on the black belt, that only leaves one eye
to focus on what you are currently learning."
The point to take from this is don't get too caught up in thinking about the next belt after the one
you are preparing for, but to keep your focus where it belongs and be the best at the level you are
currently at. Everything you learn is the foundation for what you will learn next.
Build strong foundations and strive for excellence in what you are doing at this moment.
Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Do not set your goals by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.
Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.
Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past nor for the future.
By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.
Do not give up when you have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
It is fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Do not be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold it to tightly.
Do not dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope.
To be without hope is to be without purpose.
Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been but also where you are going.
Life is not a race but a journey to be savoured each step of the way.
"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, the founder of Judo (1860-1938)
"Follow not in the footsteps of the masters, but rather seek what they sought"
"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
"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."
"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..."
"There are two rules for being successful in Martial Arts.
Rule 1: Never tell others everything you know."
"a one sided martial artist is a blind martial artist"-unknown
"Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to go to his class."
Choi, Hong Hi Founder of Taekwon-Do
"He who hesitates, meditates in a horizontal position" -Ed Parker
"Physical boards are easy to break, it's the mental ones we struggle with."~anom.
"A punch should stay like a treasure in the sleeve. It should not be used indiscrimately."
~ Master Chotoku Kyan
"Truth is universal. Perception of truth is not."
"No one nation or people has a monopoly on the sun and no one art or system has a monopoly on truth."
- Mike Casto
"You are reconsidering your training, or perhaps even contemplating beginning a new system.
You have been told by the teacher that to obtain proficiency, you may have to train hard for
the next two to three years.You begin to wonder if all of that time out of your life is really worth it.
No matter what your choice is, your going end up there anyway in two to three years with or without the training."
- Michael R. Boyce
"Seeing once is better than hearing a thousand times." - Jae Ho Sim
"Practice does not make perfect; but instead a good practitioner."
Nat Peat Sensei. (Yudansha Kobu-Jitsu Karate-do Federation)
"To become great with your art; you must first sacrifice who you are."
Nat Peat Sensei (Yudansha Kobu-Jitsu Karate-do Federation)
"There are no bad martial arts; there are only bad teachers."
Nat Peat Sensei (Yudansha Kobu-Jitsu Karate-do Federation)
"Humility, Patience, Self Control, Awareness and Self discipline should
always be before Self Defence." Nat Peat Sensei (Yudansha Kobu-Jitsu Karate-do Federation)
"It's only through determination that we accomplish great things"
Nat Peat Sensei (Yudansha Kobu-Jitsu Karate-do Federation)
"Determination and drive are the things that awaken the creative potential that exist within us"
Nat Peat Sensei (Yudansha Kobu-Jitsu Karate-do Federation)
"The foundations of a style should be like the roots of a tree; it should always have
a good lineage, if not, the foundation may give way when the tree is rocked."
Nat Peat Sensei (Yudansha Kobu-Jitsu Karate-do Federation)
"Kata (Form) should be worked Comprehensively, Carefully and Completely"
Nat Peat Sensei (Yudansha Kobu-Jitsu Karate-do Federation)
"Bunkai (application) is like a tree; its has many branches.
There are many different applications that sprout up from one base"
Nat Peat Sensei (Yudansha Kobu-Jitsu Karate-do Federation)
Quotes to motivate your training
It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up. ~ Vince Lombardi
The harder you train, the harder it is to surrender. ~ Vince Lombardi
Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself ~ Chinese Proverb
If you can imagine it, you can achieve it: If you can dream it, you can become it. ~ William Arthur Ward
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. ~ Jim Ryun
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. ~ Lao-Tzu
Quotes about how to train
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. ~ Confucius
Remember ... you are expressing the technique, not doing the technique ~ Bruce Lee
The greatest power is often simple patience ~ E. Joseph Cossman
Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted ~ David Bly
Quotes about how to live the Martial Arts Way
Nobody can hurt me without my permission. ~ Mohandas Gandhi
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. ~ Confucius
Given enough time, any man may master the physical. With enough knowledge,
any man may become wise. It is the true warrior who can master both....and surpass the result.
~ Tien T'ai
I dislike death, however, there are some things I dislike more than death.
Therefore, there are times when I will not avoid danger.
~ Mencius
Mental bearing (calmness), not skill, is the sign of a matured samurai.
A Samurai therefore should neither be pompous nor arrogant. ~ Tsukahara Bokuden.
Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is why so few engage in it ~ Henry Ford
When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you. ~ Lao-Tzu
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. ~ Lao-Tzu
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love. ~ Lao-Tzu
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength;
loving someone deeply gives you courage. ~ Lao-Tzu
Quotes for Warriors and Fighters
Boards don't hit back. ~ Bruce Lee
Some Warriors look fierce, but are mild. Some seem timid, but are vicious.
Look beyond appearances; position yourself for the advantage.
~ Deng Ming-Dao
The dance of battle is always played to the same impatient rhythm.
What begins in a surge of violent motion is always reduced to the perfectly still. ~ Sun Tzu
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.
Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
~ Sun Tzu
The obstacle is the path ~ Zen Proverb
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
"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
"Firm footwork is the fount from which springs all offence and defence."
-- 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.
"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 counter punch.
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.
"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.
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 Grandmaster Fred Villari
The bully is looking for a victim and not a challenge.
The Difference Between Strength And Courage
It takes strength to be firm.
It takes courage to be gentle.
It takes strength to stand guard.
It takes courage to let down your guard.
It takes strength to conquer,
It takes courage to surrender.
It takes strength to be certain.
It takes courage to have doubt.
It takes strength to fit in.
It takes courage to stand out.
It takes strength to feel a friend's pain.
It takes courage to feel your own pain.
It takes strength to hide feelings.
It takes courage to show them.
It takes strength to endure abuse.
It takes courage to stop it.
It takes strength to stand alone.
It takes courage to lean on another.
It takes strength to love.
It takes courage to be loved.
It takes strength to survive.
It takes courage to live.
" Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while,
you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit.
Unfortunately, so is losing." --Vince Lombardi
You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. --Michael Jordan
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. --John Wooden
Most games are lost, not won. --Casey Stengel
The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost.
--George Shultz
Adversity cause some men to break; others to break records. --William A. Ward
Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always
someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you
to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end
requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes
brave men and women to win them. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Success is a journey, not a destination."
"Be decisive, even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong."
Instructions For Life
1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R's: Respect for self Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go some place you've never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
What's the difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to be believable. --Anonymous
People with goals succeed because they know where they're going. --Earl Nightingale
If you expect anyone else to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself first. --Anonymous
Don't worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.
--A message published in the Wall Street Journal
One who makes no mistakes never makes anything. --Anonymous
Sometimes there is no next time, no second chance, no time out, sometimes
...it's now or never.
Attitude: We become what we give ourselves the power to be. Always aim for achievement,
and forget about success. --Helen Hayes
Attitude: The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the
circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them. --George Bernard Shaw
Countless unseen details are often the only difference between mediocre and magnificent. --Anonymous
Excellence: Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise; risking more
than others think is safe. Dreaming more than others think is practical and expecting more
than others think is possible.
Perseverance: On the road to success one thing is certain, there is never a crowd
on the extra mile. --Anonymous
The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital. --Joe Paterno
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. --Robert F. Kennedy
The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost. --George Schultz
Ask not what your team-mates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your team-mates. --Magic Johnson
Courage: What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. --Anonymous
Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal;
nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. --Thomas Jefferson
Every man has his own courage, and is betrayed because he seeks in himself the
courage of other persons. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
Courage is not the absence of fear, But a belief that something else is more important than the fear. --Anon