(Note: During my years training in the warrior arts of my native land I have encountered many people from different walks of life who has shared many of their experiences to me; some more than others. But all of them have influence my warrior philosophy. I now share some of them to you who are willing to listen. Enjoy reading!)
- It is noble to excel man in that which man excels all other animals. (Cicero)
- With words we govern man. (Disraeli)
- Prejudice squints when it looks, and lies when it talks. (Duchess De Abrantes)
- Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the wise cannot see all ends. (J.R.R. Tolkien)
- Courage is found in unlikely of places. (J.R.R. Tolkien)
- Shortcuts make long delays.
- Bring the fight to your enemy.
- Choose the battlefield.
- Hardship has produced extraordinary strength and staying power.
- He that strikes the first blow, if he strikes it hard enough, may need to strike no more.
- Oft evil will shall evil mar.
- Repetition is the mother of character and skill.
- It is always tiring attempting to enlighten the invincibly ignorant.
- Nothing happens by chance.
- Men great of soul can bear the blows of heaven and not flinch. (Homer)
- Fight with honor and you will win.
- Destroy the foe within the body. (Morihei Ueshiba)
- The wind does not wait for the trees to bend.
- Revenge is for fools and madmen.
- The head must sincerely forgive, must willingly eschew hatred on purely experimental ground.... the affection must exorcise the demons of infancy, whether personal or of the race. (Frederick A. Pottle)
- One cannot learn wisdom by sitting at another's feet. One must live one's own life, make one's own mistakes, feel one's own ecstasy to learn the true meaning of existence, for it is different in each individual.
- When those who are whole falter, those who are halt must bear them up.
- The purity of any service lies in those who serve, not in that which they serve.
- My blood seethes with ten thousand battles, my soul resonates to the sweep of the katana, its blade, its fearful shades of steel.
- Duty is the essence of life. It is the only thing which death has no dominion it is true immortality.
- Any being who cannot bear the truth is indeed unworthy.
- It is on the small easily committed error, rather than on any basic flaw in the conception, that most intricate plans crash to their ruin as the mighty vessel on the small but fatal point of rock.
- We were born in the land of the martial spirit. It binds us more powerfully - timelessly - to one another than a blood bond. What has been taught us will never leave us.
- There are occasions when the truth can be sensed more easily than it can be seen.
- Create an enemy for your enemy.
- It is often so in life that we injure our own best interests by precipitate action.
- None are so blind as those who will not see.
- Defficile est tenere quae acceperis nisi exerceas (It is difficult to retain what you may have learned unless you should practice it).
- Timendi causa est nescire (Ignorance is the cause of fear).
- Qui non est hodie cras minus aptus erit (He who is not prepared today will be less so tomorrow).
- Ipsa scientia potestas est (Knowledge itself is power).
- Minima maxima sunt (The smallest things are most important).
- Qui tacet consentire (Who is silent gives consent).
- Nemo dat quod non habet (No one gives what he does not have).
- Ars gratia artis (Art is the reward of art).
- Assiduus usus uni rei deditus et ingenium et artem saepe vincit (Constant practice devoted to one subject often outdoes both intelligence and skill).
Bonitas non est pessimis esse meliorem (It is not goodness to be better than the worst).
- Diligentia maximum etiam mediocris ingeni subsidium (Diligence is a very great help even to a mediocre intelligence).
- Repititio est mater studiorum (Repetition is the mother of studies).
- The evil of man is as inventive as it is immeasurable.
- It is history which must sustain the warrior. History and duty. Nothing more. Myth cannot enter into it, for myth distorts judgment.
- In bujutsu we deal with most serious matters. The defense of life, yes, but that is not all. methods of dealing death occupy us daily and there is, literally, no known number to that catalog. One cannot be taught these things without the concomitant use of responsibility. And myth is the chief eroder of this responsibility.
- The martial spirit is more important than the false humility of modern efforts.
- "Soul" is the by-product of pains and turmoil, know of soft exercises and throw-away belt gradings.
- The man who does not know, yet seeks to know, had discovered that through the seeking and searching for what he had thought to be the goal, had discovered more than what he had intended to.
- The mind and the body should develop together. To work one at the neglect of the other is a mistake. The martial arts offer teachings to develop both.
- Fear is a most effective weapon by a knowing hand.
- Don't teach the art if there are six ears around.
- To conquer is to be aware of one's weakness.
- It is difficult to retain what you may have learned unless you should practice it.
- Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you.
- A word to the wise suffices.
- He who is not prepared today will be less so tomorrow.
- It is more unforgivable to be impolite than to kill a man. Even if the man is one's enemy, politeness must be maintained.
- the artists transcends within himself, and in that lonely region of stress and strife, if he is persevering and fortunate, he finds the term of his appeal. (Joseph Conrad)
- A house divided within cannot stand on its own.
- The quickness of the hand deceives the eye.
- Fights are won not by technique but the most furious minds.
- Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.
- Better mistrust undeserved than rash words.
- Skill is not muscle but timing and timing is merely being in unity, making and then keeping perceptions in tune with reality.
- Do not defend where you are not, but only that which is valuable to you.
- A rope made of three cords is hard to break.
- Consistency is sometimes much better than being the best.
- The best stroke is a balanced stroke. It has more power. Running at something and swinging at it simultaneously appears to be more powerful, but it is only an illusion. It is the worst position to attack. Power is balance.
- Competence decreases with anger.
- Do not over think, lest your greater senses be dulled to the subtleties of the moment.
- It is better to die on your feet than on your knees. (Zappata)
- Weapons are instrument of ill omen, to be used only when it is unavoidable. (Taoism)
- Skilled warriors of old were subtle, mysteriously powerful. (Taoism)
- Those who master change are those who address themselves to the time. (The Book of Balance and Harmony)
- Those who decrease opponents flourish hereby, those who increase opponents perish. (Sun Tzu)
- Invincibility is a matter of defense. (Sun Tzu)
- Even if the land is at peace, to forget about warfare leads to collapse.
- In stillness be as quiet as a fish in the deep, in action be as swift as an otter.
- Do not count on your strength and take an opponent lightly. Do not be conceited about your abilities and think little of subordinates.
- Fight only when you know you can win.
- Putting an armor is not the way to promote a country's welfare; it is for eliminating violence. (Chan Buddhism)
- He who waits for the sword to fall upon his neck will surely loose his head.
- Be prepared for the unexpected. (British commandos)
- Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. (Benjamin Franklin)
- Plan to difficulty when it is still easy, do the great when it is still small. (Tao Te Ching)
- Study requires calm, talent requires study, without study there is no way to expand talent, without calm there is no way to accomplish study. (Zhuge Liang)
- Fight when full of energy, flee when drained of energy. (Wei Liaozi)
- Use the force of momentum to defeat them.
- The ability to gain victory by changing and adapting according to opponents is called genius.
- Even if the land is at peace, to forget about warfare leads to collapse.
- In stillness be as quiet as a fish in the deep, in action be as swift as an otter.
- Do not count on your strength and take an opponent lightly. Do not be conceited about your abilities and think little of subordinates.
- Fight only when you know you can win.
- Putting an armor is not the way to promote a country's welfare; it is for eliminating violence. (Chan Buddhism)
- He who waits for the sword to fall upon his neck will surely loose his head.
- Be prepared for the unexpected. (British commandos)
- Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. (Benjamin Franklin)
- Plan to difficulty when it is still easy, do the great when it is still small. (Tao Te Ching)
- Study requires calm, talent requires study, without study there is no way to expand talent, without calm there is no way to accomplish study. (Zhuge Liang)
- Fight when full of energy, flee when drained of energy. (Wei Liaozi)
- Use the force of momentum to defeat them.
- The ability to gain victory by changing and adapting according to opponents is called genius.
- It is better to live two years as a tiger than a hundred as a lamb.
- If you do not want to be cursed don't tempt the gods.
- Failure is the fog which we glimpse triumph.
- If you do not want to be cursed don't tempt the gods.
- Failure is the fog which we glimpse triumph.
