Sayings

I love sayings. In fact, I believe an aphoristic education can supplant almost everything we've been force-fed in public school. Just as the Chinese had to study the Analects of Kung Fu Tze (Confucius), I believe it would serve us well to study the maxims and aphoristic thoughts of the various thinkers. So, without further ado, here's some sayings I think are of value:

The man who works with his hands is a laborer. The man who works with his hands and head is a craftsman. The man who works with his hands, head and heart is an artist.
- St. Francis of Assisi.

A man whose purpose for teaching is money isn't worthy of that money.
- Helio Gracie

Jiujitsu is the art of making the most efficient use of mental and physical energy.
- Jigoro Kano

Cry in training, laugh in battle.
- Samurai Maxim

If you wish to avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.
- Elbert Hubbard

Inferior minds usually condemn everything beyond their grasp.
- La Rochefoucauld

The dog barks, but still the caravan moves on.
- Arab Saying

As long as I'm acting from duty and conviction, I am indifferent to taunts and jeers. They will do me more good than harm.
- Winston Churchill

All my life I've known better than to depend on the experts.
- John F. Kennedy

We learn by teaching.
- James Howell

It is art, and art only, that reveals us to ourselves.
- Oscar Wilde

Take them for what they're worth. Maybe they're worthless. I don't know.

A Recommendation

Those who know me well know that I love to read. I've had some critics suggest that I must have got my training from books. I suppose they're jealous that I can read. But it's true, I won't hesitate to get a hint here or a hint there from some book or magazine. In fact, I tell people if they want to learn how to fight, watch YouTube then do everything opposite of what they saw. But in all seriousness, I think there's value in keeping your eyes and ears open. I don't think a person can truly learn the martial arts from books, but for those who already know what they're doing, books can be great guides in the fine-tuning of one's strategies. That said, I want to suggest a few books and phrases of interest. These have kept me on point in my search for martial excellence.

The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. This is the book I read when I was seven years old, and the book which started it all for me. (Try the recently released William Scott Wilson translation).

The Art of War, by Sun Tzu. The strategies in this book, if read with an alert mind, will open up a whole new world of thought for you.

Anything by Dave Lowry, a writer for Black Belt Magazine. I have a few magazines from as early as 1975 and 1976 when he began for them, and I have always enjoyed reading his insights. I don't agree with everything, of course, but he makes me think. Go to the bookstore and you'll find a few compilation books with his articles.

Read, read, read. Even if the knuckleheads accuse you of being book-smart but street-dumb. Anyone who imitates his instructor, without keeping himself open to other ideas found in books, is never going to learn to his fullest potential. And to close, here are a few random quotes I really like:

Some make excuses. Others make victories. - Yupon

An exchange of strikes is foolishness. It proves nothing. The best fighter doesn't give his opponent an opportunity to demonstrate his abilities. - Miyamoto Musashi

A master will never allow himself to be called one. - Aristotle

With all of the so-called masters around here, where are all the masterpieces? - Dave Lowry

Conditioning is the best submission hold. - Karl Gotch

Fatigue makes cowards of us all. - Vince Lombardi

In other words, think. And how can you think if all you're doing is parroting your instructor's views? Books, magazines, and all other types of media will help you grow. And isn't this the true purpose of martial arts?