20th-century Martial Artist Quotes

Bruce Lee

Jackie Chan

Chuck Norris

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Wesley Snipes

Ronda Rousey

Randy Couture

Open yourself and flow, my friend. Flow in the total openness of the living moment.

Learning a technique is not an end in itself, it merely indicates where you need to start.

Masaaki Hatsumi

It's always nice to look in the mirror at the end of the day and see that you helped somebody's life... even if only a little bit.

Training, a lot of the time, is just uncomfortable. But discipline is all about doing the thing that's uncomfortable.

Be gentle, kind and beautiful, yet firm and strong, both mentally and physically.

Blocking and countering like they do in the films doesn't work, so don't bother trying.

Geoff Thompson (writer)

While combat efficiency is a primary function of Shaolin Kung Fu, a more immediate and useful benefit in our law-abiding society is attaining radiant health and vitality.

When someone is fearless, when pain isn't a factor, it's impossible to break his spirit.

I'm not scared to fail, I'm not scared to lose, I'm not scared to die, for that matter... It's going to work out the way it's supposed to work out.

Mental toughness must be developed before you start fighting because you don't want to be that guy who quits in the ring.

Forrest Griffin

We should never shy away from the challenges that face us out of fear of failure or an unwillingness to battle the odds. We should confront our problems head on and make no excuses.

Fear is the genesis of most of the good things that have occurred in my life. Fear is the beginning of every success I've lived.

Georges St-Pierre

Push hands is practiced between two people: the intitiator and the one acted upon. Initiating is called 'asking'. The person acted upon 'answers'. When the opponent asks, listen first before answering.

Negativity takes no imagination. It's far easier to criticize someone's decisions after they make them than to propose better ones beforehand.

A samurai must remain calm at all times even in the face of danger.

More than 120 takes. Those kinds of things... You [say] "Wow, Jackie's good." It's not good. You can do it. Except, do you have the patience or not?

You have to fight because you can't count on anyone else fighting for you. And you have to fight for people who can't fight for themselves. To get anything of real value, you have to fight for it.

The featherweights must beg now. They must beg for pardon, beg for forgiveness. If that's the case, if they apologize and beg, I'll leave the division. I won't terrorize them anymore. They can have their division back. They can go back to being on the prelims and I'll go to the lightweight division.

We lost a place, but my daughter was born at the same time. We were taking care of her in Los Angeles, because there's a tradition that you don't travel with a newborn. To give their body a chance to acclimate. So, literally, we were lying in bed, and my sister called me and said, 'Turn on the TV.' Our daughter's lying there between us, and I looked over at my lady and said, 'Baby, our place is gone!' I just turned to my daughter and started kissing her. 'That's why you came, my girl. You saved our lives… you're a lifesaver!'

When women go to see men strip, we never accuse you of hating men.

There is surely nothing other than the purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do and nothing else to pursue. We should live by being true to the purpose of each moment.

Rati Tsiteladze

We are blessed with a spirit that is one with the spirit of the universe. This spirit is called "reiseishin". The moon is clearly reflected in the water when the water is calm. In the same way when our mind and body are unified and calm, our "reiseishin" manifests itself completely. Once this happens all suffering and wicked desires fall away, and the universal spirit of love and protection for all things appears in us. Let us strive to realise our "reiseishin".

In a dojo... you will never become any good unless you believe in yourself.

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Inside each of us dwells a more-perfect self waiting to unfold. It cries loudly for release, yet it is sometimes ignored. To answer its call, you must take time to listen.

If intelligence and capability are not criteria for the possession of rights, why would animals -who have the capacity to feel fear and pain- be excluded from our moral consideration?