Friday, October 06, 2006

More Quotes

Supergroup7 posted several quotes on her blog yesterday. I love quotes. I'm a quotes kind of gal. I think this quote is appropriate at this point in my karate training:

"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." Harry Truman

Most people on the outside--that is, those who've never trained in a martial art--think that once you get a black belt, you know everything. I've even had people ask me why I was still taking classes since I've gotten my black belt already. After all, what is there left to learn?

They are soooo wrong. Black belt--shodan--is only the beginning. Getting your black belt means you have learned the alphabet and are ready to learn how to read. It doesn't mean you've got your foot in the door, but have learned how to find the doorknob.

With that in mind, I thought I'd start a series sharing some of my favorite quotes. These first ones pertain to the martial arts:

The ultimate aim of the martial arts lies not in victory or defeat. Instead it lies in the perfection of those who participate. —Gichin Funakoshi

To have Confidence, we must be Cocky, but not arrogant. It all starts with the knowledge that practice makes perfect. Yet we all know that nothing is perfect which is the reason we never stop practicing our basics. —A.J. Advincula

But just as Bruce Lee said, "Before I learned the art, a punch was just a punch, and a kick, just a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick."

Some say "we should get back to basics" but I say, "Never leave the basics" for they are what sets the standard. They are the foundation. —A.J. Advincula

My explanation to women for why you do a kiai: "If you can't kill him outright, at least you can scare him to death" --Sandi Lee

With the right attitude, we practice our basics. The more we practice our basics, the more proficient we become. The more proficient we become, the more confidence we have. The more confidence we have, the more disciplined we are. The more disciplined we are, the more we practice. The more we practice, the better our attitude for basics. With the right attitude, we practice our basics. --A. J. Advincula

More to follow...

5 comments:

frotoe said...

i love the sandi lee quote!!

John Vesia said...

Does your school have ties with Shihan Advincula? Maybe you told me, I can't recall. He's actually one of the few ex-marines who was stationed on Okinawa to remain for a number of years (8 or 9?) to train under Shimabuku (most of the others left after their military hitch was up - a year or two at the most). There's very few 1st generation Isshinryu practitioners left that started their training with Shimabuku.

Becky G said...

We do not have formal ties to Sensei Advincula. We are in the Don Nagle lineage. However, I have several online friends who are students of his, and I have attended one of his seminars. He is an amazing man.

Mathieu said...

Yep, a punch is just a punch.

Or is it....?

Mir said...

I love these quotes! More, more!