115 Martial Quotes

Following is our list of martial quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about martial arts.

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Famous Martial Quotes

Martial art is a form of expression, an expression from your inner self to your hands and legs. — Donnie Yen

The ideal in Martial Arts is humanitarianism. Accomplishment uses diligence as a goal. — Yip Man

Martial arts is not about fighting; it's about building character. — Bo Bennett

Martial arts is not about fighting; it's about building character. — Robert Foster Bennett

The martial arts are ultimately self-knowledge. A punch or a kick is not to knock the hell out of the guy in front, but to knock the hell out of your ego, your fear, or your hang-ups. — Bruce Lee

...most warriors only perform tricks. The way of the warrior is filled with soul and feeling — Miyamoto Musashi

The true Martial Artist is not the one who fears change, but the one who causes it to happen. — Ed Parker

Martial arts should be part of every girl's education. — Esha Gupta

I often say that sociology is a martial art, a means of self-defense. Basically, you use it to defend yourself, without having the right to use it for unfair attacks. — Pierre Bourdieu

To practice Zen or the Martial Arts, you must live intensely, wholeheartedly, without reserve - as if you might die in the next instant — Taisen Deshimaru

Fighting is a sport; if you're not humble it's going to bring humbleness to you. — Mike Tyson

I’m doing what I love to do. Martial arts is my everything. It’s my life, my philosophy, how I think, who I am. — Valentina Shevchenko

For me, the martial arts is a search for something inside. It's not just a physical discipline. — Brandon Lee

The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things. — Miyamoto Musashi

True warriors are fierce because their training is fierce. — Miyamoto Musashi

Short Martial Quotes

  • No Fear, No Hesitation, No Surprise, No Doubt — Miyamoto Musashi
  • The biggest coward of a man is to awaken the love of a woman without the intention of loving her. — Bob Marley
  • Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Remember, success is a journey not a destination. Have faith in your ability. You will do just fine. — Bruce Lee
  • Don't pray for an easy life, pray to be a stronger man. — John F. Kennedy
  • Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. — Bruce Lee
  • The purpose of the study of judo is to perfect yourself and to contribute to society. — Kano Jigoro
  • The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat. — Confucius
  • Seek perfection of character. Be faithful. Endeavor. Respect others. Refrain from violent behaviour. — Gichin Funakoshi
  • The Jiu Jitsu I created was designed to give the weak ones a chance to face the heavy and strong. — Helio Gracie

Martial Image Quotes

Our fears don't stop death, they stop life. - Rickson Gracie quote

Our fears don't stop death, they stop life. — Rickson Gracie

If there is effort, there is always accomplishment. - Kano Jigoro quote

If there is effort, there is always accomplishment. — Kano Jigoro

Spirit first, technique second. - Gichin Funakoshi quote

Spirit first, technique second. — Gichin Funakoshi

I have a high art, I hurt with cruelty those who would damage me. - Archilochus quote

I have a high art, I hurt with cruelty those who would damage me. — Archilochus

Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to go to his class. - Choi Hong Hi quote

Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to go to his class. — Choi Hong Hi

The truth is outside of all fixed patterns. - Bruce Lee quote

The truth is outside of all fixed patterns. — Bruce Lee

Humble Martial Arts Quotes

The big, strong, tough guy goes to class, and he keeps getting tapped by the skinny, technical guy. It begins to change him. It makes him humble. That's what Jiu Jitsu does to you. It makes you humble. — Relson Gracie

Always enter like a kitten and leave like a lion. But NEVER enter like a lion and leave like a kitten. Always be humble. — Carlson Gracie

The humble man makes room for progress; the proud man believes he is already there. — Ed Parker

Through courtesy you will take a humble attitude toward your opponent in training & be grateful to him. — Shigeru Egami

For me, I learnt from jiu-jitsu and martial arts to be humble and to go forward in life in a positive way. — Ricardo Liborio

Martial Arts Quotes

Without Knowledge, Skill cannot be focused. Without Skill, Strength cannot be brought to bear and without Strength, Knowledge may not be applied. — Alexander The Great

True karate is this: that in daily life one's mind and body be trained and developed in a spirit of humility, and that in critical times, one be devoted utterly to the cause of justice. — Gichin Funakoshi

No one will hit you harder than life itself. It doesn't matter how hard you hit back. It's about how much you can take, and keep fighting, how much you can suffer and keep moving forward. That's how you win. — Sylvester Stallone

True strength is not always shown through victory. Stand up, try again and display strength of heart. — Rickson Gracie

For the choke, there are no "tough guys". With an arm lock he can be tough and resist the pain. With the choke he just passes out, goes to sleep. — Helio Gracie

The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants. — Gichin Funakoshi

Jiu Jitsu is a mousetrap. The trap does not chase the mouse. But when the mouse grabs the cheese, the trap plays its role. — Helio Gracie

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. — Bruce Lee

Once a kata has been learned, it must be practised repeatedly until it can be applied in an emergency, for knowledge of just the sequence of a kata in karate is useless. — Gichin Funakoshi

I am a shark, the ground is my ocean, and most people can't even swim. — Rickson Gracie

Martial Artist Quotes

There is a difference between a fighter and a martial artist. A fighter is training for a purpose: He has a fight. I’m a martial artist. I don’t train for a fight. I train for myself. I’m training all the time. My goal is perfection. But I will never reach perfection. — Georges St-Pierre

The biggest gift I received as a martial artist is without a question the capacity to be in peace. — Rickson Gracie

The best part of falling is getting back up again. — Sayings

A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard. — Bruce Lee

It isn't the mountains that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe. — Muhammad Ali

The man who is secure within himself has no need to prove anything with force, so he can walk away from a fight with dignity and pride. He is the true martial artist--a man so strong inside that he has no need to demonstrate his power. — Ed Parker

Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light. — Bruce Lee

A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come. When the opponent expands, I contract; and when he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, "I" do not hit, "it" hits all by itself. — Bruce Lee

Don't fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail. — Bruce Lee

A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence. — Bruce Lee

Martial Law Quotes

It is only our conception of time that makes us call the Last Judgement by this name. It is, in fact, a kind of martial law. — Franz Kafka

I believe that during these times, we should not forget that many sacrificed to regain our democracy. We cannot just keep quiet because that is what happened during martial law. Our dictator then believed that he can do anything to keep himself in power. — Corazon Aquino

These are the strategic dialectics of anti-imperialist struggle: through the defensive reactions of the system, the escalation of counterrevolution, the transformation of the political martial law into military martial law, the enemy betrays himself, becomes visible. — Ulrike Meinhof

The desire for freedom resides in every human heart. And that desire cannot be contained forever by prison walls, or martial laws, or secret police. Over time, and across the Earth, freedom will find a way. — George W. Bush

Homeland Security is armed and locked and ready to blow your brains out if you start protesting martial law. — Gerald Celente

We have this exploding prison population. We have the equivalent of martial law on a day-to-day, 24/7-hour basis in our cities, because we have not heard the cry for help by young people in 1967. — Grace Lee Boggs

A large number of suspects, both men and women, escaped martial law for lack of any shred of evidence against them on which a court-martial could convict. So they began setting them free in groups, according to their birth-place. But half-way, the car-load would be emptied into a ditch. — Georges Bernanos

Members of Congress were told they could face martial law if they didn't pass the bailout bill. This will not be the last time. — James Dye

The majority of them give the impression of being men who have been drafted into the job during a period of martial law and are only waiting for the end of the emergency to get back to a really congenial occupation such as slum demolition or debt collecting. — Alan Brien

I think the only way it has influenced me is to cause me to try to branch out and do other things. So that people will know that I am reaching out and trying to be a little more versatile. So they realize he is not a "Dirty Harry." He doesn't advocate martial law or mayhem -it's a character. — Clint Eastwood

Mixed Martial Arts Quotes

A black belt only covers two inches of your ass. You have to cover the rest. — Royce Gracie

I’m a mixed martial arts fighter. But at the end of the day, all experience will help. And experience I got from that fight, it will help me to win this fight. — Valentina Shevchenko

Mixed Martial Arts is a dangerous practice that could result in injuries and loss of life. — Akshay Kumar

I do mixed martial arts, mainly kickboxing. — Gail Porter

Watch and enjoy Mixed Martial Arts, and if some people are thinking about doing it, they must be very careful and think about enrolling in training first, they must make a thoughtful decision before actually doing it. — Akshay Kumar

I would like to apologize to Brock Lesnar, his family, the UFC and the UFC fans for my stupid remarks. I respect Brock, all the other fighters, and the sport of mixed martial arts. I’m sorry that I stepped out of line. — Frank Mir

Everybody's beatable. Mixed martial arts, there's many ways to win, and that also means there are many ways to lose, as well. — Bas Rutten

Train hard, get good coaching and don't forget that its mixed martial arts. Don't get tied into one style of fighting and focus on multiple disciplines. — Chuck Liddell

Mixed Martial Arts is wonderful to watch, it is very practical but dangerous at the same time. You have to be very careful when doing something like that. — Akshay Kumar

In high school, during lunchtime I would go in the room where the wrestling mats were and try different flips and different moves. Like windmills. I just started mixing martial arts with jazz and contemporary stuff and it would get mashed together and became my style. — Caity Lotz

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Read quotes by Bruce Lee

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Read quotes by Donnie Yen

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More Martial Quotes

One must try, everyday, to expand one's limits. — Mas Oyama

No matter how you may excel in the art of Karate, and in your scholastic endeavors, nothing is more important than your behavior and your humanity as observed in daily life. — Gichin Funakoshi

The path of Martial Arts begins and ends with courtesy. So be genuinely polite on every occasion. — Mas Oyama

Always remember that the true meaning of Budo is that soft overcomes hard, small overcomes large. — Mas Oyama

Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity Kitai. Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice. — Will Smith

Studying the martial Way is like climbing a cliff: keep going forward without rest. Resting is not permissible because it causes recessions to old adages of achievement. Persevering day in, day out improves techniques, but resting one day causes lapses. This must be prevented. — Mas Oyama

The heart of our karate is real fighting.There can be no proof without real fighting. Without proof there is no trust. Without trust there is no respect. This is a definition in the world of martial arts. — Mas Oyama

Judo helps us to understand that worry is a waste of energy. — Kano Jigoro

Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to. — Henry Van Dyke

Judo teaches us to look for the best possible course of action, whatever the individual circumstances. — Kano Jigoro

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. — Kano Jigoro

Civilize the mind but make savage the body. — Mao Zedong

Self-defence, self-confidence, discipline and self control. The values you learn are priceless. — Rickson Gracie

A real jiu-jitsu fighter does not go around beating people down. Our defense is made to neutralize aggression. — Helio Gracie

The Art of Peace is medicine for a sick world. There is evil and disorder in the world, because people have forgotten that all things emanate from one source. Return to that source and leave behind all self-centered thoughts, petty desires, and anger. Those who are possessed by nothing possess everything. — Morihei Ueshiba

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