| What people say.. |
They really means.. |
| Japanese martial arts are the best. |
I practice a Japanese martial art. |
| This art is thousands of years old. |
This style is decades old. |
| The martial arts are about building
better people. |
The martial arts are about sweats,
bruises and money. |
| Chinese martial arts are the best. |
I practice a Chinese martial art. |
| High kicks are stupid. |
I can't do high kicks. |
| Sparring is extremely important. |
I am good at fighting and I like it
and I can't do much of anything else. |
| The martial arts are about building
better people. |
The martial arts are about beating
people up if they lay a finger on you. |
| Korean martial arts are the best. |
I practice a Korean martial art. |
| Breaking techniques are very
important. |
We do a lot of breaking techniques. |
| I don't believe in grades |
Nobody ever gave me a high grade. |
| The martial arts are about building
better evolved characters. |
Like me. |
| Filipino martial arts are the best. |
I practice a Filipino martial art. |
| Sophisticated arts like Tai Chi and
aikido are far superior. |
Sparring frightens me. |
| He's a good martial arts teacher. |
He's in my organization. |
| He's a lousy martial arts teacher. |
He used to be in my organization,
but he broke a way, and I don't get any money out of him anymore. |
| My style is the best. |
I don't know anything about any
other styles. |
| Grades are not important. |
There's a grading coming and it's
important. |
| Breaking techniques are useless. |
I can't do breaking techniques. |
| I am an innovative, free thinking,
modern Western martial arts teacher, doing my own non-classical thing. |
I am more interested in teaching
than learning; and the Orientals ignore me because they know how ignorant
I am. |
| Martial arts politics are the
necessary result of official recognition by respectable associations to
protect the public. |
I belong to a large, well
established organization. |
| I hate martial arts politics. |
None of the large, well established
organizations recognize me or have the slightest interest in my existence. |
| In this system, we make the art fit
the person. |
In this system, we make the person
fit the art. |
| Competitions are a waste of time. |
I never won any competitions. |
| Forms or kata are the highest
expression of inner essence of the martial arts. |
I've read that somewhere -- and
I've had enough of tournaments. |
| Forms or kata are useless. |
Bruce Lee said forms are useless
and this relieves me of a lot of effort, so go argue with him. |
| One style is not better than
another -- it's the individual that counts. |
Don't go to another school -- it's
the style that we teach here that counts. |
| The techniques aren't important. |
The techniques are important. |
| Bruce Lee didn't know what he's
talking about. |
I don't know what Bruce Lee was
talking about. |
| Size and strength are not
important. |
Size and strength are important,
especially if you're fighting someone who's bigger and stronger than you
are. |
| Science and leverage will always
win out brute force. |
Unless when he's bigger and
stronger than you are. |
| The purpose of the martial arts is
spiritual development and liberation from the ego. |
I am so humble and wise; it's
terrific. |