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Superior Technique
Overcomes Power |
 Walk a single path, becoming neither cocky with victory nor broken with defeat, without forgetting caution when all is quiet or becoming frightened when danger threatens. Jigoro Kano- Consider fully, act decisively. Jigoro Kano
- Another tenet of randori is to apply just the right amount of force–never too much, never too little. Jigoro Kano
- Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige’s wall there was this one: “Matters of great concern should be treated lightly.” …Among one’s affairs there should not be more than two or three matters of what one would call great concern. If these are deliberated upon during ordinary times, they can be understood. Thinking about things previously and then handling them lightly when the time comes is what this is all about. To face an event and solve it lightly is difficult if you are not resolved beforehand, and there will always be uncertainty in hitting your mark. However if the foundation is laid previously, you can think of the saying, “Matters of great concern should be treated lightly,” as your own basis for action. Yamamoto Tsunetomo Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
- If we all insist on “an eye for an eye,” soon the whole world will be blind. Gandhi
 We Practice for Thousands of Days,
Whether We Win or Lose is Decided in an Instant |
- The bow is drawn
but before releasing the arrow,
the mind is already deep in the target. - Cause your opponent to repent, then let him fall. Kyuzo Mifune
- Judo does not teach the student to invite danger gratuitously. What it does teach him is how he can best bear himself when danger comes his way. E.J. Harrison (promoted to Kodokan shodan in 1905)
- When opposed to someone physically stronger than yourself do not be afraid and, on the other hand, never despise one weaker than yourself. Do not recklessly resist your opponent’s physical strength; imitate the action of a boat adrift upon the surface of the ocean. If your strength is inferior to that of your adversary it is useless for you to oppose strength with strength. E.J Harrison
- It is not important to be better than someone else, but to be better than yesterday.
- CHARACTER — It’s not the pull from the front, or the push from the back. It’s the drive from within.
- If at first you don’t succeed, you’ll get a lot of advice.
- If you’re on thin ice, you might as well dance.
- Ability is like a check; it has no value unless it is cashed.
- Nothing is difficult to a man who has persistence.
- Learn from the mistakes of others, you can never live long enough to make them all yourself.
- He who beats his sword into a plowshare usually ends up plowing for those who kept their swords.
- There is nothing wrong with making mistakes. Just don’t respond with encores.
- I hear and I forget
I see and I remember
I do and I understand. - Analysis kills spontaneity. The grain once ground into flour springs and germinates no more. Henri Frederic Amiel
- The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness, and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival. Aristotle
- Judo is an awkward set of bodily contortions, designed to produce a graceful result.
- It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them. Alfred Adler
 Develop Yourself to Your Fullest Potential
So That You and Others May Live Harmoniously |
- Be vigorous and full of energy, and make ceaseless efforts. This means that little things do not discourage you and that you approach all things boldly and with an attitude of determination. Koichi Tohei
- After realizing a principle, unless you learn it with your body you cannot expect to get true understanding. Scholars in particular tend to learn in theory only. Koichi Tohei
- If might is right, then the world will tear itself apart. We must strive to create a world in which right is might. Koichi Tohei
- It is as true for individuals as it is for the world itself: everything comes in waves. If you ride the waves of change, you succeed. If you ignore them, you fail. When the wave is down, most people resist it by trying to go up. When the wave goes up, you should go up with it. When it comes down, you go down. Koichi Tohei
- When you go with the rhythm then you are able to grasp the overall situation. Then you are able to influence the flow of events. Koichi Tohei
- Even if a hundred ton boulder should fall, I would be safe! When I say this, everyone laughs and wonders how. No need to try to stop it, just move out of the way. You do not have a problem if you do not try to take it on yourself. Most people suffer because they try to take upon themselves things which they do not need to. Koichi Tohei
- They say that a lion puts his all, even into catching a rabbit. You should make it a habit of putting your all into every little thing you do. Koichi Tohei
- When a watch is broken you take it apart to analyze what is wrong with it. When a technique does not work, if you analyze it carefully you can always find out what is wrong. Koichi Tohei
- Practice is not a matter of years and months. It is a matter of concentration. Koichi Tohei
- Opportunity remains a moment and flies away. You think that the moment has come to apply your tricks, but you often find it too late. If you would therefore seize a good opportunity, you must be ready to seize it practically before it appears, and apply your tricks, anticipating the chance. In order to do so, your eyes alone are not enough. You must rely on the sense of your muscles. For instance, acting by go-no-sen, it is the work of a moment to change failure into success. Sakujiro Yokoyama and Eisuke Oshima
- The Judo pupil, therefore, must cultivate his mind; he must never feel fear, never lose his temper, never be off his guard; but he must be cool and calm, though not absent-minded; he must act as quick as thought, according to circumstances. He must also be dexterous as well as bold both in attack and in defense. Sakujiro Yokoyama and Eisuke Oshima
- In holding your antagonist, therefore, you should hold him lightly as if your arms were nothing but chains which connect you with him, so that you may stretch or contract them at will when necessary, and pull or push him in any direction you choose. If you pull your opponent or apply your tricks on him by putting from the beginning too much strength in your arms, then you are going to contest with him by means of your power and against the principles of Judo. In doing so, you can never expect to succeed in your contest. Sakujiro Yokoyama and Eisuke Oshima
- A chestnut,
When carried away by the flood,
Which is running fierce and mad,
Must needs sacrifice its inner self,
In order to float on the waters. - Easy come, easy go.
- What we play is life. Louis Armstrong
- A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. Francis Bacon
- All rising to great places is by a winding stair. Francis Bacon
- I would live to study, not study to live. Francis Bacon
- Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else. James M. Barrie
- I am not young enough to know everything. James M. Barrie
- Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength. Henry Ward Beecher
- Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought. Henri Bergson
- You can observe a lot just by watching. Yogi Berra
- As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do. Andrew Carnegie
- Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. James Conant
- They are able who think they are able. Virgil
- It is possible to fly without motors but not without knowledge and skill. Wilbur Wright
- If I hold a twenty pound weight, I cannot detect a fly landing on it because the least detectable difference in the stimulus is half a pound. On the other hand, if i hold a feather, a fly landing on it makes a great difference. Obviously then, in order to be able to tell the differences in exertion one must first reduce the exertion. Finer and finer performance is possible only if the sensitivity, that is, the ability to feel the difference is improved. Moshe Feldenkrais
- Question: “Sensei, when do you train yourself?”
Answer: “I practice 24 hours a day.” - Competitive sports keep alive in us a spirit and vitality. Sports teach the strong to know when they are weak and the brave to face themselves when they are afraid; to be proud and unbowed in defeat, and yet humble and gentle in victory; to master ourselves before we attempt to master others; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; and to give the predominance of courage over timidity. General Douglas MacArthur
- Winning can be defined as the science of being totally prepared. George Allen
- A man’s usefulness depends upon his living up to his ideals in so far as he can. It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. All daring and courage, all iron endurance of misfortune, make for a finer and nobler type of manhood. Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die, and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life. President Theodore Roosevelt
- Courage, hard work, self-mastery, and intelligent effort are all essential to successful life, alike for the individual and for the nation. The one indispensible requisite is character. President Theodore Roosevelt
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