Quotes and Words to Live By

...from the Okinawan Masters...

Take some time to meditate on these words of wisdom

"Karate Ni Sente Nashi"
-- There is No First Attack in Karate.
-- A calligraphy from the Nagamine honbu dojo.

"Mazu Sono Kokoro Wo Tadase"
-- First purify your mind.
-- A calligraphy from the Nagamine honbu dojo.

Karate begins with courtesy and ends with it. Therefore,
we must be courteous to seniors, juniors, friends, and
even foes.
-- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine

Even after many years, kata practice is never finished,
for there is always something new to be learned about
executing a movement.
-- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine

Karate-do may be referred to as the conflict within
yourself, or a life-long marathon which can be won only
through self-discipline, hard training, and your own
creative efforts.
-- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine

A karateman must always try to keep his body and mind
clean and right.
-- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine

The dojo is the place where courage is fostered and
superior human nature is bred through the ecstacy of
sweating in hard work. It is the sacred place where the
human spirit is polished.
-- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine

Karate ultimately produces in the individual a vital
concentration of energy that expands to heroic proportions
in times of crisis.
-- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine

Karate-do is definitely a martial way, and its identity
lies in do or principles. Any martial art without proper
training of the mind turns into beastly behavior.
-- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine

No matter how you may excel in the art of te, and in your
scholastic endeavors, nothing is more important than your
behavior and your humanity as observed in daily life.
-- Teijunsoku (Nago Oyakata)

If he practices three times, I must practice six times.
-- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine

Once when asked for a brief definition of a good Karate
person, Osensei Shoshin Nagamine replied: Kisshu fushin,
Oni te hotoke kokoro. A demon's hand, a saint's heart.
-- Osensei Shoshin Nagamine
| Home | About this Site | Newsletters | History | Biographies | Shorin-Ryu Basics | Dojos | Black Belt Circle | Calendar of Events | Links | Quotes |