Words inspire, words inform, and words can destroy - if we let them.

The martial arts will teach you not to react to other’s problems, but to pay attention to your own. Learn not to react to words that are meant for harm.

The ability to be present in a given circumstance means the difference between success and failure and potentially life and death. 

Nothing brings you to the present moment quite like a fight, whether it’s a practice fight or a real one. The difference from a practice like meditation where you slow down and find awareness, is that the martial arts not only slows down, it speeds way up.

Even in actual fights, the greatest obstacle we face is our own fear, our own breath, or our own tension.

Battles will be won when we’re willing to face ourselves.

In our culture, we tend to focus on outcomes. Winning versus losing.

In the martial arts, process is growth, regardless of outcome. As we grow old we need not stop growing.