The saints of the east teach that, “A man of valor need not have virtue, but a man of virtue must have valor.” A saying from the west goes, “Justice without power is impotent and power without justice is violence.” These different maxims serve as ethical and moral guides for practitioners of the martial way – Morinobu Itoman, The study of China hand techniques (translation by Mario McKenna).
Hi All,
I read this quote this morning and I really liked it, so I thought I would share it with you! It is another one of those great lines that reminds us that the martial arts should not be a pursuit of violence, and yet to have real value they must be capable of dealing with violence. It is this “Yin/Yang” nature of the martial arts that makes them so fascinating to me.
It also reminds me of other great quotations such as:
“A martial artist should have a saint’s heart and a demon’s hand.”
“A true martial artist is someone whose smile will warm the hearts of little children, and whose anger will make tigers cower in fear.”
I thought I would post this here in order to spark a discussion on this seeming paradox, and in the hope that others would also share some of their favourite quotes around this subject.
All the best
Iain
PS The Study of China Hand Techniques translated by Mario McKenna is highly recommended and available from this webpage: http://www.lulu.com/shop/morinobu-itoman/the-study-of-china-hand-techniques/paperback/product-20572206.html
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