Morihei Ueshiba
43 quotes
Biography
"One does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train."
"Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery. Bravery leads to the spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of love."
"Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead."
"All life is a manifestation of the spirit, the manifestation of love."
"To injure an opponent is to injure yourself. To control aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace."
"Each and every master, regardless of the era or the place, heard the call and attained harmony with heaven and earth. There are many paths leading to the top of Mount Fuji, but there is only one summit - love."
"Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something."
"There are no contests in the Art of Peace. A true warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within."
"Create each day anew."
"Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout."
"Atemi accounts for 99% of Aikido."
"Shihonage is the foundation of Aikido. All you ever need to master is shihonage."
"Kicking leaves you momentarily on one foot, and for that moment you are in a very weak position. If you were to be swept off your feet, you would be finished. This is why lifting your feet off the ground is crazy."
"Aiki is not a technique to fight with or defeat an enemy. It is the way to reconcile the world and make human beings one family."
"In a real battle, atemi is seventy percent, technique is thirty percent."
"The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood. It is not a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek to compete and better one another are making a terrible mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst thing a human being can do. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent such slaughter — it is the Art of Peace, the power of love."
"As your Bujutsu [Martial Technique] training approaches perfection you will be able to detect the suki [opening/weakness in your enemy's technique], even before he can, and as if to satisfy some deficiency in him, you can fill the suki with your technique. (p. 26)"
"True Budo is practiced not only to destroy an enemy, it must also make him, or his own will, gladly lose his spirit (seishin) to oppose you. (p. 26)"
"True Budo is done for the sake of "building peace". Train every day so as to make peace between this spirit [Budo] and all things manifested on the face of the Earth. (p. 26)"
"When facing the realm of life and death in the form of an enemy's sword, one must be firmly settled in mind and body, and not at all intimidated; without providing your opponent the slightest opening, control his mind in a flash and move where you will — straight, diagonally, or in any other appropriate direction."
"Regarding technique, from ancient times it has been said that movements must fly like lightning and attacks must strike like thunder."
"Always imagine yourself on the battlefield under the fiercest attack; never forget this crucial element of training."
"Those who are possessed by nothing possess everything."
"As soon as you concern yourself with the "good" and "bad" of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weakens and defeats you."
"Be grateful even for hardship, setbacks, and bad people. Dealing with such obstacles is an essential part of training in the Art of Peace."