Massive quote dump

[Cain]

Warning: lots of writing upcoming.  Also, the first few segments will be very...martially orientated, because of the source, but it will diversify further in.



WARRIORSHIP



"Wherever I go,

Everyone is a little bit safer,

Because I am there."

— from "The Warrior Creed" by Robert L. Humphrey



"New-Age America produces books and workshops on the 'New Warrior,' a man or woman who lives impeccably — austere, protecting the weak, willing, perhaps, to stand his or her ground and fight, but more important, calm and graceful — the warrior as metaphor. We imagine the warrior in bed, in the boardroom, in marriage, the warrior on the golf-course. But these writers seem to forget that the warrior's values, as admirable as they may be, are won at terrible cost. The warrior as metaphor often offends me, because the battlefield stinks of blood and shit, and sings of screams and flies. Certainly the values that writers such as Dan Millman extol are admirable, but I would hesitate to call anyone a warrior unless we are not talking about a fellow ubermenschen, but instead a deeply flawed and guilty human being, who strives at the risk of the loss of comfort, of home, of even his or her own soul to protect what must be protected, to maintain a moral sense in a place where no morality can conceivably exist."

— Ellis Amdur, from Dueling with O-sensei (p. 121)



"Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. . . . He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world."

— Raymond Chandler, from The Second Chandler Omnibus (pp. 14-15)



"Warriorship is a profession of courage, a calling to valor — not just on the battlefield, but in all of life's conflicts."

— Forrest E. Morgan



"The warrior preserves and protects but does not conquer, dominate, or subjugate. Only the enemy will have to fear a warrior's skills."

— Richard Heckler



"The warrior's role in society is to protect life and social order by placing himself between that which would endanger both."

— Greg Walker



"If there is any hope for the future, it surely must rest upon the ability to stare unflinchingly into the heart of darkness."

— unknown



"To practice Zen or the Martial Arts, you must live intensely, wholeheartedly, without reserve — as if you might die in the next instant."

— Taisen Deshimaru



"A complete warrior is one who can act appropriately. Such an individual can kill if that is necessary to preserve other's lives, or he can die for others. But such an individual also possesses the power to find a way through conflicts to a non-combative resolution. This power can create a real peace between people. Such a person's presence, rather than intimidating, calms and gives strength to others."

— Ellis Amdur, from Old School (p. 37)



"A warrior's strategy is designed to bring his commitment into action, develop his being, and enhance his knowledge. Living strategically requires the warrior to eliminate impulsive, whimsical actions and cease being a slave to his likes and dislikes. Actions and decisions are to be based on the warrior's strategy and have a well-considered quality to them, even when undertaken with lightning speed. To abandon one's strategy is to abandon the path itself."

— Robert L. Spencer, from The Craft of the Warrior (p. 33)



"The quest of a true martial artist, in any culture or society, is to preserve life — not destroy it."

— Dan Inosanto, from The Filipino Martial Arts (p. 170)



"Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole body and soul can be a true master. For this reason, mastery demands all of a person."

— unknown



"Warriors use their intent and will to shape their lives. All of their actions are conscious, intentional, and complete."

— Kerr Cuhulain



"They don't join cliques — more times than not, they stand alone — but they recognize and gravitate towards one another. Only warriors understand other warriors."

— Forrest E. Morgan



"A kung fu man lives without being dependant on the opinions of others, and a master, unlike the beginner, holds himself in reserve. He is quiet and unassuming, with no desire to show off."

— Bruce Lee



"It has always been my ideal in war to eliminate all feelings of hatred and to treat my enemy as an enemy only in battle and to honour him as a man according to his courage."

— Ernst Junger



"Beholding them with pity there came an old soldier who asked me if there was any means of curing them. I told him no. At once he approached them and cut their throats gently and, seeing this great cruelty, I shouted at him that he was a villain. He answered me that he prayed to God that should he be in such a state he might find someone who would do the same for him, to the end that he might not languish miserably."

— Ambroise Pare', speaking of three badly-burnt soldiers, 1536



". . . he was placed in charge of a unit which had suffered extremely heavy casualties, during which time he felt compelled to shoot an American pilot who had been disemboweled in a crash. This act was necessary according to the code of the warrior (an honorable fighting man puts his comrades out of their misery) but resulted in his rejection by a primarily enlisted brotherhood who held a more 'civilian' concept of the warrior ethos."

— Joanna Bourke, from An Intimate History of Killing (p. 38)



"People who really study the arts of war are almost without exception nonviolent individuals. The achievement of real skill requires considerable discipline and self control, two traits which eradicate violent behavior."

— Richard Ryan, from Master of the Blade (p. 21)



"Every man is responsible for defending every woman and every child. When the male no longer takes this role, when he no longer has the courage or feels the moral responsibility, then that society will no longer be a society where honor and virtue are esteemed. Laws and government cannot replace this personal caring and commitment. In the absence of the Warrior protector, the only way that a government can protect a society is to remove the freedom of the people. And the sons and daughters of lions become sheep."

— James Williams



"Do every act of your life as if it were your last."

— Marcus Aurelis



"In ourselves our safety must be sought,

By our own right hand it must be wrought."

— William Wordsworth



"It is better to deserve honours and not have them, than to have them and not to deserve them."

— Mark Twain



"The strength of our beliefs and our loyalty to each other has transformed our ideals into the strongest of brotherhoods. We exist, we are the warrior in you, and our message is dangerous to the existing order."

— excerpted from the introduction of Hell's Angels Forever



"I tell you this. As war becomes dishonored and its nobility called into question those honorable men who recognize the sanctity of blood will become excluded from the dance, which is the warrior's right, and thereby will the dance become a false dance and the dancers false dancers."

— Cormac McCarthy, from Blood Meridian (p. 331)



"Warriorship . . . does not refer to making war on others. Aggression is the source of our problems, not the solution. . . . Warriorship . . . is the tradition of human bravery, or the tradition of fearlessness."

— Chogyam Trungpa



"Assurance, superior judgement, the ability to impose discipline, the capacity to inspire fear: these are the qualities of an authority."

— Richard Sennett, from Authority (pp. 17-18)



"The gentleman desires to be halting in speech but quick in action."

— Confucius



"The frightening nature of knowledge leaves one no alternative but to become a warrior."

— "don Juan," from Casteneda's A Separate Reality (p. 150)



". . .the development of a warrior rests upon stopping the internal dialogue. Unnecessary talking is related to other unnecessary physical movements and bodily tensions, twitches, fidgeting, finger drumming, foot tapping, grimacing, and so on, which serve to drain the daily ration of energy. . ."

— Kathleen Riordan Speeth, from The Gurdjieff Work (p. 44)



"He who has great power should use it lightly."

— Seneca



"Adventure is just a romantic name for trouble. It sounds swell when you write about it, but it's hell when you meet it face-to-face in a dark and lonely place."

— Louis L'Amour



"If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I would not pass it round. Trouble creates a capacity to handle it. I don't embrace trouble; that's as bad as treating it as an enemy. But I do say meet it as a friend, for you'll see a lot of it and had better be on speaking terms with it."

— Oliver Wendell Holmes



"Nothing to laugh at in the ugliness of crime, the grimness of poverty, the tragedy of death; not a smile's worth of fun in the weeping wives and the sad and sometimes savage face of humanity? No, it isn't funny; and that is why laughter has to break through, probably more than in other jobs."

— Keith Simpson, from Forty Years of Murder (p. 10)



"The true spirit of the warrior is found in the desire to defend the weaker against the aggression of the stronger. In this way an essential balance is kept in the world. The warrior trains so that he will be prepared and will thus not fail in his role."

— Peyton Quinn, from A Bouncer's Guide to Barroom Brawling (p. 147)



"Evil has no physical reality, but it is still a force. . . . We cannot destroy it, but we can learn to keep ourselves safe from it."

— Anderson Reed, from Shouting at the Wolf (pp. 56-57)



"The warrior is not the master, he is not the sifu nor the sensei. These are just physical words that we put upon ourselves to make us seem important or better than those whom we guide. The warrior is a friend to his students, and so cannot be their master. He does not wish to gather students, as they will search him out. And those who need to have a master or a sensei will not stay; they will keep searching until they realize that what they seek is within them, and who they seek can only be their guide."

— Erle Montaigue



"With the conviction came a store of assurance. He felt a quiet manhood, non-assertive but of sturdy and strong blood. He knew that he would no more quail before his guides wherever they should point. He had been to touch the great death, and found that, after all, it was but the great death. He was a man."

— Stephen Crane, from The Red Badge of Courage (p. 156)



"Act the way you'd like to be, and soon you'll be the way you act."

— Kerr Cuhulain, from Full Contact Magick (p. 107)



"Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

— Aristotle



"The White Knight uses his sword in innocence, unaware of the harm he causes. The Red Knight lifts his sword in outraged self-righteousness, uncaring about the damage he leaves in the trail behind him. The Black Knight wields his sword reluctantly and only when he has reached the sober realization that it is necessary."

— Robert Moore & Douglas Gillette, from The Warrior Within (p. 165)



"When all peaceful means to resolve a crucial problem fail, it is justifiable to wield the sword."

— Guru Gobind Singh



"At a glance, every individual's own measure of dignity is manifested just as it is. There is dignity in personal appearance. There is dignity in a calm aspect. There is dignity in a paucity of words. There is dignity in flawlessness of manners. There is dignity in solemn behavior. And there is dignity in deep insight and a clear perspective. These are all reflected on the surface. But in the end, their foundation is simplicity of thought and tautness of spirit."

— from Hagakure, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo (Wilson translation)



"They all had dignity, a certain serenity and pride that was theirs completely. . . . They knew where they had been and what they had seen and done, and were content. Something was theirs, something within themselves that neither time passing nor man nor hard times could take from them."

— Louis L'Amour, from Education of a Wandering Man (p. 38)



"If there is one thing that always sticks in my mind about how Delta Force goes about a mission, it is the utterly businesslike attitude of the men. There is none of that Hollywood crap. No posturing, no sloganeering, no high fives, no posing, no bluster, and no bombast. Just a quiet determination to get on with the job."

— Eric L. Haney, from Inside Delta Force (p. 191)



"In a critical situation, where even the slightest hesitation may prove fatal, the warrior counts on his readiness to improvise, survive, and win. The warrior shapes his own destiny. He defines the limits of his own possibilities. He creates his own luck."

— from The Warrior's Edge, by Col. John B. Alexander, Major Richard Groller, and Janet Morris (p. 106)



"It's not our weaknesses that frighten us. It's our strengths."

— Nelson Mandela

[Cain]

HONOR



"Only honor separates the warriors from the thugs."

— Forrest E. Morgan



"You must work out your own honor system for yourself. For the warrior it becomes a code, a way of life, unbending and unaltered, often without ant verbal guidelines. When all of your possessions are far from you, you will still have your honor, your core. A handshake or simply saying, 'I will do this,' is your bond, more concrete than any signature on paper should be. Your actions demonstrate your code. To abuse your knowledge, betray a comrade, lie, things such as that, you will have broken your pact with yourself and have lost your honor. If you act in accordance with your beliefs as well as you can, you will retain your honor always."

— Lenox Cramer, from War with Empty Hands



"Once examined, fights for "honor" almost always turn out to be fights to save face . . . Face refers to one's reputation . . . it is, in essence, prestige . . . Face can be taken from you, so it's something you can fight to keep. On the other hand, honor depends solely on your commitment to meet your just obligations. Since only you can do that, no-one can take honor from you . . . You can have all the face in the world and still lose your honor. Conversely, you can remain honorable no matter what the world thinks of you. Forced to choose between these two conditions, the superior warrior will pick the latter."

— Forrest E. Morgan, from Living the Martial Way (pp. 151-152)



"Do right, fear no man."

— unknown



"Most of all, warriors are honorable because to be otherwise is cowardly!"

— Forrest E. Morgan



"Honour is manly decency. The shame of being found wanting in it means everything to us. Is this, then, the indefinable, the sacred thing?"

— Alfred de Vigny



"Warriors are dangerous people. Therefore, they have a solemn obligation to restrain themselves from tyrannizing and assaulting weaker members of society."

— Forrest E. Morgan



"If you don't want somebody to know something, just don't speak to them about it. Never lie."

— Sylvester L. Liddy



"Men whose acts are at variance with their words command no respect, and what they say has but little weight."

— Samuel Smiles



"The Samurai were an aristocracy of warriors, mighty touchy about their honor, with a fanatical reverence for exactitude in the spoken word — that is the tradition, anyway. They had one answer to questions — yes or no. A Samurai was supposed to tell the truth, and be quick to lay his two-handed sword across anybody who said he didn't."

— Ralph Townsend



"All you got in life is your honor, man, your own self-image, your own self-respect. If you lose that, or if you give it away or if you sell it, then you ain't got it no more."

— Lemmy Kilmister



"One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away until it is surrendered."

— Michael J. Fox



"Killing instincts can be tempered with good sense! The more competent a fighter becomes, the less he has to prove and the less likely he is to misuse his abilities. . . . Once they become competent and gain self-respect, they no longer have a reason to be a bully."

— Robert K. Spear, from Survival on the Battlefield (p. 153)



"Men who take up arms against one another in public war, do not cease on this account to be moral beings . . . Military necessity does not admit cruelty — that is the infliction of suffering for revenge. . ."

— Francis Lieber (1863)



"Never compromise your integrity; always respect yourself."

— Robert J. Ringer



"A man is only as good as his word."

— Grandfather



"It is scarcely a matter for wonder that dueling was a commonplace of those days. There are certain sorts of attack which, even today, may make the mildest man feel for a moment or two that the only suitable reply is a pistol-shot or a sword-thrust."

— John McConaughy



"You show us respect, we show you respect. If you don't show the Angels respect, the Angels don't show you respect. And we're very good at disrespecting people."

— Butch Garcia, HAMC



"It's nice to be nice."

— the personal motto of the most dangerous man my father ever knew



"If a man remembers what is right at the sight of profit, is ready to lay down his life in the face of danger, and does not forget sentiments he has repeated all his life even when he has been in straitened circumstances for a long time, he may be said to be a complete man."

— Confucius



"(seppuku) was used as a privileged alternative to execution, to atone for a misdeed or an unworthy act, and to avoid capture in battle — seen as a contemptible end for any warrior and a safeguard against likely torture."

— Richard Cohen, from By the Sword (p. 155)



"A Sikh is enjoined to raise the sword only when all other means of correcting an injustice have failed. Hence, when a weapon is lifted, it should be accompanied by a sense of righteousness. . . . if the true path is followed, then the whole combat will flow correctly, like a dance."

— Guru Gobind Singh Ji (paraphrased & revised)



"I advise you secondly, that you should never swear an oath,

Unless you will keep it,

Grim wyrd goes with oathbreaking,

Wretched is such a varg"

— from Sigrdrifumal, verse 23, Plowright translation



"Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds."

— George Eliot, from Adam Bede



"Lying is done with words and also with silence."

— Adrienne Rich, from On Lies, Secrets, and Silence



"Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect."

— Marcus Aurelius Antonius (c. 121-180 A.D.)



"They are never alone that are accompanied with noble thoughts."

— Sir Phillip Sidney, from Arcadia



"If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow."

— Chinese proverb



"Do what manhood bids the do,

From none but self expect applause;

He noblest lives and noblest dies

Who makes and keeps his self-made laws."

— Sir Richard Francis Burton

[Cain]

LOYALTY



"A man does not extricate himself from difficulty at the expense of his associates."

— Sylvester L. Liddy



"It's kind of hard to put into words, but it's like having somebody that you love. If you served and you were willing to die, you wanted to have a person there you would not mind dying for or dying with. A lot of people don't understand that."

— Medal of Honor recipient Bob Howard



"It is important that group members openly and directly declare their willingness to protect one another. Psychologically, the act of swearing loyalty is of far greater value than the mere assumption of the same."

— Etta Place



"But there's another piece of me. The part that's with my family. The family I chose; the family that chose me. I feel everything that hurts them, or makes them sad. I wouldn't just kill for them; I'd die for them. They're all I have. They're everything I have. And what they give me is . . . that piece of myself that's clean."

— Burke, from Pain Management by Andrew Vachss



"Look at your brother standing next to you and ask yourself if you would give him half of what you have in your pocket. Or half of what you have to eat. If a citizen hits your Brother, will you be on him without asking why? There is no why. Your Brother isn't always right, but he is always your Brother!"

— from the creed of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club



"You haveta be a bro ta have a bro . . ."

— old biker aphorism



"Evildoers are generally a lot more fun to hang out with, but they have no concept of loyalty. Being self-centered egomaniacs, they are loyal to no-one but themselves. They are unreliable and are notorious for betraying their allies in the face of danger. At their core, they are nothing but selfish, immature cowards. Seeing them as they truly are made it easy for me to swear allegiance with the forces of Good. People who are unafraid to die for their principles at any moment can never be considered cowardly."

— Scribe 27 (RWT)



"Not much more than twenty-five members were in the Club at any given time. The Kid liked it that way, a tight, loyal group — only the guys he could absolutely count on; men who wouldn't run off when it came time to stand together."

— Richard "Gypsy" Anderson

[Cain]

VALOR



"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear."

— Mark Twain



"Courage, like fear, is contagious, and allows individuals to do the impossible."

— from The Warrior's Edge, by Col. John B. Alexander, Major Richard Groller, and Janet Morris (p. 68)



"He was insanely calm. He never showed fear. He was a professional soldier, an ideal leader of men in the field . . . He did not yearn for battle. But neither was he concerned about the prospect."

— Tim O' Brien (speaking of his platoon commander)



"I could never run away."

— unknown



"One of my biggest problems (although I used to think of it as one of my greatest strengths) is the fact that I am completely fearless. In short, I truly do not 'give a rat's ass' if I live or die, and will refuse to back down from any perceived threat, regardless of the odds against me."

— Scribe 27, from Arcane Lore (p. 266)



"Moral courage is the fortitude it takes to do what is right, no matter what the personal cost."

— Forrest E. Morgan



"In situations where you lack confidence, you must fill the void with courage."

— Forrest E. Morgan



"I'm not afraid of knives. I've been cut on the job. Unless there's meat hanging out, I just tape the cuts up with duct tape. . ."

— Duncan



"My knowledge of pain, learned with the saber, taught me not to be afraid of fear. And just as in dueling you must fix your mind on striking at the enemy's head, so, too, in war. You cannot waste time feinting and sidestepping. You must decide on your target and go in."

— Col. Otto Skorzeny



"Having heart meant a willingness to fight, regardless of the odds, and to withstand death or a beating instead of backing down. Even enemies could respect each other for having heart; no one respected a punk."

— Eric C. Schneider



"Such a stupid act. Sometimes, heroics revolted him; they seemed like an insult to the soldier who weighed the risks of the situation and made calm, cunning decisions based on experience and imagination; the sort of unshowy soldiering that didn't win medals but wars."

— from Use of Weapons, by Iain M. Banks (p. 148)



"For a lot of the Latin gang kids I knew coming up, it wasn't whether you died that counted, it was how you died."

— Burke, from Pain Management by Andrew Vachss



"All True Warriors know that medals are bullshit. Heroism usually goes unrecognized. When a soldier distinguishes himself in battle and is recommended for a high decoration, invariably the medal awarded will be of much less significance (i.e., the Distinguished Service Cross is often reduced to a mere Bronze Star by government bureaucrats); yet if an officer with a West Point ring on his finger 'thinks he was shot at,' he can reasonably expect to be awarded the Silver Star with no questions asked! Unless an officer has a Ranger tab or a 'Budweiser' crest, his rows upon rows of colorful ribbons probably represent nothing except 'brownie points.'"

— C. R. Jahn



"Anne Boleyn, consort of the King, was ready to pay with her life for her involvement with royalty. She was calm to the last. Turning to a companion who was trembling violently, Anne said: 'Take courage. The executioner is an expert of many years' training — and my neck is very slender.'"

— Frank Edwards



"I am the best bodyguard, because I'll take a bullet, I'll take a stab wound, I'll take a hit upside the head; I'm like a kamikaze pilot."

— Mr. T



"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

— Eleanor Roosevelt, from You Learn by Living



"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."

— Anais Nin



"Courage consists not in blindly overlooking danger, but in meeting it with the eyes open."

— Jean Paul Richter



"To be a hero, one must give an order to oneself."

— Simone Weil



"The Way of the Samurai is found in death. When it comes to either/or, there is only the quick choice of death. It is not particularly difficult. Be determined and advance. . . . (if) one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in the Way."

— from Hagakure, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo (Wilson translation)

[Cain]

WILLPOWER



"Focus on your one purpose."

— Japanese motto



"Nothing in the world is as fearsome as a bloody, battered opponent who will never surrender."

— Gerry Spence



"To face each of my fears and overcome them would require years of psychic and physical pain. But it had to be done. I had seen the fruits of fearlessness and the power of the will. I could no longer live without them."

— G. Gordon Liddy, from Will (p. 24)



"You must have complete determination. The worst opponent you can come across is one whose aim has become an obsession. For instance, if a man has decided that he is going to bite your nose off no matter what happens to him in the process, the chances are that he will succeed in doing it. He may be severely beaten up but that will not stop him carrying out his original objective. That is the real fighter."

— Bruce Lee



". . . concentrating 100 percent of your mental and physical power on one objective is far more effective than splitting your concentration by trying different moves."

— Sanford Strong, from Strong on Defense (p. 63)



"If you go into the fight resolved to destroy your opponent no matter what the cost — if you go into battle truly committed to die for the opportunity to kill your enemy — his spirit will read it in your eyes and he will be crushed."

— Forrest E. Morgan



"Ruthless determination will overshadow technique or choice of weapon every time. The will to win is more important than the skill to win . . . Determination is the only thing that will get you off the ground after being stabbed, shot, or punched."

— Don Pentecost



"Make sure you continue your attack so you can stop that man who shot you. If you are fortunate, your wound will not be serious. But if you stop, scream, moan, or cry, he might just finish you off because he won't want any witnesses."

— John M. La Tourrette



"Try? Try not. Do, or do not. There is no "try.""

— Yoda



"Where there's a will, there's a way."

— unknown



"Those who are patient in the trivial things in life and control themselves will one day have the same mastery in great and important things."

— Hapkido Master Bong Soo Han



"Control your emotion or it will control you."

— Chinese adage



"And the will lieth therein, which dieth not. Who knoweth the mysteries of the will with its vigour? For God is but a great will pervading all things by nature of its intentness. Man doth not yield himself to the Angels nor to death utterly, save only through the weakness of his feeble will."

— Joseph Glanvill (17 c.)



"'Old time' hypnotists knew that if you helped an individual to use their 'imaginins,' they could control, or eliminate pain."

— from Monsters and Magical Sticks, by Heller & Steele (p. 37)



"By the use of his Will, (the master) attains a degree of poise and mental firmness (nearly inconceivable to) those who allow themselves to be swung backward and forward by the mental pendulum of moods and feelings."

— The Kybalion



"Pure 'guts' have won many a gunfight. The man who has determination is hard to down. You can keep on fighting even if you are hit. If you make up your mind that you are going to get your bullet into the other man, you will probably do it. And maybe that hit you took will turn out not so bad as you thought, particularly if you stop him and keep him from hitting you again."

— William H. Jordan, from No Second Place Winner (pp. 111-112)



"Pursue one great decisive aim with force and determination."

— Karl von Clausewitz, from Principles of War



"It has been conclusively proven that focused visualization can significantly increase body temperature. By visualizing one's hands being engulfed with flames, it is possible for an amateur to raise the surface temperature of his hands by approximately 3 degrees Fahrenheit (an adept can more than double this). Buddhists monks use a similar visualization technique to dry their wet robes during outdoor Winter meditations. With sufficient willpower, it is possible to completely transcend fear, hunger and pain."

— Scribe 27 (RWT)



"Initiates learn a complex set of breathing and meditational exercises and retire to a remote area to train. Each day they bathe in icy streams and sit naked in the snow thinking of internal fires. When the training is complete, a test is made on a windy winter night by wrapping the student in a sheet that has been dipped into the river through a hole in the ice and has to be completely dried just by body heat at least three times during the night."

— Lyall Watson, on the Tibetan practice of tumo, in Supernature (p. 226)



"Men with chest wounds — open, sucking wounds — have stuffed them with handkerchiefs or torn shirts and kept going. Men have broken their backs when they bailed out or hit the ground. After regaining consciousness, they have rolled around for a stick or board, strapped it to them in a fashion and moved on. Men with severe wounds have amputated a limb, whittled a crutch, and kept going. Many things are possible to those with will and determination."

— Dr. Gene N. Lam



"I tried to lift it, and it wouldn't move; I tried to lift it again, and it wouldn't move; then I tried to lift it really hard — and my left bicep snapped and rolled up in a bunch. It had to be surgically reattached."

— Bob Franks



"Singlemindedness is all-powerful."

— from Hagakure, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo (Wilson translation)



"Don't eye the top of the ladder, eye the next rung."

— Gen. Colin Powell



"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."

— William Feather



"I saw a guy get hit in the thigh. . . . Five fucking minutes and the guy checks out. . . . and it wasn't even a serious wound. Wasn't even bleeding that bad. And then there was another guy that got hit in the guts, and for 72 hours, because we were in constant fire, he was literally at one point . . . stuffing his intestines back in his friggin body. All of us thought it was goodbye time. He kept saying, 'Don't fucking look at me like that, I'm not dying.' And the sonofabitch didn't die."

— Harley Swiftdeer



"An idea upon which attention is peculiarly concentrated is an idea which tends to realize itself."

— Charles Baudouin



"Proper visualization by the exercise of concentration and willpower enables us to materialize thoughts, not only as dreams or visions in the mental realm, but also as experiences in the material realm."

— Paramahansa Yogananda, from Man's Eternal Quest (p. 238)



"Energy is not just what we do, but also what we think and feel. Intention is energy given direction. Desire is energy focused and magnified."

— Anderson Reed, from Shouting at the Wolf (p. 61)



"Discard and forget, I beg you, the demons, dolls, and mumbo-jumbo. What you are actually doing is tearing out your own emotional guts at the same time you're trying to tear someone else's emotional guts to pieces. I have paid a heavy price for learning these things, and I shall never practice that sort of magic again, whether for good or evil."

— William Seabrook, from Witchcraft (pp. 99-100)



"Mind is the wielder of muscles. The force of a hammer blow depends on the energy applied; the power expressed by a man's bodily instrument depends on his aggressive will and courage. The body is literally manufactured and sustained by mind. . . . Outward frailty has a mental origin; in a vicious circle, the habit-bound body thwarts the mind. . . . My earliest ambition was to fight tigers. My will was mighty, but my body was feeble. It was by indomitable persistency in thoughts of health and strength that I overcame my handicap. I have every reason to extol the compelling mental vigor which I found to be the real subduer of royal Bengals."

— Sohong, the "Tiger Swami," from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda (p. 62)



"There is no weapon more deadly than the will."

— Bruce Lee

[Cain]

CHARACTER



"Iron is full of impurities that weaken it; through forging, it becomes steel and is transformed into a razor sharp sword. Human beings develop in the same fashion."

— Morihei Ueshiba, from The Art of Peace (p. 56)



"Personal power leads the warrior to absolute dignity. A man who (lives his life as if he may) die tomorrow doesn't act like a clown; he doesn't make a fool of himself in public. He chooses his words carefully; he doesn't want some trivial nonsense to be remembered as his last utterance. When men and women of power speak, others listen. They can feel the power in their words and they know these people will stand behind what they say."

— Forrest E. Morgan, from Living the Martial Way (p. 279)



"He gives but not to receive

He works but not for reward

He completes but not for results"

— Lao Tzu, from Tao Te Ching, The Definitive Edition (Star translation), Verse 2



"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."

— Albert Einstein



"Knowledge will give you power, but character will give you respect."

— unknown



"Sow an action and reap a habit; sow a habit and reap a character; sow a character and reap a destiny."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson



"Have character, but don't be a character."

— Richard Marcinko



"Don't say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so I cannot hear what you say to the contrary."

— Emerson



"Personality is to man what perfume is to a flower."

— Charles M. Schwab, Ten Commandments of Success



"Men of character are the conscience of the society to which they belong."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson



"That which does not kill me makes me stronger."

— Friedrich Nietzsche



"You might've been right, but you weren't righteous . . ."

— old biker aphorism



"A man is what he does. . ."

— the weird little mutant from Total Recall



"To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

— Theodore Roosevelt



"There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self."

— Hindustani proverb



"It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them."

— Adlai Stevenson



"Use your wit as a shield, not as a dagger."

— American proverb



"Define yourself by what you do, by how you treat others, and how they see you."

— George F. Burns



"The best index to a person's character is (a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can't fight back."

— Abigail Van Buren



"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands."

— Anne Frank, from Diary of a Young Girl



"The respect that is only bought with gold is not worth much."

— Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1859)



"By men's words we know them."

— Marie de France (12th c.)



"A man's presence is dependent upon the promise of power which he embodies. If the promise is large and credible his presence is striking. If it is small or incredible, he is found to have little presence. The promised power may be moral, physical, temperamental, economic, social, sexual — but its object is always exterior to the man. A man's presence suggests what he is capable of doing to you or for you. His presence may be fabricated, in the sense that he pretends to be capable of what he is not. But the pretence is always towards a power which he exercises on others."

— Peter Smith, from Ways of Seeing (pp. 45-46)



"Most people have certain weaknesses of character which must be considered in your dealings with them. You must ask yourself what this individual can be trusted with. Common weaknesses include: drink, gambling, compulsive spending, sex, a favorite illicit drug, a weak ego, and simple stupidity. Once you know an individual's weakness, you can take precautions against inadvertently tempting him to neglect his responsibilities; or, adversely, you could choose to exploit this weakness for reasons of your own (perhaps to teach him an important lesson). If you have weaknesses of your own, you must be honest with yourself and take steps to overcome them."

— Scribe 27 (RWT)



"It is difficult to deny one's vices altogether, but it's easy to cut back — this is achieved through the use of willpower, and by raising one's standards. If there are certain lines that you refuse to cross under any circumstances, then you'll be able to easily deny many forms of temptation. For example, you could make it a rule that you will never drink cheap booze, smoke inferior bud, or fuck ugly women. Become a connoisseur and you'll allow yourself far fewer opportunities to slip up."

— anonymous (RWT)



"Having something to fight significantly helps a person when coping with strong Neg problems. Once the cause is realized . . . Neg controls are significantly weakened. It's for this reason that Negs make great efforts to hide their existence. . . . If you cannot beat Neg influences, you can learn to work around them. Some people may never rid themselves entirely of Neg influences, but they can learn to control them, and in controlling them you will grow steadily stronger while Negs grow weaker. . . . Knowing that Negs can alter moods and cause spontaneous impulses, and recognizing the possibility of this when they occur, greatly improves the chances of weathering and surviving them intact."

— Robert Bruce, from Practical Psychic Self-Defense (p. 144, 162)



"From another's evil qualities a wise man corrects his own."

— Publicus Syrus



"You can't cheat an honest man."

— con man's saying



"Moderation in all things."

— Terence (Publius Terentius Afer, c. 190-159 B.C.)



"It is not our abilities that show what we truly are; it is our choices."

— "Aldus Dumbledore," from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling



"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world."

— Buddha



"He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior."

— Confucius

[Cain]

ASSERTIVENESS



"Declining to hear 'no' is a signal that someone is either seeking control or refusing to relinquish it. With strangers, even those with the best intentions, never, ever relent on the issue of 'no,' because it sets the stage for more efforts to control. If you let someone talk you out of the word 'no,' you might as well wear a sign that reads, 'You are in charge.'"

— Gavin de Becker, from The Gift of Fear



"It is impossible to teach true self-defense to someone without them first overcoming fear and the critical voice. True self-defense is an awareness that can't be switched on instantaneously. It is automatic, in the sense that it is always switched on. Your spirit should automatically rise to defeat your opposition when it has been transgressed. You have your limits and your rights, and nobody has the right to be there unless you give them permission. You are the ruler of yourself, and right or wrong, these are the things that you hold sacred. You would rather die than see them defaced."

— Marc "Animal" MacYoung, from Cheap Shots, Ambushes, and Other Lessons (p. 11)



"Every decision you make stems from what you think you are, and represents the value that you put upon yourself."

— Anonymous



"Being assertive will avoid problems; being aggressive will bring them on. The danger of using verbal aggression is that, while it works under normal circumstances, it can lull you into assuming that it will work in all situations."

— from Safe in the City, by Marc MacYoung and Chris Pfouts (p. 281)



"The objective of the violent criminal is to control you, emotionally and physically. Everything he does — his threats and promises — is intended to terrify and control you. . . . For most crime victims, their temporary cooperation backfired into full control over them."

— Sanford Strong, from Strong on Defense (p. 50)



"The only way a (parasitic individual) could return after being got rid of was through pity. The same is true of any type of evil. Feeling sorry for people who are engaged in wrong action does nobody any good."

— Anderson Reed, from Shouting at the Wolf (p. 41)



"To an aggressor, assertiveness is indistinguishable from rudeness, yet tact and diplomacy (or worse yet — an apology) is a sure sign of weakness, and an aggressor will show no mercy to a weakling — indeed, he may even become violently enraged upon any show of resistance from those he considers his rightful prey."

— anonymous (RWT)



"I am not arguing with you — I am telling you."

— J. McN. Whistler



"What you gonna do now, tough guy?"

— a query oft heard directed at belligerant lightweights



"You need to leave now . . ."

— the last thing numerous dipshits have heard (and chose to ignore) before later waking up with multiple contusions



"I don't like your attitude, and I don't like you."

— said with conviction, even the dimmest moron will realize that he's worn out his welcome.



"In the Korean village in which I grew up, there was a woman who was often beaten by her husband. One day she tired of the mistreatment. She told her husband, 'If you ever lay a hand on me again, I will stay awake all night if necessary until you are asleep. Then, when you are defenseless, I will beat you with a stick.' He understood her meaning and humbly begged her forgiveness. He never mistreated her again."

— Master Bong Soo Han



"When, against one's will, one is high-pressured into making a hurried decision, the best answer is always 'No,' because 'No' is more easily changed to 'Yes' than 'Yes' is changed to 'No.'"

— Charles E. Nielsen



"Always go before our enemies with confidence, otherwise our apparent uneasiness inspires them with greater boldness."

— Napoleon I



"Attacks must be answered. An assertion unanswered is an assertion agreed to."

— Geoff Garin



"A bully is not reasonable — he is persuaded only by threats."

— Marie de France (12th c.)



"It is impossible to teach true self-defense to someone without them first overcoming fear and the critical voice. True self-defense is an awareness that can't be switched on instantaneously. It is automatic, in the sense that it is always switched on. Your spirit should automatically rise to defeat your opposition when it has been transgressed. You have your limits and your rights, and nobody has the right to be there unless you give them permission. You are the ruler of yourself, and right or wrong, these are the things that you hold sacred. You would rather die than see them defaced."

— Marc "Animal" MacYoung, from Cheap Shots, Ambushes, and Other Lessons (p. 11)



"Declining to hear 'no' is a signal that someone is either seeking control or refusing to relinquish it. With strangers, even those with the best intentions, never, ever relent on the issue of 'no,' because it sets the stage for more efforts to control. If you let someone talk you out of the word 'no,' you might as well wear a sign that reads, 'You are in charge.'"

— Gavin de Becker, from The Gift of Fear



"We do not apologize for a damned thing."

— Ralph "Sonny" Barger, from Ridin' High, Livin' Free (p. 184)



"The majority of the time, just prior to a mugging, stomping, or sexual assault, the perpetrator(s) will 'interview' the prospective victim. This may simply consist of bumming a cigarette or spare change, or it might be an inappropriately chummy street person suddenly trying to be your 'bestest pal.' Your reaction to this interview will let them know if you're a safe (soft and weak) target."

— Jake Bishop



"If a person has his sword out all the time, he is habitually swinging a naked blade; people will not approach him and he will have no allies. If a sword is always sheathed, it will become rusty, the blade will dull, and people will think as much of its owner."

— from Hagakure, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo (Wilson translation)



"The direct, unwavering stare is a form of threat . . ."

— Flora Davis, from Inside Intuition (p. 63)



"Silence gives consent."

— Oliver Goldsmith



"Self-defense is nature's eldest law."

— John Dryden, from Absalom and Achitophel



"Better to be pissed off than pissed on."

— old hillbilly sayin'

[Cain]

WARFARE



"Junior Bush was a fighter pilot during the war in Vietnam, not in the United States Air Force, where one could get seriously hurt, but in the Texas air force, known as the Air Guard. Texas's toy army, an artefact of Civil War days, is a favorite club for warmongers a bit squeamish about actual combat. Membership excused these weekend warriors from the military draft and the real shoot 'm up in 'Nam. Young George W. tested at 25 out of 100, one point above 'too-dumb-to-fly' status, yet leaped ahead of hundreds of applicants to get the Guard slot."

— Greg Palast, from The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (p. 147)



"I had other priorities."

— Dick Cheney, on why he refused to serve in the military during Vietnam



"The master-class has always made the wars, and the worker-class has always fought them."

— Eugene V. Debs



"The more lives the soldier succeeds in accounting for, the prouder he is likely to feel. To his people he is a genuine hero, and to himself, as well. For him, war is in no sense a game or a dirty mess. It is a mission, a holy cause, his chance to prove himself and gain a supreme purpose in living. His hatred of the enemy makes this soldier feel supremely real, and in combat his hatred finds its only appropriate appeasement."

— J. Glen Gray



"If I had time . . . to study war, I think I should concentrate almost entirely on the 'actualities of war'— the effects of tiredness, hunger, fear, lack of sleep, weather . . . The principles of strategy and tactics, and the logistics of war are really absurdly simple: it is the actualities that make war so complicated and so difficult, and are usually so neglected by historians."

— Field-Marshal Lord Wavell



"In the military, it is said that amateurs talk of battles and tactics while professionals talk of logistics."

— from The Warrior's Edge, by Col. John B. Alexander, Major Richard Groller, and Janet Morris (p. 169)



"The distance at which all shooting weapons take effect screens the killer against the stimulus sensation which would otherwise activate his killing inhibitions. The deep, emotional layers of our personality simply do not register the fact that the crooking of the finger to release a shot tears the entrails of another man."

— Konrad Lorenz



"Palliation is as common on the battlefield as ants in an anthill. It includes a wide variety of 'inter-psychic modes' affecting the individual's subconscious, such as denial, in which he simply denies that a threat exists, displacement, when he 'escapes' from the battlefield in spirit although not in body; ritualisation; humor, and so on. The process of palliation may be assisted by the use of drugs or alcohol, which, similarly, make the situation no safer — they may actually make it more dangerous — but help the soldier to deal with stress by making his plight seem less threatening.

— Richard Holmes (paraphrasing R.S. Lazarus)



"If a person enlisting in the military is a criminal, he may find dangerous situations highly exciting and have few qualms about killing. Such a person could be an asset in combat. However, during peacetime service, he may prove hard to get along with. Bored and disgruntled, such an individual may fail to comply with rules and regulations and may commit crimes."

— Stanton E. Samenow, from Straight Talk about Criminals (p. 15)



"In military protocol, the warrior stands firm and speaks directly. When deployed in battle, the warrior focuses on his duty and acts accordingly. During battle, those wearing battle armor need not bow. Those in war chariots need not follow the rules of protocol. In times of war, one does not worry about seniority. One acts. The common patterns of human behavior, during times of war, are like inside and outside. The citizen and the warrior are like left and right, night and day."

— Su-ma Fu



"You get in the way of an M-14 or M-60 machine gun and there's no tellin' who's gonna get killed. And you get an angry 18-year-old kid behind the gun and he's just seen his buddy gettin' killed. And he's not gonna have no remorse for who's on the receiving end of that M-60 machine gun."

— Jack Hill, USMC



"Thousands of our men will be returning to you. They will have been gone a long time and done and felt things you cannot know. They will be changed. They will have to learn to adjust themselves to peace."

— Ernie Pyle



"There has seldom, if ever, been a shortage of eager young males prepared to kill and die to preserve the security, comfort, and prejudices of their elders."

— unknown



"They rode into the city of Chihuahua to a hero's welcome, driving the harlequin horses before them through the dust of the streets in a pandemonium of teeth and whited eyes. Small boys ran among the hooves and the victors in their gory rags smiled through the filth and the dust and the caked blood as they bore on poles the desiccated heads of the enemy through that fantasy of music and flowers."

— Cormac McCarthy, from Blood Meridian (p. 165)



"Here, old men dazed with blows watched the dying agonies of their murdered wives who clutched their children to their bleeding breasts; there, disemboweled girls who had been made to satisfy the natural appetites of heroes gasped their last sighs; others, half-burned, begged to be put to death. Brains were scattered on the ground among dismembered arms and legs."

— from Candide, by Voltaire



"The enemy is whoever wants to get you killed, whichever side they're on."

— "Yossarian," from Joseph Heller's Catch-22



"You can't expect any kind of mercy,

On the battlefield. . ."

— Suzanne Vega, from "When Heroes Go Down"



"If you are going to fight a war and you intend to be the victor, you must have a clearly stated and totally understood military objective."

— Carl von Clausewitz, from On War



"That I so wish that we lost, somehow,

All our firearms, nukes, and bomber planes,

And fought, instead, as did the Warriors of old,

With sword, axe, longbow, and spear,

On horseback or on foot,

Close up to our enemies,

So that we would have to see their faces,

Before taking off their heads."

— Oliver Bingham



"Long have they pass'd,

Faces and trenches and fields,

Where through the carnage I moved with a callous composure,

Or away from the fallen,

Onward I sped at the time —

But now of their forms at night,

I dream, I dream, I dream."

— Walt Whitman, from "Old War-Dreams"



"War's a brain-spattering, windpipe-slitting art,

Unless her cause by right be justified."

— Lord Byron, from Don Juan



"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets."

— Voltaire



"If officers desire to have control over their commands, they must remain habitually with them, industriously attend to their instruction and comfort, and in battle lead them well."

— General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson



"I give orders only when they are necessary. I expect them to be executed at once and to the letter and that no unit under my command shall make changes, still less give orders to the contrary or delay execution through unnecessary red tape."

— Field Marshal Erwin Rommel



"The leader of men in warfare can show himself to his followers only through a mask, a mask that he must make for himself, but a mask made in such form as will mark him to men of his time and place as the leader they want and need."

— John Keegan



"There is required for the composition of a great commander not only massive common sense and reasoning power, not only imagination, but also an element of legerdemain, an original and sinister touch, which leaves the enemy puzzled as well as beaten."

— Winston Churchill



"In all forms of warfare the loser is beaten in spirit before he is beaten in fact."

— David J. Rogers



"I considered war to be an utter waste of my time and energy, since most wars involved people I did not know arguing about matters I did not care about in pursuit of goals that would not have any direct impact upon me."

— Peter David, from Sir Apropos of Nothing (p. 2)



"The worst thing about war is that so many people enjoy it."

— Ellen Glasgow



"Believe it or not, I ran into far more goddamn snitches in Basic Training than I did in jail! A buncha brown-nosin' toadies they were!"

— anonymous (RWT)



"One third, or 654 of 2054 American tanks used during Desert Storm, were equipped with (depleted) uranium armor plating, providing them with a tactical advantage, because the conventional Iraqi weapons would have no chance of penetrating them. But by their use, the American tank crews were exposed to whole-body gamma radiation, similar to X-rays emanating from the uranium armor. . . . (Furthermore,) external gamma radiation emitted from (depleted) uranium shells can be as high as 200 millirads per hour . . ."

— Dr. Helen Caldicott, from The New Nuclear Danger (pp. 151-152)



"Aerosol DU exposures to soldiers on the battlefield could be significant with potential radiological and toxicological effects. Under combat conditions, the MEIs (most exposed individuals) are probably the ground troops that reenter a battlefield following the exchange of armor-piercing munitions, either on foot or motorized transport."

— an unnamed Army contractor in a report from July 1990



"Think of having your eyelid pierced with a pin or your sex organs split with a scalpel. Imagine the pain of having your teeth extracted — not by a dentist using an anesthetic, but by someone with a pocketknife and pliers. Now consider what your thoughts would be if you were exposed to those circumstances while you were unable to defend yourself; under supervision by enemy soldier."

— Dirk von Schrader, from Elementary Field Interrogation (p. 24)



"Lots of young soldiers these days put in a lot of time in the gym. All well and good, but physical fitness on its own is not enough. It's time to sweep away the action-movie stuff; fantastic muscle tone and fancy gear is not going to save you in a firefight."

— Peter McAleese, from McAleese's Fighting Manual (p. ix)



"A soldier's energies may be excited to the point of hysteria because he knows he may be killed at any moment. If he is killed, he may panic and enter the body of the first accommodating living person he can find. The most suitable being is usually a nearby soldier . . . this happens often. The living warrior goes home after the war and finds himself doing things not in keeping with his personality. Because he has been involved in a war, his loved ones and therapist attribute his changed behavior to stress. It is not stress. It is the daily influence of another person, living right alongside the warrior's body."

— Anderson Reed, from Shouting at the Wolf (p. 117)



"That sense of power, of looking down the barrel of a rifle at somebody and saying, 'Wow, I can drill this guy.' Doing it is something else too. You don't necessarily feel bad; you feel proud, especially if it's one on one, he has a chance."

— James Hebron, USMC Scout/Sniper



"All you do is move that finger so imperceptibly, just a wish flashing across your mind like a shadow, not even a full brain synapse, and poof! In a blast of sound and energy and light a truck or a house or even people disappear, everything flying and settling back into dust."

— William Broyles



"Killing itself could be seen as an act of carnival: combat gear, painted faces, and the endless refrain that men turn into 'animals' were the martial equivalent of the carnival mask. They enabled men to invert the moral order while still remaining innocent and committed to that order. . . . Carnivalesque rites of killing did not demand rejection of the law, but a reassertion of men's commitment to rules against extreme violence. Transgression could be enjoyable because the law was well-respected. . . . Carnivalesque rites and fantasies drawn from a wide range of combat literature and films enabled combatants to refashion themselves as heroic warriors."

— Joanna Bourke, from An Intimate History of Killing (pp. 25, 30-31)



"Frighteningly, psychiatrists recognized that more men broke down in war because they were not allowed to kill than under the strain of killing."

— Joanna Bourke, from An Intimate History of Killing (p. 237)



"It was morally right to shoot an unarmed Vietnamese who was running, but wrong to shoot one who was standing or walking; it was wrong to shoot an enemy prisoner at close range, but right for a sniper at long range to kill an enemy soldier who was no more able than a prisoner to defend himself; it was wrong for infantrymen to destroy a village with white-phosphorus grenades, but right for a fighter pilot to drop napalm on it."

— from A Rumor of War, by Phillip Caputo (pp. 229-230)



"The rules of war are like the rules of the road: any honest and realistic person will expect them to be broken, but some drivers will commit more frequent and more serious violations than others, and there may be other drivers who very rarely offend."

— Kenneth Maddock



"The best warrior

leads without haste

fights without anger

overcomes without confrontation

He puts himself below

and brings out the highest in his men"

— Lao Tzu, from Tao Te Ching, The Definitive Edition (Star translation), Verse 68



"When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose."

— from "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," by Randall Jarrell



"May you die with your boots on!"

— olde riflemen's toast

[Cain]

TRAINING



"You can't learn to shoot by reading a book. Physical skills that require hand-eye coordination must be tried, practiced, and experienced in a physical way in order to be learned. It's more a matter of developing good motor habits than of gaining mental knowledge."

— Bill Clede, from Police Handgun Manual (p.11)



"At the range he worked on his stance, breath control, eye focus. The idea was to build almost a second self. Someone smarter and more detached. Do this perfectly and you've developed a new standard for times of danger and stress."

— unknown



"I wanted to be the best gunfighter in the world. That, I knew, would take years of effort. I was willing . . . Soon, the inside flesh of my trigger finger was worn off, and I was wiping my blood from the trigger when I cleaned my revolver at the end of the day."

— G. Gordon Liddy, from Will (p. 88)



"Clear your mind with a black image . . . think black. That is the color of nothingness. If a man is just firing his handgun without thinking about it, he's just doing it. But the moment he thinks, "I might miss," he's lost his focus of concentration. He's listening to a little voice that's saying, 'Can I or can't I?' And the answer will be, 'I can't.'"

— Michael Echanis



"Every animal moves in a different way, (and) every man fights in a different way. Observe, but don't copy!"

— Master Bimba



"I was trying out my new sjambok on the heavy bag, and I put a fuckin' GASH in it!"

— Ollie the Dipshit



"Musashi, who trained himself, became a master swordsman who was never defeated."

— Kerr Cuhulain



"Using the suction tipped darts against a full length mirror, where the student can see his own mistakes and aim at the reflection of his own body, will help a great deal.  The darts will stick on the mirror at the point of impact, showing where the bullets would've hit if a gun had been used.  Basic errors are much more easily corrected with training of this type."

—Rex Applegate, from Kill or Be Killed (pp. 126-127)



"There is little to be gained by wasting time and resources maintaining a level of strength or fitness far beyond that which you may need. These levels can be adjusted to cope with increased needs as they arise. Excessive training can cause undue wear on joints which will be regretted later."

— Sweyn Plowright, from True Helm (p. 25)



"If you intend to carry a blade for defensive (as well as utilitarian) purposes, it is imperative that you learn how to make proper cuts. The only way one can perfect their cuts is to occasionally practice with a suitable training target. By far, the best target medium would be a fresh side of beef — but if such an item is not practical for you, a discarded exercise mat or carpet (rolled, taped, and stood vertically against the wall) works almost as well. If your cutting techniques are untested, it will be impossible for you ever to reach your full potential. Imaginary opponents can only get you so far."

— anonymous (RWT)



"Weapons, such as knives, eliminate most grappling techniques. Try wrestling with an opponent wielding a Magic Marker and see how long you can avoid being turned into a piece of graffiti."

— from Attack Proof , by John Perkins, Al Ridenhour, and Matt Kovsky (p. 174)



"Another training technique is the puncturing of an orange. This may sound fairly simple, but pick up an orange and try sticking your finger into it. The flexibility of the orange gives it considerable strength. Now place two or three fingers closely together and, again, using psychokinesis or ki, project the fingers through the fruit. Strike very quickly, with the mind projecting force ahead of the strike."

— from The Warrior's Edge, by Col. John B. Alexander, Major Richard Groller, and Janet Morris (p. 195)



"A knight cannot shine in war if he is has not prepared for it in tournaments. He must have seen his own blood flow, have had his teeth crackle under the blows of his adversary, have been dashed to the earth with such force as to feel the weight of his foe, and disarmed twenty times; he must twenty times have retrieved his failures, more set than ever upon the combat. Then he will be able to confront actual war with the hope of being victorious."

— Roger de Hovenden



"The exercising of weapons putteth away aches, griefs, and diseases, it increaseth strength and sharpenth the wits, it giveth a perfect judgement, it expelleth melancholy, choleric, and evil conceits, it keepeth a man in breath, perfect health, and long life."

— George Silver, from Paradoxes of Defence (1599)



"Wax on, wax off . . ."

— Mister Miyogi, from "The Karate Kid"

[Cain]

FIGHTING



"Fighting is not combat! A fight can be many things, and occasionally it can escalate into combat, but it isn't initially. Combat and fighting call for radically different mindsets. Often, a fight is used to settle disputes and to establish dominance. Combat has no rules. It is a fight to the death or the crippling of your opponent."

— Marc "Animal" MacYoung, from Cheap Shots, Ambushes, and Other Lessons (p. 12)



"The right to self-defense is the right to life itself."

— from the Loompanics catalog



"Only a warrior chooses pacifism; others are condemned to it."

— unknown



"Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate. Neither wisdom nor technique has a place in this. . . . (do) not think of victory or defeat."

— from Hagakure, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo (Wilson translation)



"I dislike death, however, there are some things I dislike more than death. Therefore, there are times when I will not avoid danger."

— Mencius



"I have a high art, I hurt with cruelty those who would damage me."

— Archirocus, 650 BC



"A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight; nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

— John Stuart Mill



When facing multiple opponents, you must attack first and keep attacking until the danger subdues."

— Miyomo Musashi, from The Book of Five Rings



"You know, a lot of guys wearing black sashes and teaching fighting have never had a real fight in their lives. They may be good at fighting by rules, even be called champions by some people. But I know a few guys whose only training is lifting a glass of sour mash to their lips; who could see these "champions" off and not even raise a sweat."

— Cacoy Hernandez



"In Hollywood action movies, the fight scenes are full of exaggerated, flashy moves. Stunt people go bouncing off of springboards doing soaring kicks. Serious martial artists and police officers will tell you that, in real life, the best moves are the most subtle ones. The best moves are quick, hard to see, and devastatingly effective."

— Kerr Cuhulain, from Full Contact Magick (p. 71)



"Do not underestimate your opponent. It is very possible that he is: more experienced at fighting, accustomed to being hit, highly motivated, physically strong, has knowledge of martial arts, incapable of backing down, or armed. Never assume he's just some wussy who'll fall down or run away."

— anonymous (RWT)



"In self-defense, there is one rule which you must obey: there are no rules! Always use a weapon as opposed to "fighting fair." Sometimes a deterrent is just as good, and don't threaten to do it — do it! If a guy calls you out, smack him down straight away and when he's down, make sure that he doesn't get up easily."

— Cacoy Hernandez



"I was small and anti-social, with a reputation for not winning, not quitting, and using a blade to avoid losing. I was tough-guy repellent. Bragging about pounding some bone-rack into the ground is not worth getting shanked over."

— James LaFond



"A small injustice can be drowned by a cup of wine; a great injustice can be drowned only by the sword."

— unknown



"Avoidance is the best possible defense. Avoid the criminal and you won't be obliged to risk your life to defend yourself."

— George Hunter



"WAKE THE FUCK UP, PAL! Avoiding the fight is a goddamn technique, and not just a self-defense technique, either. It is an absolutely essential survival technique."

— Peyton Quinn



"ANYTIME YOU STEP INTO THE ARENA A PHYSICAL VIOLENCE, YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT IT MAY NOT END UNTIL EITHER YOU OR YOUR OPPONENT, MAYBE BOTH, ARE DEAD. I don't care if it's just a warning slap to someone — it can escalate! Anytime you are tempted to resort to violence, this is the bottom line: if you ain't ready to die for it or kill for it, don't do it."

— Marc MacYoung, from A Professional's Guide to Ending Violence Quickly (p. 13)



"Do yourself a favor and don't bother hitting people in the mouth! The reason is two-fold. One, the mouth is backed up by bones. Bones are hard, and they hurt your hand. Second — and this is the real motive behind avoiding the mouth as a target — is that this is one of the dirtiest, most bacteria-riddled portions of the body. . . . If you hit someone in the mouth and cut your hand on his teeth, you can get seriously infected! I mean possibly hospital-time infected."

— Marc "Animal" MacYoung, from Fists, Wits, and a Wicked Right (p. 75)



"All-or-none, black-or-white perceptions and responses are a major problem in human life, of course. Someone makes a slighting remark to you and your adrenaline begins flowing, your muscles tighten, your body prepares for fight or flight, and you feel very threatened, angry, or anxious. Yet it was only a small verbal slight; no bodily response was called for. We overreact or underreact too often, whereas we need to react in correct proportion to the reality of the situation."

— Charles T. Tart, from Waking Up (p.28)



"Back when I was younger, if you got into a barfight the bartender would yell at you and say that you couldn't come back until you'd paid for the damages. Nowadays, you'd be arrested for felony assault and sent to prison — even if the guy you hurt refused to press charges! Things sure have changed a lot over the past 30 years."

— anonymous (RWT)



"Remember; if you harm someone, you will have to answer for it — and live with what you have done."

— Richard Chun



"Don't hit at all, if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft."

— Theodore Roosevelt



"Never do an enemy a small injury."

— Machiavelli



"Violence should be exclusively reserved for use towards truly deserving individuals who possess the ability and means to adequately defend themselves."

— C. R. Jahn



"Approach the enemy with the attitude of defeating him without delay."

— Miyamoto Musashi



"Once (you) engage the opponent, emotion disappears. It is replaced by total concentration and dedication to a single ideal — victory."

— Hanho



"It is fundamental in all fighting that he who strikes first wins, unless his opponent is prepared."

— General John Ross Delafield



". . . never underestimate how fast someone can attack you. When motivated, people can explode on you in a fraction of a second. Never take your eyes off an attacker even for an instant. . . . A person standing within arms' reach of you (or closer) is in your kill zone. . . . At this distance, you have little or no time to react to an attack, especially if it is fast and non-telegraphic."

— Richard Ryan, from Master of the Blade (p. 17, 74)



"You should always conserve your energy, save a little in reserve in case a supreme effort is suddenly needed. Two essential aspects are inner calmness and a degree of self-awareness. Experienced martial artists learn to use economical movements. Often an experienced fighter in his 30s or 40s can hold his own against much younger, stronger opponents because of this factor."

— Robert K. Spear, from Survival on the Battlefield (p. 9)



"To generate great power you must first totally relax and gather your strength, and then concentrate your mind and all your strength on hitting your target."

— Bruce Lee



"Once going to the ground, never stop moving.  Start rolling or try to get back on your feet as quickly as possible.  If you can't get up and can't roll, pivot on your hips and shoulders so you can face your opponent and block with your feet any attempt to close with you."

—Rex Applegate, from Kill or Be Killed (p. 15)



"When a man's fight begins within himself, he is worth something."

— Robert Browning



"Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning."

— General George S. Patton, Jr.



"Don't go looking for a fight — but if you're hit, deck the bastard."

— Roger Ailes



"Precision is of the utmost importance when engaged in any sort of conflict. A carefully aimed pistol shot is typically far more effective than emptying an entire magazine from the hip; an accurate strike with a properly formed hand weapon usually does far more damage than a flurry of undirected blows; and a short factual statement consisting of carefully chosen words delivered in an appropriate tone will most likely elicit the desired response, whereas a mere exchange of taunts delivered with a rapid high-pitched voice will often prove counter-productive."

— anonymous (RWT)



"When it looks like the shit is going to hit the fan, you don't want to be jacking your jaw. Keep your mouth shut and locked. Most broken jaws occur when the mouth is open."

— Marc "Animal" MacYoung, from Violence, Blunders, and Fractured Jaws (p. 238)



"A fight is a sociological function, in which there are rules and limits. Combat is a free-for-all, where victory is awarded to the survivor. There are no rules; in combat, you do what you have to do to win. These things are as different as night and day. If you can't differentiate between them, you can land in a heap of trouble. . . . Most situations are not combat; they are fights, and therefore less intense. So relax about it."

— Marc "Animal" MacYoung, from Cheap Shots, Ambushes, and Other Lessons (p. 6)



"Street fighters usually do not have any special stance or approach; they usually just come wading in. . . . Most street fighters have one or two special techniques which they have found from practical experience to be effective. They usually attempt one of these favored moves at the start of a fight, hoping to end it quickly and flashily. . . . A street fighter will rarely give up. If he does, he will probably attack again the moment you relax your vigilance."

— Joe Hyams, from Playboy's Book of Practical Self-Defense (p. 52)



"Don't be overconfident. There is always someone stronger or better than you, regardless of size or physical shape. . . . Some fat people have remarkably strong stomachs that can withstand the hardest blow you can throw. Some persons who appear frail are strong and supple as a willow. . . . It is foolhardy to think that because you are bigger and seem to be in better condition or have some fighting experience you can handle any situation or person. It is much wiser to assume that your opponent is more dangerous than you think. This is especially true when confronting a street fighter."

— Joe Hyams, from Playboy's Book of Practical Self-Defense (p. 52-53)



"Reality is not a movie. You can't withstand a barrage of blows like Clint Eastwood in an old western barroom brawl and remain standing. When an elbow is slammed into your neck, your neck breaks. When a fist is buried deep into your kidneys, you land in the hospital. Tightening your neck muscles won't stop a chop to your throat, nor will closing your eyelids stop an eye gouge. It's simply a joke to think the ability to do 500 sit-ups will protect your midsection. What muscles protect your ribcage?

— from Attack Proof , by John Perkins, Al Ridenhour, and Matt Kovsky (p. 46)



"Getting hit with an elbow is like getting hit with a baseball bat."

— from Attack Proof , by John Perkins, Al Ridenhour, and Matt Kovsky (p. 141)



"Three men can have a hard time fighting against one. They must train together or their rhythm is off, they get in one another's way, they have to be careful not to attack a friend. The lone man has no such problems. Everyone is an enemy. The thought and the action are one."

— James D. Macdonald, from The Apocalypse Door (p. 188)



"Back off as much as possible, and never square off as though you are planning to attack. You should take your opponent by surprise. If a fight is inevitable and he's within range, get off the first punch and make it effective."

— Bruce Lee



". . . as we know, the first rule of Unarmed Combat is to 'arm yourself' . . ."

— C. R. Jahn, from Hardcore Self-Defense (p. 41)



"How people choose to defend themselves is as much a part of national character as literature, costumes or cooking."

— Richard F. Burton, from The Sentiment of the Sword (1911)



"Violence never settles anything."

— Genghis Khan

[Cain]

STREETFIGHTING



"Commit yourself violently and totally. Attack to destroy. Never fight anybody on equal terms."

— Lt.Col. Anthony B. Herbert



"The folowing actions are effective:  Pulling hair, tearing a lip, grasping and twisting (or tearing) the nose.  A grip with the point of thumb and forefinger, or bite, on the thick muscles that extend from the neck to the shoulder; a thumb and forefinger grip, or bite, across the breast muscles to the arm; kicking or biting the Achilles tendon back of the heel — all are effective."

—Rex Applegate, from Kill or Be Killed (p. 11)



"Rip using your hands to squeeze and tear at any soft tissue areas of the body. . . . Pull at the eyes, neck, throat, ears, groin, lips, hair, fingers, or any loose fold of skin, like around the underarms, waist, corners of the mouth, or the like."

— from Attack Proof , by John Perkins, Al Ridenhour, and Matt Kovsky (pp. 21-22)



"With his right hand he grabbed at the re-bar man's face. His huge thumb slid into the man's mouth between cheek and gum. He clenched his grip tightly and pulled viciously down. One side of the man's face was torn open in a jagged, bloody line from ear to jaw."

— from Chain of Evidence by Michael Detroit (p. 230)



"Take a look at the way your ears are connected to the side of your head. They are glued on in an up and down direction. That's how you want to try to take them off. . . . Straight down or past his chest is the angle you want to go for."

— Marc "Animal" MacYoung, from Floor Fighting (pp. 159-160)



"If you succeed in hooking two fingertips into your opponent's nostrils, it is possible to peel his nose off his face by suddenly jerking it upwards, shearing the moorings. If you pull someone's nose off, you'll be able to see his tonsils."

— C. R. Jahn, from Hardcore Self-Defense (p. 62)



"(He) taught me several tricks of waterfront fighting that were often useful. One was the so-called Liverpool Kiss, where you catch a man behind his neck and jerk his face down to meet your upcoming skull. Done properly it can obliterate, for the time being, a man's features and make him less than anxious to pursue the argument."

— Louis L'Amour, from Education of a Wandering Man (p. 23)



"Kneeing him in the groin is okay, nothing wrong with biting, but gouging the eyes works best. . . . they are the most sensitive body part, requiring the least force from you. You don't even have to touch someone's eyes to produce a reflective movement."

— Sanford Strong, from Strong on Defense (p. 63)



"Bite a chunk out of his cheek, nose, or neck. I know these . . . pictures I am placing in your mind are ugly. Remember, you must be as uncivilized as he is for a few seconds in order to escape. . . . Pound for pound of square-inch power, nothing matches your jaw."

— Sanford Strong, from Strong on Defense (p. 65)



"Your teeth are a most effective natural weapon. If, for example, you are immobilized by a bear-hug, bite into your opponent's shoulder. If a hand is over your mouth, bite it. If any portion of your opponent's body is touching your face, bite hard."

— Joe Hyams, from Playboy's Book of Practical Self-Defense (p. 27)



"A friend of mine was telling me about a bad fight that happened at the club he was DJing. About a half-dozen guys were cutting each other up with knives in the front of the room . . . real bad situation. Know how they broke it up? About fifty people started throwing forties (40 oz beer bottles) at them until they stopped! That's some fucked up shit."

— The Chinaman (paraphrased)



"End the fight as rapidly as possible — give no quarter; be totally ruthless; do not stop short of total victory."

— Anthony B. Herbert, from Military Manual of Self Defense (p. 12)



"Put on your shitkickers and kick some shit!"

— House of Pain

[Cain]

KNIFEFIGHTING



"There is one unquestionable rule in knife fighting: never get into a knife fight. There are no winners in edged weapon contests — only losers to varying degrees."

— Fred Rexer, Jr.



"Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like? What would be the feeling of a real blade entering another man's body? That initial resistance — and that sudden giving? The surprise on another man's face!"

— "The Villainous Master" in By the Sword (1991)



"After massive bleeding (exsanguination) and infection, most deaths are caused by air in the bloodstream (embolism), suffocation (asphyxia), or collapsed lung (pneumothorax). Even if major arteries are cut and severe loss of blood ensues, an adult can remain fully conscious from two to thirty seconds . . . Even mortally wounded duelists were sometimes able to continue fighting effectively long enough to take the lives of those who had taken theirs. A stricken man frequently does not feel the full effects of his wound and, blinded with rage, may simply throw himself on his opponent with renewed fury."

— Richard Cohen, from By the Sword (pp. 286-287)



"After all, the weapon itself is designed for antagonistic combat. Its point can indeed be described only with the cliche' of 'needle-sharp.' It will snag veins, arteries, and muscles on its path through the body, tearing them as the blade progresses. The resulting damage is a function of organs hit and depth of penetration. Given the anatomical variants of the opponent's body, a deliberate attempt at an instant kill with a thrust into a 'vital point' could be compared with trying to impale an airborne fly hovering behind a curtain."

— Christopher Amberger, from Secret History of the Sword (p. 103)



"The untrained or poorly skilled knife user will stab and slash at anything offered him in the hope of seeing success. Any idiot can pick up a knife and engage in a free-for-all cutting spree. The expert knife player studies human anatomy with the intensity of a surgeon. The right strike at the right point is his goal. A fight can be concluded with a single shallow cut if it is delivered properly."

— Greg Walker, from Modern Knife Combat (p. 52)



"The key point of an effective slash is in the amount of contact made with the sharp edge of the blade. Conversely, the main point in thrusting is to have maximum power in the stabbing motion."

— Michael De Alba



"A slash (or cut) can be long and deep or short and shallow, depending upon the bladesman's skill and the flow of the confrontation. Contrary to popular thought, slashes can be every bit as lethal as a thrust depending upon the target area affected. In most cases, however, the slash is meant to soften up the opponent through mental shock from being cut and physical trauma brought on by bleeding. Filipino knife philosophy offers a thought process of 'three strikes and the man is down.' The slash may commonly be used as the opening strike in such a scenario, with a second slash followed by a thrust completing the equation, or with a thrust inserted between two slashes."

— Greg Walker, from Modern Knife Combat (p. 20)



"Since the daga is very sharp and needle-pointed, the mere twisting of the wrist or the turning of the finger is all that is needed to inflict deep puncture wounds. . . . Fighting with the daga might as well be fighting with the empty hand. You will be well within punching, kicking, head-butting, and wrestling distance, so there is the great need for quick feet to vary distances abruptly."

— Amante Marinas, from Pananandata (p. 50)



"When I pin that foot — as well as shoving a knife into his eyeball — he loses his balance. He goes down very quickly. . . . A quick jab is all you need. We're not trying to kill this adversary. We're trying to dissuade him from attacking us further. To say that this is a humanitarian act — to puncture someone's eye . . . is a little bit far-fetched. But compared to what you could do with a knife, yes — it is humanitarian. You are trying not to kill."

— James Keating, from the COMTECH video, Reverse Grip Knifefighting (0:34, 0:50)



"The knife, it must be remembered, is a universal phenomenon. It exists in some form or other in every culture of the world. When used for personal protection, the techniques for its deployment vary as much as one culture varies from another."

— James Loriega, from Sevillian Steel (p. 2)



"Don't wait for him to attack! Pick up a light chair and rush him with it, lion-tamer fashion. Aim one foot of the chair at his throat and the opposite foot at his groin. The seat of the chair serves as a very reliable shield to protect you from the knife. Remember to thrust or charge with the legs of the chair. Don't make the TV mistake of swinging the chair like an axe or club."

— N. Mashiro, Ph.D., from Black Medicine III (p. 118)



"Using a coat, leather jacket, smock, or a spare shirt to defend against a blade is certainly a practice as old as the blade itself. It would only be natural for the prehistoric hunter to armor himself with the skin of his prey."

— James LaFond



"More than mere technique, he taught the spirit of the use of cold steel as a weapon of preference of a man of honor and a gentleman."

— G. Gordon Liddy, of Captain Stevens 



"Hand to hand combat with edged weapons is the most demanding of human physical combat. It not only demands the most skill, both physical and mental, it develops in the adept abilities that separates him from others and elevates intuition, reflexes, and technique to the highest degree . . . the emotional tie is stronger than for other weapons, and the training for its use strengthens spirit."

— Lynn Thompson 



"If you're considering training with weapons and are still deciding which one to master first, I'd recommend the butcher knife. The average butcher knife has a wicked 8" blade with a comfortable grip, good balance, and an integral hilt. Not only do they take a far better edge than most flea market fighting knives, but you can find one in virtually any home — just look in the kitchen. It's easy to learn how to use it effectively, it's legal to own, and it'll command a lot more respect than a broomstick or a belt (as Charlie Manson once said, 'Everybody's afraid of gettin' cut!'). Once you believe that you've nearly mastered the use of the butcher knife as a weapon, start training with one in either hand."

— anonymous (RWT) 



"A heavy knife is a club with a sharp edge. You chop with it. The feeling is like chopping at a piece of firewood with a hatchet. The heavy knife can cut or break bone where the light knife can only slice soft tissue."

— N. Mashiro, from Black Medicine, Vol. IV, Equalizers (p. 49)



"In close quarters fighting there is no more deadly weapon than the knife. An entirely unarmed man has no certain defense against it, and, further, merely the sudden flashing of a knife is frequently enough to strike fear into your opponent, causing him to lose confidence . . . A quick draw (an essential in knife fighting) can not be accomplished unless the sheath is firmly secured to the clothing or equipment. Moreover, speed on the draw can be accomplished only by constant daily practice."

— W. E. Fairbairn, from Get Tough! (p. 96)



"If you're relying upon a 3" 'tactical folder' or a 2" 'neck knife' for personal defense, be sure you're free of any grandiose delusions about your 'weapon's' capabilities."

— C. R. Jahn, from Hardcore Self-Defense (p. 87)



"When utilizing a knife without a proper guard — such as the balisong and many boot knives — it is advised that one 'cap' the pommel with one's thumb if the knife is being grasped in the 'reverse' or 'icepick' grip. Although this may weaken the grip if the weapon is subjected to lateral pressure, it will effectively prevent one's fingers from being sliced if the hand slides up over the blade after impacting bone."

— C. R. Jahn



". . . the greatest advantage of the edged weapon is that it need only touch you to do damage. Contact usually means cutting. . . . The edged weapon requires very little speed and even less strength to do its job. . . . When steel meets human flesh, flesh loses and a slash can open up large wounds. This is because the skin is somewhat elastic and, when severed, the tissue separates around the wound. . . . What would happen if you took a pin and popped a hole in (a garden) hose? You would instantly get a violent spray of water. If you were to slash the hose, the water would surge forth at a rapid rate. So it is with arteries. . . . Cut anything you can. Cut the hands, arms, legs, feet, face, body, anything you can reach, and especially the hand with the (weapon) in it."

— Richard Ryan, from Master of the Blade (p. 18, 45, 54, 100)



"When withdrawing the knife from a deep stab wound it is oftentimes difficult because the flesh of the body has a tendency to contract and grip the blade and suction adds to the problem and care should be taken not to snap the blade. If penetration was as deep as it should have been you may well require both hands to withdraw the knife. . . . Most experts say to leave the knife in but I don't advocate it because it can be traced . . ."

— John Minnery, from How to Kill, Vol. I (p. 23)



"Be warned! The only way to know whether you are master of balisong is to fight with it — for real!"

— Master Bimba



"The blade must be your constant companion. . . . she should be at your side in whatever you do, always providing assistance, support, and confidence. Treat her well, keep her sharp, and she will be faithful to you to the end."

— Don Santiago Rivera

[Cain]

COMBAT



"Remember: once you have ascertained that you are dealing with hostile intruders, the staircase becomes a free-fire zone."

— Massad Ayoob



"If he is willing to kill, then he must be prepared to die. It is only right."

— C. W. Nicol



"Once you've accepted your own death, you can become really proficient at killing because it is no longer important if you die."

— Dave Nelson, USMC Scout/Sniper



"He found the best way to accept his predicament was to just assume that he was dead already. He was dead already. He just kept doing his job."

— from Black Hawk Down, by Mark Bowden (p. 255)



"Killing someone is a unique ability all by itself. Not everyone can lay a weapon's sights on a fellow human being and crank off a round. The Army has been keeping data on soldiers' killing abilities ever since WWII. The data supports the conclusion that out of an entire platoon of soldiers, you have perhaps two men who qualify as genuine killers. Men who actually see enemy troops, put the front sight blade on them, and blow them away . . . Genuine killers are not to be confused with guys who simply spray an area and happen to hit and kill someone . . . It takes a certain something not found in everybody."

— Medal of Honor recipient Franklin D. Miller



"My first reaction, rooted in the illusion that anyone trying to kill ne must have a personal motive, was: 'Why does he want to kill me? What did I ever do to him?' A moment later, I realized there was nothing personal about it. All he saw was a man in the wrong uniform. He was trying to kill me and he would try again because that was his job."

— Phillip Caputo



"Battle scenes in films often make people who have been in battles restless. On the screen there are particular conventions to be observed. Men blown up by high explosives in real war, for example, are often torn apart quite hideously; in films, there is a big bang and bodies, intact, fly through the air with the greatest of ease. If they are shot . . . they fall down like children in a game, to lie motionless. The most harrowing thing in real battles is that they usually don't lie still; only the lucky ones are killed outright."

— General Sir John Hackett



"When you made contact with the enemy, you went from the most horrible boredom to the most intense excitement I've ever known in my life. You couldn't remain detached. Someone was trying to kill you and you were trying to kill someone, and it was like every thrill hitting you all at once. . ."

— Mark Smith



"There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter."

— Ernest Hemingway



"Many had died there, and others were in the last agonies as we passed. Their groans and cries were heart rending . . . The gory corpses lying all about us, in every imaginable attitude, and slain by an inconceivable variety of wounds, were shocking to behold."

— unknown Union soldier at Shiloh



"Attacking such a person or his family, or even posing to do so, is an express ticket to the morgue. In the morgue, your corpse will lie on a cold, stainless-steel tray."

— Peyton Quinn



"There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result."

— Winston Churchill



"Yah ta hey! Hoka hey!" ("It is a good day to fight! It is a good day to die!")

— Lakota Sioux war cry.



"Become the perfect dance partner. Before you engage, show the terrible joy of your true face. Put on the True Helm of Terror and lay waste to the psychic battleground with the realization that your enemy is self-defeated. This is one of the great secrets of victory."

— Sweyn Plowright, from True Helm



"FINISH HIM!!!"

— from the Mortal Kombat videogame

[Cain]

CHAIRBORNE



"What I aspired to be, and was not, comforts me."

— R. Browning



"He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches."

— Bernard Shaw



"I hadn't trained myself for years to be a warrior, only to spend my life behind a typewriter writing and editing."

— G. Gordon Liddy, from Will (p. 76)



"How I would've loved to vault over his desk and strangle the bastard, fat squeezing through my fingers. He was condemning me to spend the remainder of my time on this crummy little island in the middle of the East China Sea while my friends went to Vietnam and romped and stomped in the jungles, laughing at me when they came home, covered in honors and medals, while I sat pounding out tepid news release copy . . . It was my misfortune that I had the only journalism degree in the 1st Special Forces Group."

— Jim Morris, from War Story (p. 140)



"They were all Special Forces guys, of course. Not a leg in the bunch. There were about thirty of us in all. The clerks were all guys who had volunteered for the army, volunteered for jump training, volunteered for the Forces, and volunteered for Nam. Then somebody had discovered that they could type or something . . ."

Jim Morris, from War Story (p. 266)



"Those guys would stay around because of the status involved. They were somebody because they were at the place where that dangerous job was done. But they didn't want to or couldn't do that job. The staff sections usually had people in them who had been in the woods once or twice. But that was it. They never went back in again."

— Medal of Honor recipient Franklin D. Miller



"Many men look back to the days of war with an intense longing. They miss a time in their lives when they felt on the edge, intensely alive, a time when life and love walked hand in hand with death and destruction."

— Robert Moore & Douglas Gillette, from The Warrior Within (p. 54)



"The military is a profession that brands itself on the soul and causes you forever after to view the world and all human endeavor through a unique set of mental filters. . . . Close brutal combat puts a callous layer on each individual who undergoes the experience. With some men, their souls become trapped inside those accrued layers and they stay tightly bound up within themselves, unable or unwilling to reach outside that hard protective shell. For others, the effect is just the opposite. That coating becomes like a looking glass, highlighting and magnifying the things that are really important in life. Every sensation becomes precious and delicious."

— Eric L. Haney, from Inside Delta Force (pp. vi-vii)



"Many of the well-known difficulties faced by Vietnam vets upon their return home stemmed from a lack of respect for this necessary period of psychological adjustment. Instead of being mustered out over a period of weeks, as in other wars, somebody in the Pentagon decided the more humane approach would be to send the soldiers straight home. Many soldiers found themselves in their quiet hometowns less than seventy-two hours after leaving horrific combat situations. Add to this the indifference or active disrespect with which they were greeted, and their problems in adjusting are clear."

— Robert Moore & Douglas Gillette, from The Warrior Within (pp. 67-69)



"You had a very weird energy; it was just a completely different energy after you did that thing. You weren't fit for normal people."

— Bill Murray (in reference to something completely different, but it works here too)



"We wise, who with a thought besmirch

Blood over all our soul,

How should we see our task

But through his blunt and lashless eyes?

Alive, he is not vital overmuch;

Dying, not mortal overmuch;

Nor sad, nor proud,

Nor curious at all.

He cannot tell

Old men's placidity from his."

— Wilfred Owen, from "Insensibility," stanza V



"Our scars remind us that the past was real."

— Hannibal Lecter, from the screenplay for Red Dragon

[Cain]

WEAPONRY



"Your mind is your most powerful weapon."

— unofficial motto of the United States Special Forces



"In ancient times, tools and weapons meant survival. . . . To an extent, the same is true today. Weapons, or the threat of their deployment, are still used to wage war, to maintain law and order, and deter aggression. Above all else, weapons have kept us alive in a world in which we are physically inferior. Without them, we would have only been a footnote in the evolutionary chain."

— Richard Ryan, from Master of the Blade (p. 2)



"I train my students first in the use of weapons. As the student becomes more skilled in weapons use, there is instilled in him a mental attitude that weapons training and empty-hands training are identical. Thus, they come to realize that the transition from weapons to empty-hand training is more of a change in mental attitude than a physical one."

— Amante Marinas, from Pananandata (p. 137)



"The old Filipinos who made stick fighting an art preferred to hit the bone and preferred a stick to a blade. Instead of a clean cut, the stick left shattered bone. The business end of a stick can travel many times the speed of the empty hand. And it feels nothing, whether it hits hard bone or soft flesh."

— Dan Inosanto, from The Filipino Martial Arts (p. 11)



"If you're going to carry a weapon, make damn sure that it is legal for you to do so! Many states require a permit to carry a concealed handgun, and if you don't have that official 'permission slip' on your person, you will go to jail. Most states will allow you to carry a knife — even a full-sized hunting knife — but if you're caught carrying a double-edged dagger with a spiked knucklebow, you will go to jail. Most states will allow you to carry pepperspray, a sword cane, a butterfly knife or an oversized 'tactical folder' — but if you instead choose to carry nunchaku, a blackjack, brass knuckles, a switchblade, or a springblade 'ballistic knife,' you will go to jail. Familiarize yourself with your jurisdiction's laws, and don't take the stupid and unnecessary risk of carrying contraband weaponry when a legal alternative will work nearly as well!"

— anonymous (RWT)



"When the World is at Peace, a gentleman keeps his sword by his side."

— Wu Tsu



"The use of one's bare hands to defend against attack or to launch an attack has always been a desperation move, a method of last resort, by any people at any time and anywhere on this squalid little planet. It has only been rather recently in mankind's history that the habitual carrying of weapons has become something less than the universal norm."

— Peyton Quinn



"Don't hit your friend with your soft little hand — use this stick, it's harder!"

— remembered line from an old Cracked comic



"If someone attacks me on the street, I don't wanna just make him cry and give him a runny nose — I wanna wound the bastard!"

— anonymous female (when asked why she carries a knife instead of pepperspray)



"Do not hesitate to use your weapon when you and your loved ones face mortal danger."

— Eugene Sockut



"Weapons were named, surnamed, slang-named, christened, titled and dubbed. Protective devices. Bearings of perfect performance. Reciting these names was the soldier's poetry, his counterjargon to death."

— unknown



"An armed society is a polite society"

— Robert Heinlein



"Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right."

— Ani DiFranco



"For among other evils caused by being disarmed, it renders you contemptible."

— Machiavelli



"Armed individuals carry a weapon out of the primitive urge of the animal kingdom, self-preservation of themselves, their family and their chosen territory; whether it be their car, their house, or the bar stool they are sitting on."

— John M. La Tourrette



"It needs to be realized that fighting tactics come from techniques, and techniques are derived primarily (though not exclusively) from the mechanics of the weapon itself."

— John Clements, from Renaissance Swordsmanship



"A good weapon is an instrument of fear. All creatures have distaste for them."

— Lao Tzu



"The more weapons of violence, the more misery to mankind. The triumph of violence ends in a festival of mourning."

— Lao-tzu



"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."

Theodore Roosevelt (quoted as an African proverb)



"Give them enough food, give them enough arms, and the common people will have trust in you . . . . when there is no trust, the common people will have nothing to stand on."

— Confucius



"For psychological reasons, a man will have more confidence in a weapon of his own choosing; hence the weapon will have a direct bearing on his proficiency in practice and in combat."

— Rex Applegate, from Kill or Be Killed (p. 123)



"A man without a weapon to defend himself, especially after long exposure, is very likely to give up in despair. It is remarkable what a difference it would make in his morale if he had a small stick or cane in his hand. Now, add to this the knowledge that he could, with ease, kill any opponent with a stick, and you will then see how easy it is to cultivate the offensive spirit which is so essential in present-day warfare."

— W. E. Fairbairn, from Get Tough! (p. 74)



"One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them."

— Thomas Jefferson (to George Washington, 1796)



"One should never be far from one's weapons

When faring from home

You can never be certain when you will need

The use of your spear while out and about"

— from Havamal, verse 38, Plowright translation



"When the gods made man, they made a weapon."

— from The Odin Brotherhood, by Dr. Mark L. Mirabello



"If you do not have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one."

— Luke 22:36, attributed to Jesus (although many theologians are in disagreement as to this book's accuracy).



"If it looks like the shit is gonna go down, I reach into my pocket, smile, and whip a handful of pennies right in the fucker's face. Unlike Mace or aquarium gravel, a pocketful of change won't get a second glance if you happen to get frisked by the cops."

— anonymous (RWT)



"'I see two knives,' Mowery said calmly. 'Skinny guy in the middle, bald prick on the left.' Shifter laughed. 'Wait'll they see my sword." He smashed his cue stick violently on the edge of the pool table. When the stick snapped it broke along the grain, creating a long, very sharp point."

— from Chain of Evidence by Michael Detroit (p. 228)



"A flail is a flexible weapon like a chain or an extremely lightweight stick like a metal curtain rod or automobile antenna. . . . The amount of pain inflicted can be large even when the weapon is very light and insubstantial. . . . One of the really nice things about the light flail is the sound it makes as you swing it through the air. It 'hums.' People who hear that sound usually back off. Make it sing for you."

— N. Mashiro, from Black Medicine, Vol. IV, Equalizers (pp. 31-32)



"There was no way he could claim that he was just a tourist with a handgun in his pants. The same went for knives, garottes, and other aids to mayhem. Harsh language and a dangerous attitude would be all he had — that and a talent for turning household items to unintended purposes."

— James D. Macdonald, from The Apocalypse Door (p. 40)



"All uncouth, unknown wights are terrifyed by nothing earthly so much as by cold iron."

— Robert Kirk (1691)



"Don't carry a weapon unless you're going to pull it. Don't pull it unless you're going to use it. Don't use it unless you're going to kill with it."

— Animal's 3rd Law of Weapons



"The right to buy weapons is the right to be free."

— A. E. Van Vogt, from The Weapon Shops of Isher