Karate Quotes

(on one of his most famous characterizations, in The Karate Kid (1984)) Over the years, kids have come up to me in places like supermarkets, and hit me and said things like, "You hurt Ralph (Ralph Macchio)!" It makes me feel like the Darth Vader of the contemporary cinematic world. As "Sensei Jon Kreese," I`m truly hated and I love it. I had no idea how much anxiety people would be releasing by hating this character.

After years of learning to control my emotions in karate, I found it very difficult to reverse that process and fully express them. But I learn from my mistakes and develop more as an actor with each film role.

Alleged Chuck Norris Fact: "Faster than a speeding bullet ... more powerful than a locomotive ... able to leap tall buildings in a single bound... yes, these are some of Chuck Norris` warm-up exercises." I`ve got a bulletin for you, folks. I am no superman. I realize that now, but I didn`t always. As six-time world karate champion and then a movie star, I put too much trust in who I was, what I could do and what I acquired. I forgot how much I needed others and especially God. Whether we are famous or not, we all need God. We also need other people.

Whatever luck I had, I made. I was never a natural athlete, but I paid my dues in sweat and concentration and took the time necessary to learn karate and become world champion.

I am the Fred Astaire of karate.

I liked the movement, technique and philosophy and I was training to be the best. Karate`s a very boring sport, but when you know the technique you can go further and further. You need at least six or seven years to understand the philosophy and concentration of karate to know to clean your spirit of everything and dedicate your mind and body to the sport. I also use it for concentration before acting scenes.

I didn`t get that far with the martial arts thing. My boyfriend at the time was a black belt at karate and tried to help me, but I got scared.

(On Mixed Martial Arts as depicted in `Never Back Down`) I actually get a little upset when people say that it`s not a sport. It`s the evolution of karate, kung fu, ju jitsu, judo, muay-thai - all these sports in their singular form, coming together. Most of these are Olympic sports.

I really love the karate thing I did on CHIPs. I studied with a trainer because I knew we`d do episodes that had karate.

I`m awkward at these things. Just being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Karate Kid was a real surprise and I was a little uncomfortable.

If something is too hard to do, then it`s not worth doing. You just stick that guitar in the closet next to your shortwave radio, your karate outfit and your unicycle and we`ll go inside and watch TV.

Aikido is more practical in comparison to other Karate classes where you learn to hurt people. We learn to use attacker`s own strengths against them.

Midshipmen and cadets remain stronger and more aggressive than their male counterparts at civilian schools. They eagerly play sports such as rugby, boxing, karate, lacrosse, and football. They drive fast cars, usually sports cars. They play hard. They drink hard. They are physical, often abusive among each other. They are not trying to prove their manhood: they are celebrating their masculinity. They are competitive, often vulgar, and tough, and every citizen who may someday send a friend or relative into war should rejoice, because combat is competitive, vulgar, and tough, and they will be leading men in combat.