Chris Matakas Quotes & Sayings

Jiu Jitsu is the vehicle. Not the road. — Chris Matakas

Perhaps the journey towards epiphany is an unseen, steady process towards understanding. Likened to a combination safe, as you scroll the dial towards the inevitable correct combination you cannot tangibly see your progress. — Chris Matakas

He plays the same game, but for the first time in his life he is truly playing, rather than working, being a human, and this is a vast distinction realized by few. — Chris Matakas

Self-improvement is generally a removal of a vice rather than an acquisition of a virtue. — Chris Matakas

The high-minded pursuit of a Jiu Jitsu practitioner pursuing mastery cannot coexist well with the modern world. Our values vary immensely from our contemporaries. This pursuit leaves societal norms slaughtered in our wake. Those who share this journey will praise our efforts; those in the hive will think we have lost it. We must be willing to be misunderstood if we are to understand ourselves. — Chris Matakas

You are the space in which these thoughts arise, but not the thoughts themselves. — Chris Matakas

A saw by itself holds no value, but when coupled with your labor can clear forests. — Chris Matakas

Philosophy is then nothing more than properly directed questions made in an attempt to better understand the world in which we live as a means of improving the quality of one's life. — Chris Matakas

This constant mental diatribe and the frustrations, worries, insecurities and muscular tension that ensues are the self. — Chris Matakas

The major events in our lives receive the entire spotlight, but ultimately your life will be defined by the same handful of choices you make each day. — Chris Matakas

The more specifically you define your goals the more attainable they become. — Chris Matakas

The secular world often finds its constituents disenfranchised and solitary as it has spent a great deal of time debating the religious community while failing to build a true community of its own. — Chris Matakas

Do not seek victory, for victory in itself will not serve you. Seek to understand what made the victory possible. — Chris Matakas

I am fortunate to be content with having very little, and so I never wanted the new car, fancy clothes, the big TV and the video games. All I ever wanted to do was read, walk through the woods and do Jiu Jitsu. When this is the foundation upon which your life is built, you need very little in the way of material security. — Chris Matakas

We must remember that science is a way of using empirical evidence to better understand our world. We are all scientists, just many of us are not very good ones. However, we are all capable of exercising our intellects in a purposeful, linear pursuit of knowledge. — Chris Matakas

If you are fortunate enough to have a particular activity with which you find greatest joy and technical success, it is your responsibility as a growing human being to continue that study. Whatever your endeavor, if you can expand upon the knowledge in your strongest subject, that new found understanding of all things will trickle down to every other area of your life. — Chris Matakas

As a culture we tend to feel great pride towards our strengths, and shame for our weaknesses. It is time we take notice that these are two pieces of the same whole. — Chris Matakas

Jiu Jitsu gives me an ideal to strive toward. Technical mastery lies on an infinite continuum and completion of this skill is impossible. Every time I train I have something that I can improve upon, and this will hold true for each and every training session that lies between me and my grave. — Chris Matakas

It is a shock to many college graduates that their segway into the real world is one of obligation, profound debt, and countless sacrifices of the soul. — Chris Matakas

Jiu Jitsu is cognitively-complex, so much so that there is a great barrier to entry in terms of intellect. I have never met a great Jiu Jitsu player who was not highly intelligent, and I don't think I ever will. — Chris Matakas

We must remember that regardless of our differences in rank we are all equal as human beings. You can always tell how caring and compassionate others are in their actions towards those "below" them. Of course you are going to treat your black belt professor kindly, but how do you treat the white belt taking their first class? In spite of the division in belt rank there must be no division as people. — Chris Matakas

We rise to meet each day because there will come a time when the day will rise without us — Chris Matakas

We are so surrounded with this fortune that we tend to forget that though subjectively in abundance, objectively this is a rarity. — Chris Matakas

There is an undeniable truth that as one progresses further in his understanding of a craft the rest of his life progresses along with it. This symbiotic relationship between all things is experienced on a daily basis, but rarely articulated through conscious thought. — Chris Matakas

All successful people live how great guard passers pass. — Chris Matakas

Everyone, no matter how historically famous or modernly praised, has no idea about the ultimate truth of what it means to be human. — Chris Matakas

Jiu Jitsu is meant to serve us, not the other way around. It is meant to make you more of whatever it is you already are. It is meant to separate the wheat from the chaff. It is meant to bring to conscious attention all that once went unseen. It is meant to make you more loving. It is meant to make you more wise, but less certain. It is meant to make us humble, yet supremely confident. It is meant to remind us of our frailty while simultaneously making us feel invincible. — Chris Matakas

This is the opportunity the fellowship of Jiu Jitsu affords us. To reach our highest potential of self, and then to offer that self to another. — Chris Matakas

There is an opportunity cost for everything we do. This is why we must have the awareness to ensure that what we are pursuing is really what we value, because the pursuit leaves countless lost opportunities in its wake. We choose one experience at the sacrifice of all other experiences. — Chris Matakas

I wanted to get to the most essential aspect of my being, and look around for a while. I wanted to explore what I am in my most basic self. I wanted to chip away at all of the nonsense I have acquired through my twenty-nine years on this earth. I wanted to find truth. Thoreau went to the woods. I went to the mats. Jiu Jitsu has peeled the veil of daily life, and has shown me what lies beyond the curtain. We willingly accept the chains that circumstance forces upon us, and we grow to find comfort in them. We attach various fetters of day-to-day living to our being, and we do so with a smile. We accept these constraints for they come in the way of comfort. We accept conformity for it appears the path of least resistance. We strive toward the middle, and we run from ourselves. — Chris Matakas

Wearing a black belt does not make you a super hero, and wearing a white belt does not mean you have little to offer as a person. It is what we do in the belts we wear, and not the belts themselves that matter. — Chris Matakas

Your job as a young adult is to become as valuable to the marketplace as you can. Your job as a human is to do so without working a day in your life. — Chris Matakas

We forget that things can only be things when there is something which is not a thing, the space. — Chris Matakas

Habits are infinitely more beneficial to the aspiring student than motivation. Motivation may get you started, but habits keep you going. — Chris Matakas

I believe that which you study is only matched in importance by the sincerity with which you approach it. — Chris Matakas

No one's life will be harder because I exist. — Chris Matakas

Just know that the achievement of anything grand takes consistent effort year after year. Motivation can uphold you intermittently, but it has too few calories to sustain a life. — Chris Matakas

I had no desire of being professionally successful. No desire for material wealth. All I wanted out of life was Jiu Jitsu. — Chris Matakas

We can either approach Jiu Jitsu through the lens of the "real world" or we can approach the real world through the lens of Jiu Jitsu. I have found the latter to be far more rewarding. — Chris Matakas

In my own life, I have always viewed personal mastery as simply a medium through which I become capable of providing more service toward my fellow man. — Chris Matakas

Mastery does not exist. — Chris Matakas

Jiu Jitsu gives each of us something that no other sport can. We have the opportunity to become truly great regardless of what circumstance fate has handed us. We have complete freedom and responsibility to achieve whatever level of mastery we wish. — Chris Matakas

I use my understanding of jiu jitsu as a road map to learn other activities. I look for the similarities between the two, and use jiu jitsu as an allegory for whatever my new practice may be. I truly believe once you have learned one thing, you have learned all things because you have learned how to learn. — Chris Matakas

Yes, you have been molding your ability to perform Jiu Jitsu for all these years, but you have been more importantly molding who you are as a person. Jiu Jitsu is the sculptor, and you are the clay. It is with this art that we strive and reach for our highest ideals not as athletes, but as people. — Chris Matakas

Who you are as a person far outweighs what you do in an athletic arena. — Chris Matakas

Choosing to forgo the small rewards of society now will lead to the monumental rewards of becoming a person of value later. — Chris Matakas

If you do not define success for yourself, you may unknowingly adopt someone else's definition along the way. — Chris Matakas

Jiu Jitsu shielded me from all of this. While many were investing in jobs they did not like, or frequenting bars and spending their weekends in front of the television, I pursued something worthy of my choosing. I say this not to slander another, but to show the sincerity with which I appreciate Jiu Jitsu's influence in my life. It saved me from the rat race. I found a reason to eat healthy, to get to bed early. A reason to stay in Friday nights, resulting in fewer beers and more books. I found a medium with which to carve my soul. — Chris Matakas

Jiu Jitsu removes the societal walls that we have been forced to unknowingly hold up with our adopted beliefs. It removes the limits of common thought, and allows for expression of our highest ideals. — Chris Matakas

Life is always easier when lived for others, and living for others is the best way I know to live for yourself. — Chris Matakas

The highest aim was never to master Jiu Jitsu; it was to master myself. — Chris Matakas

Where my tendons have been torn, my psyche has been mended. This was a worthy trade. — Chris Matakas

To base your self worth relative to others is to play a losing game. If you are at the bottom, you will be filled with self-loathing. If you are at the top, you will be filled with self-aggrandizement and ego. This will most certainly be one of your greatest obstacles to achieving whatever degree of mastery you are capable. — Chris Matakas

Deep down I believe each of us is a well-spring of understanding and wisdom, but we simply never allow the space or time for this understanding to rise to the level of conscious thought. — Chris Matakas

Our most valuable victories are those which go without praise. — Chris Matakas

Life is a constant build up and release of tension. If we go too far in either direction bad things happen. — Chris Matakas

Every interaction with another is an opportunity to serve. — Chris Matakas

Your happiness is in direct proportion to the amount you serve others. — Chris Matakas

I believe we must pursue mastery for who we become along the way in its achievement. When we progress in Jiu Jitsu, that newfound experience and wisdom transcends into all areas of our lives. We use Jiu Jitsu as the vehicle for growth, but that growth radiates over all of human activity. Someone who devotes time and energy in learning this skill is learning far more than how to subdue an opponent. The student learns persistence, perseverance, pattern recognition, problem solving, and most importantly, learning how to learn. In the arena of life, these virtues are far more valuable than any guard pass. — Chris Matakas

My growth as a human being has been directly proportional to my growth as a marital artist. — Chris Matakas

If nothing lasts then everything has meaning. If everything dies that means we actually live. — Chris Matakas

We have this sort of false self we portray over the internet. It's a facade of highlights we believe our peers will deem noteworthy. — Chris Matakas

We see that the vast majority of our suffering is needless, and simply arises from the misidentification with our thinking mind. — Chris Matakas

Jiu Jitsu is basic training for life. We are training not to learn how to fight, but how to live. — Chris Matakas

I train because it makes every area of my life better, and it makes me better at every area of my life. — Chris Matakas

Life is so unlikely, so rare and beautiful an opportunity it is to live, we must be on constant guard to ensure that our actions are worthy of the life it takes to perform them. — Chris Matakas

We are never truly ourselves as we are mid-roll. — Chris Matakas

If we do not master ourselves, we will be a slave to ourselves. — Chris Matakas

So by being created, you are automatically made manifest within a system in which you are directly associated with your creator, and it is this association that we define as a relationship. — Chris Matakas

An arm bar in a vacuum is worthless. It is the realization of the truths which constitute that arm bar that is the real treasure we seek. — Chris Matakas

Jesus was not a carpenter forever. — Chris Matakas

I believe it is the responsibility of each of us to pass on whatever we have learned in our time here. If I reach enlightenment after meditating in a cave for 10 years, but do not pass on this teaching and it dies with me, this was a wasted life. I believe we are here to help one another, and each of us has a unique wisdom that we should do our best to convey to others. — Chris Matakas

After I received my blue belt, I soon recognized that the belts were simply an external representation of an inner experience, and that they mattered little compared to the person I was becoming. — Chris Matakas

Jiu Jitsu gave me the opportunity to be a real human being. It opened my heart and my mind. I am kinder, more gentle and more loving due to my efforts in this art. — Chris Matakas

The very fact that you can observe this thinking mind is proof that you are not this thinking mind. — Chris Matakas

In the present moment, no past achievement has any bearing, but we perpetually bring ourselves into the here and now; we are our constant companion. By carving the ineffable nature of my soul, rather than simply pursuing the "W," I am able to bring all of my past accomplishments with me into the present. They do hold bearing on today, not because of what I have done, but because of who I have become. This is what matters. — Chris Matakas

Relativity is a beautiful, irrifutable truth. We must acknowledge that wearing a black belt in jiu jitsu does not make you a black belt in life. In the home, there are black belts who are white belt fathers, and there are white belts who are black belt fathers. This holds true for all areas of life. A black belt does not mean you are successful in life. It does mean that you have mastered this art to an enormous degree, and that the skills you have acquired can be transmuted to a plethora of other activities. It does not mean, however, that you have done this. — Chris Matakas

You have become more and therefore expect more, but never become too purpose-driven to step back and realize just how far you have progressed. — Chris Matakas

Nothing better cements the false self than one's Facebook page. — Chris Matakas

There is nothing like another's perspective to remind you that your way is not the right way; it is simply your way. — Chris Matakas

This philosophy teaches us to leave safe harbor for the rough seas of real-world experience, and to accept that a rough copy out in the world serves us far greater than a masterpiece sitting quietly on our shelves. — Chris Matakas

The most obvious, most absurdly recognizable phenomena in day-to-day life often become the hardest to remain consciously aware of. — Chris Matakas

Jiu Jitsu is a vehicle for self-discovery and growth. It reminds me of my ego, of my insecurities, and of my shortcomings. — Chris Matakas

Everything is relative, including relativity. — Chris Matakas

In Jiu Jitsu an inch is a mile, and a second is an eternity. Use each wisely. — Chris Matakas

That nagging state of constant thought that exists somewhere between the ears and behind the eyes is the self. — Chris Matakas

When you define yourself based on things you have done, in order to maintain that self-image you must constantly look away from the present moment, as you search for a means of self-understanding through past experiences. — Chris Matakas

The time we spend talking about Jiu Jitsu is time not spent practicing Jiu Jitsu. This is a necessary aspect of study, but it is one we mustn't lose ourselves in; we learn best by doing. — Chris Matakas

I have never been as alive or awake as I have been through Jiu Jitsu. — Chris Matakas

To achieve anything we must grind, but to enjoy anything we must flow. — Chris Matakas

Society is a collection of selves perpetuating their myth. — Chris Matakas

I can think of no more worthwhile aim than pursuing mastery in this craft while transcending one's own limitations. — Chris Matakas

Let's live our lives with great meaning and purpose in the attempt to influence the world to whatever degree our circumstance allows. — Chris Matakas

I firmly believe that life will continually try to teach you the same lesson, with increasing pain, until you heed the call. — Chris Matakas

If something's existence is contingent upon the existence of another entity, can we truthfully call them separate beings? — Chris Matakas

The road from white belt to black is long and arduous; most never reach the end. There are simply too many obstacles of daily life, and too much effort and attention required, for this to be something that the majority of practitioners achieve. This is why a black belt in Jiu Jitsu, especially from a reputable source, is the pinnacle of martial arts rank. It is valuable because of what must be traded for its achievement. — Chris Matakas

We are only different because there exists something to be different from, and it is this difference that bonds us. — Chris Matakas

Things can be added, but that doesn't mean that anything is missing. — Chris Matakas

The beautiful truth about service is that we are afforded countless opportunities to be its vehicle. Every interaction with another is an opportunity to serve. From simply letting someone into your lane in traffic, to holding a door, to a kind smile. This is all service. I am humbled by this simple truth. We are given the opportunity to express the most meaningful use of our lives every time we interact with another sentient being. — Chris Matakas

Nothing worthwhile ever came from divided attention. — Chris Matakas