Mas Quotes & Sayings

Opportunity is born with each new year. — David Mas Masumoto

Come ye trials and challanges; come life's big waves, for I am ready? — Mas Oyama

One lives too long. Happy X-mas. — Joseph Conrad

What is the spirit of Christmas, you ask? Let me give you the answer in a true story...
On a cold day in December, feeling especially warm in my heart for no other reason than it was the holiday season, I walked through the store sporting a big grin on my face. Though most people were far too busy going about their business to notice me, one elderly gentleman in a wheelchair brought his eyes up to meet mine as we neared each other traveling opposite directions. He slowed in passing just long enough to speak to me.
"Now that's a Christmas smile if I ever saw one," he said.
My lips stretched to their limit in response, and I thanked him for the compliment. Then we went our separate ways. But, as I thought about the man and how sweetly he'd touched me, I realized something simply wonderful! In that brief, passing interaction we'd exchanged heartfelt gifts!
And that, my friend, is the spirit of Christ~mas. — Richelle E. Goodrich

Good neighbors are worth more than an extra sixteen trees. — David Mas Masumoto

In the martial arts, introspection begets wisdom. Always see contemplation on your actions as an opportunity to improve. — Mas Oyama

When a man dies, his wife is burned alive with him, but if the wife dies before her husband, the man does not suffer the same fate. If a man dies before marriage, he is given a posthumous wife. The women passionately want to be burned because they believe they will enter paradise. — Mas'udi

Behind each triumph are new peaks to be conquered. — Mas Oyama

Karate is Budo and if Budo is removed from Karate it is nothing more than sport karate, show karate, or even fashion karate-the idea of training merely to be fashionable. — Mas Oyama

I have not permitted myself to be ignorant of any martial art that exists. Why? Such ignorance is a disgrace to someone who follows the path of the martial arts. — Mas Oyama

Personal greed and egoism are things that cause human beings to forget respect for others and to violate rules that have been established for the sake of peace and friendship. — Mas Oyama

When you lose the title, that doesn't mean you lose the contract to what you had. Just like when you win the title, it doesn't mean you win brains, PhDs and MAs. — Don King

If I could be God for a day, I would instantly replace July and August with two Septembers so the twelve months of the new calendar year would consist of January, February, March, April, May, June, September, September, September, October, November, December. On second thought, I'd also replace December with another September, thus deleting the Mas season and ending the year with a fourth September. The Mas season, once known as Christmas until we took Christ out of it, leaving only mas, the Spanish word for more, is my least favorable month of the year because of the greed-mandated financial, emotional and spiritual stresses that the economy-dependent celebration of Mas imposes. — Lionel Fisher

All the same, I don't mean nothin' you wouldn't like yer mas to know about, see? That's straight, that is. It's Art, and that makes all the difference. *When it ain't Art it's dirt, but if it's Art it's all right, see?* — Stella Gibbons

Hay una estrella mas abierta
que la palabra 'amapola'?
Is there a star more wide open
than the word 'poppy? — Pablo Neruda

Until the day I die, I never want to be separated from my dogi; I never want to cease my training efforts in the dojo. — Mas Oyama

Subjecting yourself to vigourous training is more for the sake of forging a resolute spirit that can vanquish the self than it is for developing a strong body. — Mas Oyama

All good farmers become connoisseurs of dirt and dust. — David Mas Masumoto

Each of us has his cowardice. Each of us is afraid to lose, afraid to die. But hanging back is the way to remain a coward for life. The Way to find courage is to seek it on the field of conflict. And the sure way to victory is willingness to risk one's own life. — Mas Oyama

Power is no more than a part, no more than the tip of the iceberg of limitless profundity and sublimate of Karate. — Mas Oyama

A type of humility marks a real farmer. Those of us who battle nature all year must ultimately accept the had we're dealt. — David Mas Masumoto

Did you know that Christmas means "Christ" (Jesus) and "mas" (a celebration)? The story about Jesus is found in the name of that special day when we celebrate His birth! — Soraya Diase Coffelt

One living daily in the Way carries their head low and their eyes high; reserved in speech and possessing a kind heart, they steadfastly continue in their training efforts. — Mas Oyama

Human beings are capable of virtually limitless degradation; they are also capable of virtually limitless improvement and achievement. Success depends on goals and on diligence in pursuing them. — Mas Oyama

Sufre mas el que espera siempre
que aquel que nunca espero a nadie?
Does he who is always waiting suffer more than he who's never waited for anyone? — Pablo Neruda

A new planting is like having another child, requiring patience and sacrifice and a resounding optimism for the future — David Mas Masumoto

The Lord gives a good many things twice over, but he don't give ye a mother but once. Ye'll never see such another woman, Mas'r George - not if ye live to be a hundred years old. So, now, you hold on to her, and grow up, and be a comfort to her. — Harriet Beecher Stowe

Ibn Mas'ud said, "When 'Umar died nine-tenth of all knowledge vanished with him." The people were shocked and said, "How can this be when among us now are still many of the great companions?" Ibn Mas'ud replied,"I am not speaking of the knowledge of fiqh and the science of judgements, I'm speaking about the knowledge of Allah." This struggle of isolation, hunger, sleeplessness, weeping, fear and endless service to men was for this end. The journey is only for knowledge of Allah and the whole of it lies in detachment from everything that passes away. First from what is displeasing to Allah, then from one's self-illusion and desires, and then from all men and all otherness until there is only isolation and extreme nearness to Allah. — Khalid Muhammad Khalid

Las historias son lo mas salvaje de todo — Patrick Ness

Reading good books implants good ideas in the mind, develops good aspirations, and leads to the cultivation of good friends. — Mas Oyama

Although it is important to study and train for skill in techniques, for the man who wishes to truly accomplish the way of budo, it is important to makehis whole life in training and therefore not aiming for skill and strength alone, but also for spiritual attainment. — Mas Oyama

Mientras mas honda la herida,
Es mi canto mas hermoso.
While more deeper is the wound
The more beautiful the art. — Jose Marti

It is possible for even the smallest of accolades of achievement to be truly worthwhile without tears and toil? — Mas Oyama

We are soon approaching a refined holiday, "Merry Mas," where Christ will be taken out of its context. — Anthony Liccione

True courage is born only when it is accompanied by justice. — Mas Oyama

Un asno viejo sabe mas que un potro. (An old ass knows more than an old colt.)-A Wrinkle in Time — A. Perez

People are like stars in the Milky Way. There are millions of them. There are big, small, dead, and dying stars out there. Hindi ikaw ang nag-iisang bituin d'yan sa langit, kaya hindi sa'yo umiikot ang mundo. Puweding makinang ka ngayon, pero asahan mong parating may darating na mas makinang pa sa'yo. Malaki ang posibilidad na mawala sa'yo ang atensiyon ng iba, pero tandaan mo ang isang bagay.

"Whatever happens, you're still a star. There will still be people looking at you, admiring your beauty, and wishing for great things to happen to them with your help. You can't let them down, so you have to continue shining for them. You have to show them directions. That's what stars are for. — Luna King

Aspirations must be pure and free of selfishness. Arising from the depths of the soul, aspirations are spiritual demands penetrating all of a human life and making it possible for a person to die for their sake. A person without aspirations is like a ship without a rudder or a horse without a bridle. Aspirations give consistent order to life. — Mas Oyama

If you do not overcome your tendency to give up easily, your life leads to nothing. — Mas Oyama

The fastest way to attain courage is to follow the chosen Way and be willing to abandon life itself for the sake of justice. — Mas Oyama

The most significant life is the one lived on the basis of a personal sense of justice and the desire to see justice realized everywhere. — Mas Oyama

A human life gains lustre and strength only when it is polished and tempered. — Mas Oyama

The heart of our karate is real fighting.There can be no proof without real fighting. Without proof there is no trust. Without trust there is no respect. This is a definition in the world of martial arts. — Mas Oyama

I feel persecuted by the power of mother nature, who dwarfs my farm with her unpredictable character. Yet I cling to a spirit of survival. I observe others, my family and neighbors, as we brace for the storm with a humbling humility. — David Mas Masumoto

An agile, well-trained, brave elephant, ridden by a good mahout, its trunk armed with the kind of sabre known as a qartal and covered with chain mail, while the rest of its body is protected by sheets of bark and iron, surrounded by 500 men to defend it and protect it to the rear, can fight against 6000 men on horseback. — Mas'udi

I get superstitious in late summer. — David Mas Masumoto

The path of Martial Arts begins and ends with courtesy. So be genuinely polite on every occasion. — Mas Oyama

Sice Karate exists for cultivating the spirit and training the body, it must be a moral way surpassing mere techniques ... — Mas Oyama

The tragedy of war is that it uses mas's best to do man's worst. — H. E. Fosdick

A man who understands decorum and the courtesies is a great treasure; I hope to train and send into society as many such men as I can. — Mas Oyama

Anyone who has learned the Quran and holds it lovingly in his heart will 'value his nights when people are asleep, his days when people are given to excess, his grief when people are joyful, his weeping when people laugh, his silence when people chatter and his humility when people are arrogant'. In other words every moment of life will be precious to him, and he should therefore be 'gentle', never harsh nor quarrelsome, 'nor one who makes a clamour in the market nor one who is quick to anger'. — Ibn Mas'ud

One becomes a beginner after 1000 days of training. One becomes a master after 10,000 days of practice. — Mas Oyama

It was at this time that backgammon was invented and began to be popular. It is a kind of paradigm of how wealth is acquired, which in this world is not the reward of intelligence or ability, just as luck is not a product of skill ... If luck favours the player, he gets what he wants; if it doesn't, a skilled and prudent man cannot win that which fortune only bestows on whom it likes. It is thus that the good things of this world are apportioned by chance. — Mas'udi

In the immortal words of Roberto Duran, we are saying, 'No mas!' We will educate students and then promote them, not the reverse — Joel Klein

The most important are the eyes. In a fight if you look down out of fear you'll certainly be defeated — Mas Oyama

Karate is not a game. It is not a sport. It is not even a system of self-defense. Karate is half physical exercise and half spiritual. The karateist who has given the necessary years of exercise and meditation is a tranquil person. He is unafraid. He can even be calm in a burning building. — Mas Oyama

Taking "Christ" out of "Christmas" just reads "Mas" which is Spanish for "More." Seems Americans just want "mas," "mas," "mas." But when is more ever enough without Christ in it? More Christ? — Kilburn Hall

I have loved you from the moment I heard your voice. Thank you for coming here, and being my Christmas miracle. — Alexa Riley

Studying the martial Way is like climbing a cliff: keep going forward without rest. Resting is not permissible because it causes recessions to old adages of achievement. Persevering day in, day out improves techniques, but resting one day causes lapses. This must be prevented. — Mas Oyama

LA VIDA NO ES LA QUE VIVIMOS.
LA VIDA ES EL HONOR Y EL RECUERDO.
POR ESO MAS VALE MORIR
CON EL PUEBLO VIVO,
Y NO VIVIR
CON EL PUEBLO MUERTO.

Life is not as it seems,
Life is pride and personal history.
Thus it is better that one die
and that the people should live,
rahter than one live
and the people should die.

~Lopitos — Oscar Zeta Acosta

No matter how strong the rival, the just will always win. — Mas Oyama

Dee's hand fluttered around her as she spoke. "I was outside, and it looked as if a light show was going on in your bedroom. Daemon said you were probably mas - "
And Dee also knew no boundaries.
"Ah, no, please don't finish that sentence." He lowered his hands, eyes narrowing at his sister. "Don't ever finish that sentence. — Jennifer L. Armentrout

If you have confidence in your own words, aspirations, thoughts, and actions and do your very best, you will have no need to regret the outcome of what you do. Fear and trembling are lot of the person who, while stinting effort, hopes that everything will come out precisely as he wants. — Mas Oyama

Always remember that the true meaning of Budo is that soft overcomes hard, small overcomes large. — Mas Oyama

Ibn Mas'ud said that Allah's Messenger said: Abusing a Muslim is sinful and fighting with his tantamount to Kufr. Bukhari Muslim — Ahmad Von Denffer

You've always stood it out again' me: now, I'll conquer ye, or kill ye! - one or t' other. I'll count every drop of blood there is in you, and take 'em, one by one, till ye give up!"
Tom looked up to his master, and answered, "Mas'r, if you was sick, or in trouble, or dying, and I could save ye, I'd give ye my heart's blood; and, if taking every drop of blood in this poor old body would save your precious soul, I'd give 'em freely, as the Lord gave his for me. O, Mas'r! don't bring this great sin on your soul! It will hurt you more than 't will me! Do the worst you can, my troubles'll be over soon; but, if ye don't repent, yours won't never end! — Harriet Beecher Stowe

Instead of protesting and cursing others because they write "X-Mas" instead of "Christmas"; try being Christmas. Live Christmas. Breathe Christmas. Act Christmas. Speak Christmas. Reflect Christmas. Listen and feel Christmas
Christ doesn't care how you write Christmas; he cares how you live Christmas all year long. — Sandra Chami Kassis

He who has never left his hearth and has confined his researches to the narrow field of the history of his own country cannot be compared to the courageous traveller who has worn out his life in journeys of exploration to distant parts and each day has faced danger in order to persevere in excavating the mines of learning and in snatching precious fragments of the past from oblivion. — Mas'udi

As far as possible, I want nothing more than to don my training gi and teach Karate. — Mas Oyama

Courtesy should be apparent in all our actions and words and in all aspects of daily life. But be courtesy, I do not mean rigid, cold formality. Courtesy in the truest sense is selfless concern for the welfare and physical and mental comfort of the other person. — Mas Oyama

X is for X-mas Concentrate your energies, your thoughts and your capital. Put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket, then all your Christmases can come at once! — Lucas Remmerswaal

Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Shall I tell you who is unlawful for the Fire - or the one for whom the Fire is unlawful? It is unlawful for everyone who is easy, flexible, modest and uncomplicated. — Muhammad Al-Tirmidhi

One must try, everyday, to expand one's limits. — Mas Oyama

I know of no trunk full of old heirlooms, no felt hats or army uniforms. There are no tarnished medals or gold watches. I've stopped dreaming of discovering the old shoe box filled with the history of our family, the documents and letters that recorded our family's arrival and the historical milestones as my grandfathers left their mark on a place. There is no journal or diary. I do not know if they knew how to read or write. I could easily dismiss their existence. Their lives seem empty and still, void of emotion. I cannot tell if they wear scars. I only know of my grandfathers as broken old men. — David Mas Masumoto

1-2 out of every 100 students reach Black Belt and of those only 1 out of every 1,000 achieves his 2nd Dan — Mas Oyama

If someone asked me what a human being ought to devote the maximum of his life to, I would answer: training. Train more than you sleep. — Mas Oyama

My Way is the Way of Karate, which is also the Way of humanity, and which is consequently related to the Way of Heaven. — Mas Oyama

The sciences were financially supported, honoured everywhere, universally pursued; they were like tall edifices supported by strong foundations. Then the Christian religion appeared in Byzantium and the centres of learning were eliminated, their vestiges effaced and the edifice of Greek learning was obliterated. Everything the ancient Greeks had brought to light vanished, and the discoveries of the ancients were altered out of recognition. — Mas'udi

I realized that perseverence and step-by-step progress are the only ways to reach a goal along a chosen path. — Mas Oyama