Masaaki Quotes & Sayings

Don't think that any one technique is the end. there is no end.
There is no perfect technique. Just when you think you've got
them, you're dead because you didn't. — Masaaki Hatsumi

The Kaizen Philosophy assumes that our way of life - be it our working life, our social life, or our home life - deserves to be constantly improved. — Masaaki Imai

Budo is simply the study of the best ways to kill. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Kaizen is like a hotbed that nurtures small and ongoing changes, while innovation is like magma that appears in abrupt eruptions from time to time — Masaaki Imai

The essence of 5S is to follow what has been agreed on. It begins with discarding what we don't need in the gemba (seiri) and then arranging all the necessary items in the gemba in an orderly manner (seiton). Then a clean environment must be sustained so that we can readily identify abnormalities (seiso), and these three steps must be maintained on a continuous basis (shitsuke). — Masaaki Imai

Breathe life into the weapon, don't take life away from it.
Keep walking, because walking is life. — Masaaki Hatsumi

You can only understand if you've had the technique done to
you. It's like food. You can't describe the taste, but if you've
tasted it, you know what it is. You have to personally
experience it to understand. — Masaaki Hatsumi

You can't do kaizen just once or twice and expect immediate results. You have to be in it for the long haul. — Masaaki Imai

Separate yourself from the technique; separate yourself from
yourself. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Where there is no standard, there can be no improvement. For these reasons, standards are the basis for both maintenance and improvement — Masaaki Imai

Your life is on the line, practice well. — Masaaki Hatsumi

The first priority to the ninja is to win without fighting. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Always observe your opponent carefully. You need to use the
first seconds of every encounter to evaluate the length of their
blade, the length of their arms, etc. — Masaaki Hatsumi

You are not just fighting one opponent. You are fighting the
unknown. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Ninja should have the benevolence to protect men of justice
since there are lots of good and respectable people in the
world. — Masaaki Hatsumi

All of management's efforts for Kaizen boil down to two words: customer satisfaction. — Masaaki Imai

Forget your sadness, anger, grudges, and hatred. Let them
pass like smoke caught in the breeze. You should not deviate
from the path of righteousness; you should lead a life worthy
of a man. Don't be possessed by greed, luxury, or your ego.
You should accept sorrows, sadness and hatred as they are,
and consider them a chance for trial given to you by the
powers ... a blessing given by nature. Have both your mind and
your time fully engaged in bud?, and have your mind deeply
set on bujutsu. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Humans have yet to dwell upon the consequences of their
actions. People have yet to admit the bad that they do to
nature, for example. Actually, most people spend their time
finding fault in the action of others, rather than their own. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Don't have a fixed idea in your head (that you have to use
this or that technique). Use everything you've learned until
now. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Nature is your friend; it helps you to win. Your enemy will have unnatural movement, therefore you will be able to know what he is going to do before he does it. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Remember that for every technique you think you can fall back
on, there is a counter for it, or there are times when it cannot
be used. When real battle comes, you must remember that
some things will not be applicable. Don't think that any one
technique is quintessential. — Masaaki Hatsumi

There was a famous Zen master whom people would seek out to become enlightened. He was strict and would occupy people with things having nothing to do with seeking enlightenment. You see, that is the only way to achieve enlightenment; by not focusing on achieving it. Then, one day it will just come to you. — Masaaki Hatsumi

What I want you to do is just take it as it is. Don't think too much. If you get involved with thinking about it, the whole thing gets lost or loses its purity. Don't think during practice - DO! The more you think, the further from the truth of budo you get: Budo is NOT an academic subject! — Masaaki Hatsumi

The message of the Kaizen strategy is that not a day should go by without some kind of improvement being made somewhere in the company. — Masaaki Imai

You must be on your toes constantly, yet be relaxed. — Masaaki Hatsumi

You've got to learn to utilize the space (between you and
your opponent). Distancing is very important. — Masaaki Hatsumi

The simplest is always the most difficult. — Masaaki Hatsumi

There are times to kill and times not to kill. Please bear this in
mind with grave consideration. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Those who desire only techniques will never understand this art. It is everything beyond that — Masaaki Hatsumi

When properly applied, the kamae reflects the ninja's heart.
This means that our physical nature conforms to our intentions,
and there is no division between our interior and exterior
aspects. This state of integrated mind and body action is
totally natural, and can be observed readily in the movements
of animals as they interact with their environment. Only human
beings seem to develop the need to be trained in natural body
motion. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Learning a technique is not an end in itself, it merely indicates where you need to start. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Looking for the meaning of life, one man can discover the order of the universe. To discover the truth, to achieve. a higher spiritual state, that is the true meaning of ninja.. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Japanese management practices succeed simply because they are good management practices. This success has little to do with cultural factors. And the lack of cultural bias means that these practices can be - and are - just as successfully employed elsewhere. — Masaaki Imai

It is impossible to improve any process until it is standardized. If the process is shifting from here to there, then any improvement will just be one more variation that is occasionally used and mostly ignored. One must standardize, and thus stabilize the process, before continuous improvement can be made. — Masaaki Imai

Always be able to kill your students — Masaaki Hatsumi

You must throw away your bad habits to get good. — Masaaki Hatsumi

It's important to make an effort under any circumstance - stagnant, sickness, being in an unstable lifestyle, even when society is insane. You should consider such periods as an omen before you move. When you are stuck on something, it is important to hold to your purpose but not press onward against the current. When you can't move at all, try to concentrate, continuing forward as if in a boat switching to a stronger motor. The keiko that is most important when you cannot move is kage no keiko [shadow training]. — Masaaki Hatsumi

From now on you must strive to cut out unnecessary
movement. Waste in movement is wrong and will get you
killed. — Masaaki Hatsumi

When weak or injured always continue training as you should always be able to adapt in any condition. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Any place we can breathe, we can do Ninjutsu. — Masaaki Hatsumi

If you do not let go of thinking about forms, you will not understand what I am showing. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Progress is impossible without the ability to admit mistakes. — Masaaki Imai

Kaizen means ongoing improvement involving everybody, without spending much money. — Masaaki Imai

Move with your feet, the hands will follow. — Masaaki Hatsumi

People who cannot respect others for their good qualities -
people who only look at the bad in others - are no good
themselves. By looking at only the bad points, you open
yourself up, and in a real encounter, will most probably be
killed. — Masaaki Hatsumi

No more talk. I'm sick of people talking. Train. — Masaaki Hatsumi

You are not punching them; it is your going into kamae that
punches them. — Masaaki Hatsumi

Focus on the future for 50%, on the present for 40%, and on the past for 10% — Masaaki Hatsumi

If you do something and it saves your life, it was good
taijutsu. In a real fight, you aren't worried about what's
pretty. — Masaaki Hatsumi