Martial Artists

"Hollywood was a detour, although my mother was an aristocrat from Tokyo who ran away to join the theatre, so acting is in my genes. I've played a lot of bad guys, including a torturing acupuncturist in my first B-movie, but one of my favourite roles was a surfing grandfather from Hawaii in the film Johnny Tsunami. My father's family are Hawaiian, so it was the closest to my own personality."

"One was my movement, which I’m very conscious of in films, especially coming from martial arts. Think about how many times a character is seen just sitting or walking or standing, it’s a lot of time in film and it says so much about a character. So I’ve always been keen to pay attention to movement and that was one thing he said he noticed. Never have I heard a director talk like that about me. And also he said that the eyes were important because it really has to come through the make-up. So he was interested in those two aspects especially…"

"Part of my heritage being Korean, it's going to be interesting going to Korea and answering these questions dealing with North and South Korea. It's difficult to deal with at times, this expectation. Being Asian, every single Asian person in the world expects you to represent them, you know?"

"In my opinion, as far as action is concerned, and physical action, the punches and kicks, they don’t really matter. Even shooting a gun. It all depends on, for me, what your intention is, what you put behind it and how it serves the film…"

"I mean there’s something magical about filmmaking and people that work within film. It’s the most beautiful thing, because so many people are coming together and they just think about a common goal. It’s almost similar to the military, but all of a sudden you’ll be in there and you’re about to do something and everybody is thinking about the next person. It’s not always the case, but the films that I’ve worked on it’s been that way, and it’s amazing. It makes you want to work harder…"

"Bakir Izetbegović would not visit Sarajevo's Kazani, that UDIK was not the main advocate of the commemoration of the victims of this crime."

"UDIK is the most persistent in its demands to raise a monument in the center of Sarajevo dedicated to the victims of this crime."

"The first and so far the only substantive public action of civil society, directed against the lack of recognition of crimes committed in Kazani, is the UDIK street activity in front of the Sarajevo Cathedral held on October 25, 2014. Activity had a small number of participants, but for the first time it was organized symbolic action in the center of Sarajevo in order to commemorate victims of Kazani."

"Edvin is one of those persons who write to survive as writers and people; for them being a human and writer is the same thing."

"The founder of this NGO [UDIK] Edvin Kanka Ćudić and his colleagues, have succeeded to make a civil resistance niche in a very short time. It is not a repetition of existing non-violent practices of a civil society but more authentic, innovative and a long-term creative gesture that changes our violent and militaristic society in the direction of a genuine culture of remembrance."

"The story of crimes, war criminals, search for the missing people and justice, have become the meaning of Edvin's actions."

"If they wanted to kill me, they would not threaten me."

"I laugh at the drug tests. I don’t even eat meat."

"As a teenager I started to learn about what was on my plate – where it came from and what it was doing to my body. I became vegetarian then later on vegan. … Each and every person who decides to be vegan makes a massive difference. From literally saving animals from suffering and death, to improving their health and the environmental benefits – being vegan means seeing the bigger picture and saying I'm going to do what I can and take a stand. … I'm motivated by being the best example I can of what can be achieved physically and ethically. I strive to excel in what I love doing and don't believe in the idea that I can't be strong and muscular because I'm vegan, that I can't be fast or flexible because I'm a bodybuilder, and that one person can't make a difference."

"Vegan Body­build­ing is not on­ly pos­si­ble, it’s op­ti­mal. Within three years from first lift­ing weights prop­er­ly and walk­ing on a Body­building stage as a novice, I had won Mr. Universe and be­come a Pro Body­builder. Steroids? Meat? Not a chance."

"Change cannot come from one politician, it has to come from each one of us and not just for today...it's a gradual process. Let's be responsible & work towards it."

"One will not break through to the enemy with theory. Directness is most important, when in front of the lion’s den…"

"When a person understands this setting into single- mindedness well, his affairs will pann out. Loyalty is also contained within this single- mindedness."

"Is my imagination as important as reality? Sometimes I think YES... It's imagination that makes reality tolerable... Sometimes, I just want to close my eyes and fall in to the endless imagination..."

"Everyone lets the present moment slip by, and then looks for it as though he thought it were somewhere else. No one seems to have noticed this. But while grasping this firmly, one must pile experience upon experience. Once a man has come to this understanding he will be a different person from that point on, though he may not always bear his truth in mind."

"There is surely nothing other than the purpose of the present moment. A man’s whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do and nothing else to pursue. We should live by being true to the purpose of each moment."

"Love... I guess It is some kind of magic, It has a power to make us better... But magic can sometimes be an illusion."

"‘I Owe My Success to My Failure‘."

"Tai chi (taìjí) is the universal principle behind birth and transformation. Though tai chi has no form, shape, sound nor colour; all forms, shapes sounds and colours are born and transformed through it. … And so tai chi simply refers to stillness and movement, while yīn and yáng refer to tai chi. ... In tai chi chuan, because the principles are based on the transformation of tai chi (taìjí) - movement and stillness, yīn and yáng as well as opening and closing - one seeks stillness in movement and movement in stillness. Movement is primarily a study of empty and full, which refer back to yīn and yáng. Students should first know about the principles of stillness and movement in yīn and yáng before proceeding with their studies."

"Those with hard temperaments like to win through struggle; they don't like to be defeated. Inferior hard temperaments are explosive and rash, fierce and violent. Soft temperaments are placid and earnest. Inferior soft temperaments are weak-willed and do not seek a thorough understanding of the skills. Tai chi chuan stresses that hardness and softness complement each other. Training teaches one to be hard, but not excessively so, soft, yet not weak. This is to truly absorb the teachings.Those with soft temperaments easily improve. Those with inferior hard temperaments always mistake slowness and lack of force for sluggishness and weakness. Actually, slowness and forcelessness are fundamental aspects of training. Just as steel is produced by applying heat to iron, tempering it, skills of tai chi chuan are refined gradually over a long time."

"There are six methods of winding silk energy: inner, outer, upper, lower, forward and backward. They are applied from anywhere on the body: the arms. legs, hips and waist, with the body moving continuously, with endless circularity, wrapped together like intertwined filaments of silk."

"In tai chi chuan there is basic standing push hands, forward-backward push hands, dà lǜ and nine palace push hands, etc. In his later years, my older brother, Wu Kung-i (Wu Gongyi), created new techniques in applications. … The dà lǜ method of stepping is also called ‘eight gates and five steps’ (bā mén wǔ bù)."

"Push hands is practiced between two people: the intitiator and the one acted upon. Initiating is called ‘asking’. The person acted upon ‘answers’. When the opponent asks, listen first before answering."

"The body is divided into three parts and nine sections. The three parts are the spine, the two arms and the two legs.1. Spine: the head, thorax and abdomen. These three sections make up the main trunk of the body. 2. Arms: the hands, elbows and shoulders. These three sections constitute the upper limbs. 3. Legs: the hips, knees and feet. These three sections constitute the body’s lower limbs.So the body is divided into upper, middle and lower vessels. The upper is from the chest and arms upwards, the middle constitutes waist and hips, and the lower vessel is from the thighs and knees downwards."

"Tai chi chuan (taìjíqúan) is a Taoist practice emphasizing cultivation of martial ethics."

"Translation: Young Knight learn to love God and revere women so that your honour grows. Practice knighthood and learn the Art that dignifies you, and brings you honour in wars. Wrestle well and wield lance, spear, sword, and dagger manfully, whose use in others' hands is wasted. Strike bravely and hard there! Rush to strike or miss. Those with wisdom loath the one forced to defend. This you should grasp: All arts have length and measure. Whatever you undertake, use deliberation. In earnest or in play, be of good cheer and vitality, so you may be attentive and with good courage ponder what action you should take, so that none may touch you, since good courage and strength make your enemies hesitate. Keep in mind to give no-one any advantage. Avoid foolhardiness, do not attempt to match four or six opponents at once. Restrain your ambition, this will benefit you. He is a courageous man who can stand against his equal, while it is no shame to flee from four or six."

"Jung Ritter lere / got lip haben frawen io ere / So wechst dein ere Uebe ritterschaft und lere / kunst dy dich zyret und in krigen sere hofiret Ringens gut fesser / glefney sper swert unde messer menlich bederben / unde in andern henden vorterben Haw dreyn und hort dar / rawsche ym trif ader la farn das in dy weisen hassen dy man siet preisen Dorauf dich zosse alle ding haben lenge unde mosse Und was du wilt treiben by guter vornunft saltu bleiben czu crust ader czu schimpf / habe froelichen mut mit limpf So magstu achten und mit gutem mute betrachten Was du solt fueren und keyn im dich rueren Wen guter mut mit kraft macht eyns wedersache czagehaft dornoch dich richte gib keynem forteil mit ichte Tumkunheit meide vier ader sechs nicht vortreibe mit deynem oebermut biss sitik das ist dir gut / der ist eyn kuener man der synem gleichen tar bestan Is ist nicht schande vier ader sechs flien von hande [fol. 18r]"