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Frozen_Feet
2019-05-05, 02:10 PM
There's an on-going thread for "arcane university classes" spoofing things a wizard would have to learn, so hey, let's do something similar for all those martial types. Martial arts through the ages have provided a great number of pithy quotes, after all. So let's share.

Let me start by linking some of my recent fictional favorites:

"Reach Heaven through Violence." (https://killsixbilliondemons.fandom.com/wiki/Meti%27s_Sword_Manual)

"If violence wasn’t your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it." (https://schlockmercenary.fandom.com/wiki/The_Seventy_Maxims_of_Maximally_Effective_Mercenar ies)

Aaaand then some unsorted riffs on the classics:

"Fear not the man who has handled ten thousand weapons once; fear the man who has handled one weapon ten thousand times."

"It is said the greatest display of skill and power is had between two equals."

"Random people on the street are not your equals."

"It is also said: the greatest swordsman only needs to fear the worst, for he has no idea what that damned fool is going to do."

"If you have a good sword arm, random people who attack you on the street are damned fools. Prepare accordingly."

"Sweat in the gym spares blood on the field."

"The very meaning of being a professional fighter, is to gain money for it. If you face another fighter and there's no money in fighting them, don't fight. Beating up people for free is for amateurs. "

"Ability to fight consists of three parts: technique, fitness and will. Between those of equal fitness and technique, the one with superior will wins. Between those of equal will and technique, the one with greater fitness wins. So on and so forth. Advantage in one area can compensate for disadvantage in another, but none should be neglected. "

"To understand difference between self-defence and a fight, draw a circle on the ground around you. In self-defence, when your opponent steps in that ring, you want to do all to get out. In a fight, you want to do all to get them out."

"Standing to fight is for those who have no other places left to stand on."

"Any weapon you bring to a fight that you are unable or unwilling to use, belongs to your enemy."

"Learning how to use force on others in defence of self is a tautological pursuit, for if none knew how to use force on others, who would you defend your self from?"

"Consider: there is no such thing as 'self' to defend."

"When you pick up a weapon, never consider merely your own life. Do not seek beauty in battle or glory in death. If there is an opponent you must fight, stab them to death from behind."

"Soldiers who do more harm than good should fall on their own blades."

"The nature of warfare is deception. Warfare is the extension of politics. Hence, the nature of politics is also deception."

"Should you meet an undefeatable master on the road, kill them."

"A man with a sword may threaten a man with a hoe, claiming his life is in their hands. But if it is the man with the hoe who feeds the man with the sword, then he, too, holds their life in his hands. Thus, we must consider the hand that holds the sword and the hand that holds the hoe to be of equal strength. And if they are equal, the land they stand on belongs to both equally. Only when the sword and the hoe are held in hands of a single man, can he say he truly owns his land. "

Wuzza
2019-05-05, 02:34 PM
"In the Kingdom of the Blind, the One Eyed Man is King."

Setup for a wandering Cyclops, trying to find the Kingdom of the Blind...

Psyren
2019-05-05, 02:53 PM
Is this just for aphorisms, or actual courses of study that a martial class might need? For the latter, OotS had some funny ones from Roy's stint in Fighter College getting his Master of Battle Administration (MBA).

Lord Raziere
2019-05-05, 03:45 PM
"The Best Defense Is a Great Offense, The Best Offense is to destroy something in one shot, the world is dangerous and therefore a threat to defend against, therefore the best offense is to destroy the world. No world means nothing to defend against, victory achieved forever."

"Its just like Dark Souls, behold the Way of the Parry, the Block, the Dodge Roll..."

"If your foe can see you draw your blade, you have not mastered Hyper-Iaijutsu
If your foe can respond to your attack, you have not mastered Hyper-Iaijutsu
If your foe knows who you are, you have not mastered Hyper-Iaijutsu
If you need more than one hit to kill, you have not mastered Hyper-Iaijutsu
If your foe does not have a delayed reaction to being cut in half, you have not mastered Hyper-Iaijutsu
If there is a thing you can't cut, you have not mastered Hyper-Iaijutsu."

"Behold, grasshopper, let me teach you the Way of the Gun, with techniques such as Cover Seeking Approach, Scope Aiming Excellence, Ammunition Management Method and many more ancient secrets..."

"Beware of old fighters with big beards. They know that a foe can grab onto their beard to get an advantage, but have still lived so long! therefore they must be great fighters to have such a thing."

"Always shout at the top of your lungs in battle. it will scare the foe and thus make them hesitate, leaving them defenseless for you to cut them down."

"In war, you must be mindful of those who swear revenge for the people you kill. Therefore use fire to burn everyone, the flames going out of control will kill everyone in the vicinity thus leaving no one who can possibly swear vengeance against you."

"Wearing armor only slows you down from killing more people before they can pierce armor that you don't have."

Frozen_Feet
2019-05-05, 04:10 PM
I'm mostly interested in aphorisms, though no-one will kill you if you put in classes too. There's no money in it.


"In the Kingdom of the Blind, the One Eyed Man is King."

"If one could learn martial arts by sight, dogs would be the greatest fighters, for they obediently follow their masters and are happy to watch in exchange of a simple treat."

"A man may look at beasts and admire their feats, thinking those are in their nature. But fewer things come to beasts naturally than man thinks. An otter pup does not know how to swim and it doesn't even like water. Its mother must drag it into the water by the neck to teach it."

"The mind does not know what the body knows and the body does not know what the mind knows. And it is not your mind that strikes the enemy. "

"A man with eyes sees, even when he knows not how or why he sees. A man with no eyes sees not, even if he knows all about how and why everyone else sees. The man with keenest eyes may tell you nothing of sight. So, too, is it with fighting. The greatest fighter fights without knowing how or why he fights and he may tell you nothing of fighting."

"Give the greatest boxer a knife and you have found the greatest knife fighter. Give the greatest staff fighter a spear and you have found the greatest spearman. Give the greatest swordsman a flail and you have found a fool who will hit himself with his own weapon."

stack
2019-05-05, 07:13 PM
"Put the pointy end into the other guy."

"Hit them until they stop moving."

Lord Raziere
2019-05-06, 12:13 AM
"The only strike worth considering is thrusting, and thus the only weapon worth wielding are spears or rapiers, as the only wound inflicting are holes in the glorious tangle that is battle. I'm getting short of breath just thinking about it!"

"Appropriate weapons for the appropriate foe: for a human a sword, for a deer a hunting bow, for
a dragon a more foolish soul than you and a stacked deck in their favor."

"There is no peace, only war and preparation for war."

"Coward is just another word for Winner."

"Honor is just another word for whatever you think is right."

"Bravery is just another word for Martyrdom."

"Victory is enjoying women and wine while other people die somewhere else."

"To win wars is to plan long term, therefore the longest term you can possibly plan for is entropy, therefore entropy is the greatest foe to fight, therefore the war that should be fought is the fight to make perpetual energy, thus you will win all wars when you triumph over entropy."

Pauly
2019-05-06, 12:36 AM
Incoming fire has right of way

Don’t think of it as being vastly outnumbered, think of it as having a wide shot selection.

If you’re good enough to put him on the ground, you are good enough to kick him while he’s down there.

You don’t have to worry about what he’s armed with if you shoot him in the back.

Some people say there is no honor in shooting someone in the back. Let me read you their obituaries.

If it is unlikely that your attack will pierce the enemy’s armor, remember that if you make enough attacks sooner or later you will get a lucky one.

He can’t hit you if he can’t see you.

Distraction is the oldest trick in the book because it works.

If you know what he is going to do before he knows what he will do you cannot be defeated.

Frozen_Feet
2019-05-06, 03:01 AM
"In a duel, the man with biggest weapon often wins. Hence the grappler reigns supreme, for his weapon is the ground itself."

"Using strength in a technique is not a flaw, wasting strength is."

"People ask 'does this technique work?' This is the wrong question. In a fight, position is everything. If you are in the wrong position, no technique will work. If you are in the right position, any silly technique will work."

"This said, if you are in a position to make any silly technique work, you may simply punch your opponent untill they fall over."

Vhaidara
2019-05-06, 01:12 PM
"I've never lost a fair fight. Never won one either."

Spore
2019-05-06, 04:54 PM
Compassion and mercy is why our god provides us with protection, guards our every step. I will stop you misdeeds at every corner but you have not used up your second chance yet. Do not waste it.

- my paladin, explaining why he would not execute the evil necromancer.

noob
2019-05-06, 05:01 PM
"Fear not the man who has handled ten thousand weapons once; fear the man who has handled one weapon ten thousand times."
Wow that is a lot of weapons says the man crushed by ten thousand weapons at once.(seriously handling ten thousand of weapons once is hard)

Lord Raziere
2019-05-06, 06:07 PM
Wow that is a lot of weapons says the man crushed by ten thousand weapons at once.(seriously handling ten thousand of weapons once is hard)

on the other end: "The random stick I've wielded since childhood is clearly superior to anything you can pick up! after all, I practiced it for my entire life."

Brother Oni
2019-05-06, 06:17 PM
"Behold, grasshopper, let me teach you the Way of the Gun, with techniques such as Cover Seeking Approach, Scope Aiming Excellence, Ammunition Management Method and many more ancient secrets..."

"And once you have mastered these techniques, then you may attempt to study the barely restrained aggression of Bounding Overwatch, the dual lessons of the brutally cunning Mozambique Drill and the cunningly brutal Tueller Drill and finally the patient but lethal Slicing the Pie.

However each of these are mere child's steps to the final goal of killing the enemy by words only, it is an arcane rite of variable length and different words every time, but always ends with the dreaded words of 'FIRE. FOR. EFFECT.' "


On a more serious note, the 36 Stratagems (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-Six_Stratagems) is full of these:



Cross the sea without the emperor's knowledge
Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao
Kill with a borrowed knife
Wait at leisure while the enemy labors
Loot a burning house
Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west
Create something from nothing
Openly repair the gallery roads, but sneak through the passage of Chencang
Watch the fires burning across the river
Hide a knife behind a smile
Sacrifice the plum tree to preserve the peach tree
Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat
Stomp the grass to scare the snake
Borrow a corpse to resurrect the soul
Lure the tiger off its mountain lair
In order to capture, one must let loose
Tossing out a brick to get a jade gem
Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief
Remove the firewood from under the pot
Disturb the water and catch a fish
Slough off the cicada's golden shell
Shut the door to catch the thief
Befriend a distant state and strike a neighbouring one
Obtain safe passage to conquer the State of Guo
Replace the beams with rotten timbers
Point at the mulberry tree while cursing the locust tree
Feign madness but keep your balance
Remove the ladder when the enemy has ascended to the roof
Deck the tree with false blossoms
Make the host and the guest exchange roles
The beauty trap (Honeypot)
The empty fort strategy
Let the enemy's own spy sow discord in the enemy camp
Inflict injury on oneself to win the enemy's trust
If all else fails, retreat


To a lesser extent, Sun Tzu's Art of War has a number of these.

Arbane
2019-05-06, 06:58 PM
"The bigger they are, the harder they hit."

"Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet."

"Once you pull the pin, Mister Grenade is no longer your friend."

cajbaj
2019-05-06, 09:32 PM
So I made a wizard with 8 Int and 19 Dex in a setting with guns, and I totally stole Heavy's famous quote for him.

"Some people think they can outsmart me. Maybe.
I have yet to meet one who can outsmart bullet."

Kadzar
2019-05-07, 05:35 PM
"Reach Heaven through Violence." (https://killsixbilliondemons.fandom.com/wiki/Meti%27s_Sword_Manual)
My favorite Meti quotes:

"To train with the sword, first master sweeping. When you have mastered sweeping, you must master the way of drawing water. Once you have learned how to draw water, you must split wood. Once you have split wood, you must learn the arts of finding the fine herbs in the forest, the arts of writing, the arts of paper making, and poetry writing. You must become familiar with the awl and the pen in equal measure. When you have mastered all these things you must master building a house. Once your house is built, you have no further need for a sword, since it is an ugly piece of metal and its adherents idiots."

"Your stance must be wide. You must not be spare with the fluidity of your wrists or shoulders. You must have grip on the handle that is loose and unstrained. I heard it said you must be tender with your sword grip, as though with a lover. This is patently false. A sword is not your lover. It is a hideous tool for separating men from their vital fluids."

"The weak swordsman strikes his enemy down and thinks his task done. He relishes in victory. He casts away his sword and returns to his lover. Little does he know his single cut will encircle the world five times and strike him down fifty-fold."

"The weak swordsman clings to his instrument. It is better you have a sword, but death must lie under your fingernails, if need be. Learn death with your elbows, death with your knees, and death with your thumbs and fingertips. It is said death with the tongue is useful, but I find words too soft an instrument to smash a man’s skull."

Lord Raziere
2019-05-07, 10:38 PM
My favorite Meti quotes:

"To train with the sword, first master sweeping. When you have mastered sweeping, you must master the way of drawing water. Once you have learned how to draw water, you must split wood. Once you have split wood, you must learn the arts of finding the fine herbs in the forest, the arts of writing, the arts of paper making, and poetry writing. You must become familiar with the awl and the pen in equal measure. When you have mastered all these things you must master building a house. Once your house is built, you have no further need for a sword, since it is an ugly piece of metal and its adherents idiots."


I keep hearing this quote, time to make a response to it
"I love that quote, I love that people live by it, and especially when people quote that at me while holding no weapon. It means more people to easily stab while they underestimate me because I'm supposedly an idiot."

"Reach Heaven through violence? Wow thats a lot of angels your murdering to get there, sounds like a good way to the other place if you ask me."

"Sure I can outsmart bullet. its easy: shoot first."

"just sticking me with that pointy end ain't gonna do anything against plate."

"no no no, looting a burning house is stupid, you just take things that are on fire! pillage THEN burn!"

"how can you hit me until I stop moving, if you can't even reach me?"

noob
2019-05-08, 03:29 AM
For winning a swordfight have someone else fight the swordfight with a rocket launching drone while neither you or the drone pilot are anywhere close to the swordsmen.(ps: it does not works in anime or dnd or superhero stories/systems unless facing someone weak or unoptimized)

Spore
2019-05-08, 03:44 AM
Oh my god you guys, we forgot the most important memes quotes:

"Not personnel kid."

"You are already dead."

and

"While you were having fun, I mastered the blade. When you were having sex, I mastered the blockchain. While you wasted your days in the tavern, I cultivated inner strength.

And now when the world is on fire and the barbarians are at the gate you have the audacity to come and ask me for help?"

Guizonde
2019-05-08, 04:19 AM
"friendly fire isn't."

"if you think violence doesn't solve problems, you're not hitting hard enough."

and it's corrolary:

"only once a mosquito lands on your groin will you realize violence is not always the answer." (that is a real african proverb, by the way. ivory coast i think)

"always aim for the weak spot. if you can't find a weak spot, delegate."

"to win a battle, you must not die for your country. you must make sure your enemy does it in your stead."

"dead men don't need gear."

"blades don't need reloading, sure, but they need as much maintenance as the rest of your gear."

"the pen is mightier than the sword. the artillery barrage is mightier than both."

"fear not the bullet with your name on it. fear the grenade addressed "to whom it may concern"."

"an dim mind will walk in dark places."

"preparedness is next to godliness."

"just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you."

Frozen_Feet
2019-05-08, 04:38 AM
"It is said it takes ten days to learn the staff, a hundred days to learn the sabre and a thousand days to learn the straight sword."

"It is further said the staff is the weapon of a peasant, the sabre the weapon of a soldier and the straight sword a weapon of a noble."

"One might think this is a comment on how the straight sword is the most prestigious. Mostly, it's just a comment on how snooty rich people have too much time on their hands."

"Never think of yourself as being above of wielding a simple stick. Especially never think of yourself as being above of being hit with one."

"A man with an oaken staff once challenged the six best swordsmen of the King to fight him at once. It was a highly unfair. Towards the swordsmen, who all died."

"Give a novice a sword and watch him slaughter adepts in unarmed combat. Give a novice a staff and watch them hold back four adepts of the sword at once."

"Beggar monks carry with them spades, not swords. This is because the spade is not much worse as a weapon, but is infinitely better at digging graves for all the bandits they kill."

"Gold and pretty stones are not true signs of wealth. They are what peasants think of wealth. True signs of wealth are arms of iron and vests of bronze, for only the truly wealthy can waste useful metals on such frivolities."

"Chivalry between peasants is a waste of everyone's time and deserves every bit of mockery. Knights are not kind to peasants for peasants' sake, they merely aim to make their shields shining and bright to other knights."

"The strong can afford to appear weak, for they can strike down any fool who tries to benefit from their seeming weakness. They soar to new heights by lowering themselves. The weak cannot afford to appear weak, for such would be a mere invitation for others to tread on them. "

Cluedrew
2019-05-08, 07:26 AM
I love Meti's quotes, especially since there is such a variety of them I'm not entirely sure what her opinion on anything actually is.

"I see no reason to honour a warrior above a prostitute. They sell the same thing."

Imbalance
2019-05-08, 08:25 AM
"Guys who use knives are either psychos or pros. You have to be real crazy or real good to use a knife. This guy's real good. He only makes one mistake. He brings a knife to a gunfight."

Frozen_Feet
2019-05-08, 09:29 AM
"Before taking revenge, dig two graves."

"When I tell my apprentices advice starting with 'it is said...', they often ask 'but who said it?'. My usual answer is 'Hell if I know', for it should not matter who said what, or even if it was said at all. Only truth of the statements matters and it is the task of masters and apprentice alike to put their truth to the test."

"Truth is a blade that cuts everyone equally."

"In a room with two people, there might only be one master, but there are always two students."

"To define something only by what it is not is an exercise in frustration. Hence, when teaching a student, a master should not only point out their errors or what they should not do. A master should praise and affirm where proper."

Lord Raziere
2019-05-08, 01:50 PM
I love Meti's quotes, especially since there is such a variety of them I'm not entirely sure what her opinion on anything actually is.

"I see no reason to honour a warrior above a prostitute. They sell the same thing."

"....Um.. aside from certain physical similarities I'm pretty sure they sell the exact opposite things in practice. At least the prostitute is making more people rather than killing them."

"Finding a bigger stick to beat your problems in will just result in someone finding an even bigger stick than that to beat you in."

"sometimes not hitting things will fool people into thinking you don't hit things, so when you hit things they're surprised and your hit kills them in one hit!"

"You can never hav enuff dakka"

"Da red wunz alwayz go fasta"

"violence isn't the solution. fire is. how can anyone be violent if they're on fire? Think about it."

"A shinobi is a weapon, a tool to kill nothing more, nothing less. They have no emotions and no qualms. Become a weapon completely and nothing will stop you."

"To be a warrior is to fight for yourself. To be a soldier is to kill for the state. Know the difference."

"An emotionless one who kills to succeed is long-lived. A passionate one who fights for their own enjoyment is dead."

"Pacifism is a luxury for the people who can afford it. For all others, spend your mercy wisely."

Cluedrew
2019-05-08, 05:07 PM
To Lord Raziere: I will admit, I don't quite know what that quote was getting at. I mean I have some ideas but more than that it just felt appropriate for the thread.

"Never pick a fight with an old man. He is too old to fight, he'll just kill you." -A poster of farm jokes.

I kind of want to pick out some of my favourites, but I have some other things and other posts to get to, so I will just say:
To Everyone: I'm enjoying this thread. Good work.

Frozen_Feet
2019-05-09, 01:26 AM
@Raziere & Cluedrew: mercenary and whore both sell their bodies, they both hold someone else's spear in their hand & they both run the risk of being penetrated by long, hard objects.

Rocket science, martial arts sayings are not. Unless trying to hit another with a rocket, you are.

...

"Do or do not. There is no try."

---

"Warfare should be left to young men. This, because they have nothing to lose, but everything to gain."

"No creature is sadder than an old man who has known only war. This means he has never held in his hands that which could bring him joy."

"The second saddest creature is a man who goes to war because he had his joy snatched away from him. This, because he fights not to win, but simply so others would lose."

"At the age of thirty winters, with nothing to my name, I contemplate the above. Is loss of a life not lived a loss at all?"

"To live is to die, but to be dead is to not live. Infant and grown man can both have their lives end in a single instant, but it takes nine months to replace the former and decades to replace the latter."

"To break that which you cannot repair is bad form. Hence, a student of the art of breaking should always learn the art of healing first."

---

"People who say you cannot define value of life, never owned any cows."

"The nature of good and evil is that of two rabbits."

"To ask why the civilian fears the soldier is like asking why the sheep fear the sheepdog. The sheepdog may exist to guard the sheep from the wolves, but the sheep always know the sheepdog is more akin to the wolf than it is akin to the sheep."

"Indeed, if wolves and dogs were both to perish, the sheep would rejoice. But should the sheep perish, both wolf and dog would be quite sad."

"Wolf and dog may only ally when sun threatens to rise above a world where there are no sheep."

---

"Four kinds of people join the army: the lazy, the thoughtless, the zealous and the murderous."

"The lazy simply want someone else to clothe and feed them and armies are indeed fairly good at doing these."

"The thoughtless are doing what their fathers were doing and what their fathers' fathers were doing, because if all those other people did it, they surmise, it must be worth doing."

"The zealous heard those stories about good of the nation, glory, honor & all the other jazz, and thought they were documentaries."

"The murderous want a license to legally kill people."

Lord Raziere
2019-05-09, 02:29 AM
@Raziere & Cluedrew: mercenary and whore both sell their bodies, they both hold someone else's spear in their hand & they both run the risk of being penetrated by long, hard objects.

Rocket science, martial arts sayings are not. Unless trying to hit another with a rocket, you are.


Oh I got that. Thats obvious. I just decided not to point it out. I am not in the habit of explaining the joke.

"All that wisdom about war being foolish and for stupid people goes out the window when demons attack, don't stop and respond to peace attempts by setting things on fire for kicks and giggles."

"There are grey wars where complex factors are at play, you weep for the loss of humanity, the senselessness of it all and come out traumatized. Then there those times when some crazy necromancer decides raise an army of the dead and conquer the world- and thats when it gets FUN!"

"If you ever become invincible or immortal, only then may you attack recklessly without thought."

"Once there was a warrior who wanted to win without killing others and show them his vision of a better world through his words. An archer shot him dead before he could get within shouting distance."

"Shardbearers cannot hold ground."

"War is mostly marching, camping, preparing, standing around guarding, drilling, planning, finding ways to entertain yourself, chores, endless tedium, supply management, scavenging, being alert, maintenance, cooking, scouting, hiding, sneaking, and then the actual fighting happens and you wish you were doing all those other things."

"War is the art of not thinking so you can be handed a weapon that isn't yours, to do things you don't want to do, go places where you rather not be and die to people you don't want to fight."

"gods don't fight wars, they make ultimatums."

"If Pacifism is Cowardice, then I'm saintly with how much I retreat."

Frozen_Feet
2019-05-09, 03:20 AM
"A military leader ought to be as a father to his men. This is exactly what it sounds like: you feed them bastards, you clothe them bastards, you give them bastards allowance if they behave, you yell at them if they don't, and you listen to their mothers yell at you if there's a little accident and they don't all get home in time."

"Never point a gun at something you don't want to shoot. Never go where guns are pointed at you if you don't want to get shot at."

"Never put your bastards on the line of fire, unless you really don't like them & there's another one already on the way."

"The military is poor escape from family life. That's 'cause it's commitment to a very big family where everybody's armed, some of your brothers hate you & you get yelled at by dad well into adulthood. "

"Some says the military makes men out of boys. I find it more accurate to say it makes little girls out of boys - the firsts thing you learn are to dress properly, clean your room, cut your hair, getting to bed in time & doing what Daddy tells you to."

"Now you know why military psych tests always ask about your relationship to your parents."

---

"A statesman can rule through love or fear. It is said that if one cannot be both, it is better to be feared."

"It is also said: 'men fears what they can't understand'. I find this dubious, but if we are to grant it, we must conclude: man who understands violence, does not fear it."

"Hence, to rule through fear, it is of utmost importance for a statesman to keep his populace ignorant of the ways of violence."

"Should we find men instead fears violence more when they understand it more, then it is of utmost importance that all be taught the ways of violence. All must know what it feels like to suffer and all must know what it feels like to make others suffers."

"Strength of the soul is measured in depth of suffering."

"Reach understanding through suffering."

Imbalance
2019-05-09, 08:47 AM
"To survive war, you gotta become war."

Guizonde
2019-05-09, 10:53 AM
"pain is weakness leaving the body."

"when in doubt, set things on fire."

"when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail."

"when all you have is a shotgun, everything starts to look like skeet."

"if i make it, i'm a hero. if i don't, i'm too dead to regret it."

Frozen_Feet
2019-05-10, 02:37 AM
"There are four types of masters of fighting arts: the accomplished student, the student-teacher, the solitary master and the great teacher."

"The accomplished student is one who is part of a living tradition and, having trained under another master, has learned all there is to learn under that tradition."

"The student-teacher is also part of a living tradition, and also has a master of their own, but has delayed reaching mastery on their own in favor helping others along the path of their tradition."

"The solitary master has reached mastery through their own observation. They may exist when all true traditions are dead. Solitary masters have not been taught and do not teach, leaving no traditions of their own."

"The great teacher appears where there is no tradition and creates one of whole cloth. From them, all true traditions flow."

"Many think of themselves as solitary masters, but few are. Indeed, a true solitary master may not realize their own mastery, for in their own context they rarely have equals to measure up to."

"It is compelling to imagine great teachers as unsurpassed in skill, but this is an error. The path to become a great teacher is like wading through fresh snow, slow and exhausting. By contrast, the path to become accomplished student and student-teacher is like following foot prints of another. Hence, the accomplished student and student-teacher can reach farther and with quicker pace than the great teachers. "

"Indeed, the hallmark of greatest teachers is that their students eventually surpass them, getting further ahead on the road they paved."

Spore
2019-05-10, 02:54 AM
"pain is weakness leaving the body."

I know this is a thread about mostly silly and stupid sayings but this one is so SO wrong. As someone with a pretty high pain treshold, no, NO!

Pain is pain, and fatigue/exhaustion is exhaustion. Maybe it is clearer to me than to others who confuse strain and stress with actual pain. If you hurt, you stop IMMEDIATELY.

Frozen_Feet
2019-05-10, 05:59 AM
"Make me hurt? Do you mean 'hurt' as in 'cause me pain' or as in 'cause me injury'? I can assure you, those are two different things."

"Someone under the red veil of battle or lulling effect of booze will only feel pain after-the-fact. To stop such an opponent, you must mercilessly break their limbs."

"A man with severed arm may pick it up, run to you and beat you to death with it. I've yet to see anyone repeat such a stunt with a severed leg."

"Sweep the leg."

"Arms feel pain first, then break. Legs break first, then feel pain."

"Strike the quads with your shin. Don't strike the shin with your shin, unless you desire to find out your feet are of clay and your opponent's of iron."

---

"Martials arts are like a tree. Styles are its branches, soaring higher and growing ever apart, but they join together at the root."

"A solitary master is a dead branch."

"Accomplished students are the trunk of the tree."

"Student-teachers are flowering branches, ready to bear fruit."

"A great teacher is a seed buried under the soil, unseen yet growing new roots."

---

"Martial arts are like a mountain. From the summit, you can see all work towards the same goal, yet on the way up, you may not ever encounter another soul."

"Solitary master stands alone on the peak."

"Great teacher leads at the front, marking the path for others."

"The student-teacher climbs back down and helps others climb the trail."

"Accomplished student ardently follows the trail, knowing the peak can be reached."

"Where to begin climbing, often is left outside of choice. Lucky is the man who can pick and choose which trail to follow. Only from the summit are all trails equally open."

"To dabble in too many styles is like trying to ascend the mountain from all sides at once. Running up and down the slope, never passing the halfway mark."

"Ultimate power is to reach the peak and never come back down."

"No man can forever stay at the peak. All must eventually plan their route back down. Only back at the foot of the mountain, is the journey completed."

---

"Some say women should not lead at war. I ask why, they say women too weak. But a leader's worth is not in how well they fight on their own, it's in how well they make others fight for them. I find women have always been very good at making men fight other men."

"In nature, the female is often more dangerous than male. This confuses males, for males are often bigger and stronger. But consider: smallest snakes are often most venomous."

"Boys wrestle and hold each other down, for they feel safe in their strength. Girls don't feel safe in their strength, so they kick, scream, bite and throw objects at you."

"Do not get between a female bear and her cubs."

"Dark elves are akin to black widows: the female is bigger, stronger and will behead a male without second thought if such will benefit her offspring."

"A male dark elf will gladly lose his head for a woman he finds worthy. But with the unworthy, he will keeps his head, tie their legs and flee into the night."

"In gnolls, the female is the manlier sex."

"Human women may find orc men muscular and attractive, but orc women tend to find human men flimsy and child-like."

"The man is to an elf what a dog is to a wolf: a somewhat dimwitted cousin who has exchanged its wild nature for easy life on a leash."

---

Now for something different: (https://youtu.be/5i2qquegdB4)

"The only good goblin is a dead goblin, LET'S MAKE ALL THE GOBLINS GOOD!"

"Goblins love three things: elves, women and what they do to elven women. Drench yourself in their blood so they won't tell you apart by smell."

"Note to self: elves may be goblins. Must investigate further."

"The smell of burning goblins in the morning... now THAT is magic!"

"Ancient elven tree fortresses... burn up real good."

"When hearing tales of adventurers, consider: you probably won't hear of all those who got killed early in their career by filthy goblins!"

"Consider: long weapons and horned helmets are bad form in confined spaces."

"Consider: you will probably die fighting and your enemy will loot your corpse. So never carry anything that'd be too usefull to them."

"Consider: you don't have to go in a cave if they can't make it out!"

"Consider: if you aren't willing to collapse the dungeon you're in, you aren't willing to win."

"Consider: poison gasses seek low ground. Goblin caves count as very low ground."

"Consider: rivers also flow towards low ground. Never use a sword where a shovel may suffice."

"Never be too proud to beg for help."

"Remember: to the goblins, YOU are the goblin!"

"Sometimes, the face of adventure is that of half-starved, homeless man with paranoid delusions."

"Zzz... goblins... Zzzz... I don't like them... Zzzz..."

---

Yet more different: (https://youtu.be/s43yLMgXXOU)

"When shooting a rifle, I prefer iron sights over a scope. When using a scope, you will have to raise your head higher and light may reflect from the lens, revealing your location."

"When its cold, the steam of your breath may reveal your location. Put snow in your mouth to prevent this."

"When preparing an ambush, it is vital to get into position early enough. Get into your prepared position before sun rises and only leave when the sun sets. During winter, pour water in the snow to freeze it. Otherwise, your firing may kick up the snow and reveal your position."

"How did I do what I did? I did what I was ordered to, as well as I could."

---

"Lead poisoning is a highly dangerous disease."

"A fresh recruit asked me: 'how does it feel like to shoot people?' I wouldn't know, I've only shot enemies."

"See, this is strategy of offensive warfare: you go, you get shot at, you run without looking and then they get you. No. First look where cover is, then where the shooter is, be fast, but not too fast. Aim first, aim well, shoot first. One second lead is enough. That's how it is."

"Look. This is how it is. If you start running, you can run all the way to the sea. They will come after you, don't you doubt that. But if you stay put and don't go anywhere, what will they do? They won't fit in the same pit with you. That's the strategy of defensive warfare. "

---

"Timing is position."

"An action in half time defeats an action in full time."

"Pacing is the efficient use of time."

"There is a rhythm to battle just like there is to music. A martial artist on his own is a graceful, harmonious being. Two martial artists fighting each other are a cacophony."

"In dance and in sparring, they are the worst who constantly step on toes of their partner and break their rhythm. In a fight, you must seek to be bad in that exact way."

"It is not enough to take your time. You must ruthlessly take the time of others as well."

"Seize the moment, cease the conflict."

"Martial arts are easily disguised as dance, but beware of dance disguised as martial arts."

"Your strikes must be like honey."

"For the metaphorically challenged: your strikes must mimic traits of non-newtonian liquids, fluid and relaxed in motion, rigid upon impact."

"Like watee flowing through a broken jar, your motion must seek the gaps in your opponent's defense."

---

"Just to make clear nothing was lost in translation: when a peasant girl dreams of a knight in shining armor whisking her away on white horse, she means she wants a wealthy man of higher status to marry her so she doesn't have to do hard work at a farm anymore. She has no use for limp-wristed fools throwing themselves at her feet. Sweet Christ! "

"She asked me to treat her like a princess, so I married her off to some noble in Poland to secure a military treaty."

Kane0
2019-05-10, 06:18 AM
I know this is a thread about mostly silly and stupid sayings but this one is so SO wrong. As someone with a pretty high pain treshold, no, NO!

Pain is pain, and fatigue/exhaustion is exhaustion. Maybe it is clearer to me than to others who confuse strain and stress with actual pain. If you hurt, you stop IMMEDIATELY.

I do believe that was from a certain rocket launcher wielding individual known for misquoting the art of war.

comicshorse
2019-05-10, 12:03 PM
" I'm a soldier, sir, not a bloody clerk! I fetch, I forage, and I take punishment drills! It's "yes sir, no sir, can I dig your latrine, sir?" and it's not bloody soldiering! "

Captain Richard Sharpe to Major Nairn

" It *is* bloody soldiering! What the hell do you think soldiering is? Just because you've been allowed to swan about like a bloody pirate for years, you've forgotten what REAL soldiering is..!"

Major Nairn to Captain Richard Sharpe

Lord Raziere
2019-05-10, 12:22 PM
"To the change the world with a blade is to change a field by pulling up plants with your hands. Sure you may get rid of a few weeds here and there, but more will come back later and the field itself is unphased."

"Bringing only a dagger to a real fight is bringing a desperate contingency without a plan A."

"If you want to train a good longbowsman, start with this grandfather."

"Never be afraid to give up now and then, there is such a thing as over-committing."

"War is just two men fighting each other in the wilderness if they were size of nations."

"The only people that survives wars are evil rat bastards who do any dirty trick they can to win, kill anyone they can, learn to take death and the spending of lives in stride. After all, war doesn't determine who is right, but who is left."

"War is the gods way of simplifying who gets sent to heaven and who doesn't. All the people who don't participate go to Heaven."

King of Nowhere
2019-05-10, 01:19 PM
“The hallmark of insecurity is bravado.”

"Some talk about being emotionless in battle. Well, I suppose it’s important to keep your head. But I hate that feeling of killing while calm and cold. I’ve seen that those who care fight harder, longer, and better than those who don’t. It’s the difference between mercenaries and real soldiers.
It’s the difference between fighting to defend your homeland and fighting on foreign soil.
It’s good to care when you fight, so long as you don’t let it consume you. Don’t try to stop yourself from feeling. You’ll hate who you become."

Zhorn
2019-05-11, 07:22 AM
I know this is a thread about mostly silly and stupid sayings but this one is so SO wrong. As someone with a pretty high pain treshold, no, NO!

Pain is pain, and fatigue/exhaustion is exhaustion. Maybe it is clearer to me than to others who confuse strain and stress with actual pain. If you hurt, you stop IMMEDIATELY.

On a less serious note


"That sounds like elf talk to me"

Max_Killjoy
2019-05-11, 08:09 AM
I know this is a thread about mostly silly and stupid sayings but this one is so SO wrong. As someone with a pretty high pain treshold, no, NO!

Pain is pain, and fatigue/exhaustion is exhaustion. Maybe it is clearer to me than to others who confuse strain and stress with actual pain. If you hurt, you stop IMMEDIATELY.

It's one of those dumb jock motivator sayings that's been picked up in gaming culture, see also "adapt and overcome, noob!" in defense of a broken element of a game.

Frozen_Feet
2019-05-11, 08:40 AM
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger." :smalltongue:

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."

"All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth."

"Is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?"

"I know of no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and the impossible."

"But the worst enemy you can meet will always be yourself; you lie in wait for yourself in caverns and forests. Lonely one, you are going the way to yourself! And your way goes past yourself, and past your seven devils! You will be a heretic to yourself and witch and soothsayer and fool and doubter and unholy one and villain. You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame: how could you become new, if you had not first become ashes?"

" Of all evil I deem you capable: Therefore I want good from you. Verily, I have often laughed at the weaklings who thought themselves good because they had no claws."

Courtesy of Friedrich Nietzsche.

Max_Killjoy
2019-05-11, 09:08 AM
"I know you're tired, I know you're hurting, I wish I could say something classy and inspirational, but that just wouldn't be our style. Pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory lasts forever. It's been an honor sharing the field of battle with you."

King of Nowhere
2019-05-11, 07:40 PM
"the best fighter is not the more adept at swinging his sword, though that helps.
the best fighter is the one who knows when to fight and when to flee.
it doesn't matter how strong you are, there will always be something out there stronger than you, some fight you cannot win. So keep your head. To avoid defeat, you must know to pick your fights."


It's one of those dumb jock motivator sayings that's been picked up in gaming culture, see also "adapt and overcome, noob!" in defense of a broken element of a game.

on the other hand, since this is a fantasy world that obviously works differently from reality, you can actually make it work like that.

I based a character on that kind of concept, one who would seek power by pushing himself well past the limits of what is safe and sane. I can pull it to ridiculous extremes for comedy, I can explore his tragic side bby delving on his core motivations (he's got a tragic past that pushed him to seek strenght to defend himself, so he basically trains to overcome insecurity), or I can get a "determinator badass" vibe. in reality he would become a cripple after a few weeks of his training regimen, but in game he's a blast to play.

Rater202
2019-05-11, 08:28 PM
“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.”

― Bruce Lee

Lord Raziere
2019-05-11, 10:43 PM
"Absolutes Are the Mother of War, Nuances the Mother of Peace."

"Therefore as a warrior, be nuanced in everything you do."

"Except when fighting for your life, then absolutely kill them before they kill you."

JAL_1138
2019-05-12, 08:36 AM
“Use steamroller strategy; that is, make up your mind on a course and direction of action, and stick to it. But in tactics, do not steamroller. Attack weakness. Hold them by the nose and kick them in the pants.” (Attributed to General Patton)

Jay R
2019-05-12, 10:14 AM
"Winners never talk about glorious victories. That's because they're the ones who see what the battlefield looks like afterward. It's only the losers who have glorious victories."

Terry Pratchett, Small Gods

"No [soldier] ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb [soldier] die for his country."

General George S. Patton

Aramis: When the king sends us on campaign, does he give us his reasons? He says, “Porthos, fight,” and you fight.
Porthos: Oh, I do, I do.
Aramis: Then let’s go and be killed where we’re told to. Is life worth so many questions?

The Three Musketeers, 1973

Elizabeth Swann: [indignantly] No! This is barbaric! This is no way for grown men to settle... oh, fine! Let's just haul out our swords and start banging away at each other! That will solve everything! I've had it! I've had it with wobbly-legged, rum-soaked pirates!
Elizabeth Swann, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, 2006

Lord Raziere
2019-05-13, 04:59 PM
"Pain is just a good friend telling what you need to hear."

"Doubt is just your inner guardsmen telling something isn't right with this picture."

"Fear is just your survival instinct letting you know its time to run."

"Love and accept who you can, tolerate and respect all those you can't, and when someone pulls a weapon on you, kill them first."

Kyrell1978
2019-05-13, 05:10 PM
Self Defense creates pain, Pain creates fear, and Fear creates respect.

cajbaj
2019-05-14, 01:05 AM
"Thick thighs save lives."

"A wolf without its head can still bite."

"Leap before you think!"

"Life is all about resolve. Outcome is secondary. It is resolve that determines the value of your life."

"Still, even with all that stuff, a wimp is still a wimp, huh?"

"I have learned there is greater honor in a field well plowed than in a field steeped in blood."

"Stand tall and shake the heavens."

"In the morning I will be sober, and you will still be dead."

"How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?"

"A crown is more discomfort than adornment. If you have learned that, you have already learned much."

"I seek help from neither god nor demon."

“You are the oaken staff I lean on,” Taran said. “More than that.” He laughed. “You are the whole sturdy tree, and a true warrior.”
Coll, instead of beaming, looked wryly at him. “Do you mean to honor me?” he asked. “Then say, rather, I am a true grower of turnips, and a gatherer of apples. No warrior whatever, save that I am needed thus for a while. My garden longs for me as much as I long for it.”

"I don't want to die without any scars."

Starbuck_II
2019-05-16, 02:44 PM
Conceal a flaw, and the world will imagine the worst.

It is better to be a weapon than to rely on a external weapon.

"I don't count my sit-ups. I only start count when it starts hurting. That is when to start counting, because that is when it really counts. That is what makes you a champion." Muhammad Ali, the boxer, the legend.

"I train myself to fight an army so one guy will not defeat me."

"Everything too fast is not good but everything too slow is also not good. You need balance. That's why I like martial arts: it always tells you how to control your body, your mind, your heart. Balance. Balance can keep the world's peace. I think that's a very good thing." Jet Li.

"A mob is a group of persons with heads but no brains."

"Hero(s) shows you how to solve the problem - yourself."

Karate Kid/Cobra Kai:
John Kreese: We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here, in the streets, in competition. A man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy. What is the problem, Mr. Lawrence?

"The best defense is more offense."

Guizonde
2019-05-16, 04:16 PM
"when in doubt, c4!"

jamie "glorious mustache" hyneman, mythbusters.

Tvtyrant
2019-05-16, 07:16 PM
"Always fight with a better position at your back, so you have a place to go when you lose. Castles work well."

"If you know where your enemy is and they don't know where you are, you have the advantage. Attacking would let them know where you are, and the advantage would be lost."

"War is the art of convincing someone they are beaten. You can lose every battle and win a war, you can win every battle and lose one."

"The fastest way to convince someone of your opinion is to see their side of it. Therefore you should always invade the opponent's territory."

"If you make height a condition of the draft, you have just made being short a survival mechanism. Don't be surprised when the next litter isn't quite so tall."

"War would be an ugly business if not for all the gold."

"The soldier's dilemma is simple: No one individual can change the outcome of a battle, so rationally everyone would leave if not for the gold. A rout is the collective moment people realize they aren't getting paid."

"Gold is the fundamental motivation of all soldiers. Particularly stupid empires cover their best soldiers in gold, so instead of running from them their enemies run to them."

"7 minutes without shelter, 7 hours without water, 7 days without food, or 7 weeks without pay." The time it takes a soldier to desert in the wild.

"If you have to cover your soldiers in gold, at least position them so when the enemy army runs over them you get a good flank in."

"Paying your enemies is frequently the right move. They lose their motivation to fight and die, having already gotten what they wanted. If you time things correctly, you can even get them to fight each other over the gold."

"Ironically many barbarians have found out that getting paid tribute is the same as being paid in any other circumstances; there is a job involved."

"Surprisingly few armies have simply dumped their treasury out in a field back by archers and siege engines."

"Fear is the weighing of gold and life. Terror is knowing your pay is getting docked."

JAL_1138
2019-05-17, 06:43 AM
"when in doubt, c4!"

jamie "glorious mustache" hyneman, mythbusters.

“Jamie want big boom.” —Jamie Hyneman

The Jack
2019-05-17, 10:34 AM
A lot of the stuff in this thread is normal advice. I'm rather disappointed.



I'm very partial to 'kill them all, god will know his own'. It's extreme, but It's a surprisingly good outlook for a lot of things in life (try to kill all arguments, the survivors are worth keeping)

Lord Raziere
2019-05-17, 02:17 PM
“The most dangerous opponent for a master is a novice. Therefore, seek to be a novice in all things.”

“One learns more from defeat than victory. Therefore, fear the general that has never won a battle.”

“The heart of warfare is deception. Therefore, the general who can deceive even themself is invincible.”

"Madness is just another word for out-thinking your opponent."

"Everyone says charging in recklessly is stupid and therefore never do it. Therefore do it, no one will expect it! it will disrupt everything!"

"Its it crazy and it works, its not crazy."

"If you want to end the war and attain peace as quickly as possible there is only one strategy you need apply: Lose."

"The first thing a general should declare war on is the politicians that screwed up their job enough to make them have to do their own."

"The best general is a lazy one. They won't bother to muster any armies and just surrender immediately so that a lot of time, money, lives and resources will be saved."

"The wisest people in war are the deserters, and white mutineers the most foolish."

"being a soldier for pay is like gambling: the chip you start with is your life, and the house always wins."

"There is no insubordination, only taking the initiative to confuse the enemy and dead soldiers."

"Don't feel bad for spending soldiers lives, they volunteered for this. Unless they're forcibly drafted, then declare war on your ruler and kill them first."

"There is no friendly fire, only traitorous idiots who were screwing up the plan by running too far in front your gun."

"To save time, set anyone forcibly drafted free before they desert during battle."

Max_Killjoy
2019-05-17, 02:25 PM
"If it's stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you were lucky."

Lord Raziere
2019-05-17, 02:39 PM
"If it's stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you were lucky."

"Right so, to win war, you must acquire all the lucky charms. finding one means your were already lucky, thus exponentially building on your luck to find more lucky charms until your the luckiest warrior ever with every lucky charm in existence, thus winning all wars!"

tyckspoon
2019-05-17, 03:13 PM
"Right so, to win war, you must acquire all the lucky charms. finding one means your were already lucky, thus exponentially building on your luck to find more lucky charms until your the luckiest warrior ever with every lucky charm in existence, thus winning all wars!"

Well, this is basically the plot outline of any 'gather all the MacGuffins' story, so.. it's not entirely bad advice, if you happen to live in a universe where magical whatsits and lucky charms actually do something :smallamused:

Lord Raziere
2019-05-17, 03:58 PM
Well, this is basically the plot outline of any 'gather all the MacGuffins' story, so.. it's not entirely bad advice, if you happen to live in a universe where magical whatsits and lucky charms actually do something :smallamused:

I am not in the habit of explaining the joke, or the reference. your interpretation is valid to, I guess.

"Remember: the best warriors are humble farm boys who don't want to fight and are destined to receive legendary swords. never recruit the cynical or people from the city."

"Never trust a mage, they will eventually learn too much about magic and decide you are useless to them, and then where you will be?"

"shields are for cowards, real warriors dual-wield, after all if you can't kill two men at the same time, your not killing fast enough, you only have one life after all"

"see the reason why you only use a dagger is so that when you charge into battle waving it around, people will fall over laughing at the thought of ever being killed by it then you slit their throats while they can't act."

"the warriors greatest weakness is a warm bed and the paramour lying within it. therefore never sleep, lust or love."

"life is a game, and the score is counted by how many people you kill before someone kills you. the one who kills the most people wins!"

jjordan
2019-05-17, 04:15 PM
I know this is a thread about mostly silly and stupid sayings but this one is so SO wrong. As someone with a pretty high pain treshold, no, NO!

Pain is pain, and fatigue/exhaustion is exhaustion. Maybe it is clearer to me than to others who confuse strain and stress with actual pain. If you hurt, you stop IMMEDIATELY. This is one of those pithy quotes that trades brevity for clarity. It's generally considered to be a summary of the idea of suffering. An excellent example is holding your breath. The average person can hold their breath for 30 seconds before they start to gasp. However, the average person has enough air in their lungs to last for about 2 minutes before they need to breathe. That 90 second difference, when you are uncomfortable/suffering, and have to use your will-power to continue holding your breath is what the saying is actually referring to. And that's also why that saying gets so much traction in the military, because at the higher levels they're looking for people who can suffer. And at the higher levels people can *really* suffer. The world record for a human holding their breath is over 22 minutes.

Returning to the subject:

"All fighting is fighting."

"All fighting is position."

"At it's heart war is simple. But in war even the very simple things are very hard to do."

noob
2019-05-18, 03:27 AM
"Learn fundamental truths about fighting and you are a great master or learn logic and tautologies and you are the greatest of all masters for you can find an infinity of truthes"

JAL_1138
2019-05-18, 09:38 AM
Fear not the great swordsman. Fear the mediocre swordsman who could buy your homeland twice over—in cash—and commands several thousand pikemen, cavalry, and archers.

Imbalance
2019-05-19, 03:19 PM
"But the bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it."

JAL_1138
2019-05-20, 02:20 AM
“Do you know what a hero is? Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, he's somebody who's tired enough and cold enough and hungry enough not to give a damn. I don't give a damn.” —Capt. B. F. “Hawkeye” Pierce, M*A*S*H

Kane0
2019-05-21, 05:29 PM
"If you are going to set off an explosion, look away from it. This ensures two things; your own safety and the assured destruction of anything caught in the blast"

"Reach is key to victory in combat. The man with the spear defeats the man with the sword, and the man with the bow defeats the man with the spear"

"Even the fiercest warriors are subject to morale. Strike at the morale to cripple as assuredly as the body"

"Quantity is at least as important as quality, until logistics become involved"

"Follow the rule of threes. Offense, defense and mobility. Forward, backward and around. Shelter, food and medicine. Threats, deceit and negotiation. Honor, faith and fear."

Jay R
2019-05-22, 11:13 AM
"Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at."

"Now listen to me closely I'll endeavor to explain
What separates a charlatan from a Charlemagne
A rule confessed by generals illustrious and various
Though pompous as a Pompey or as daring as a Darius
A simple rule that every great man knows by heart
It's smarter to be lucky than it's lucky to be smart."
-- "Pippin"

Agent-KI7KO
2019-05-25, 10:48 AM
I’m disappointed that there are people posting serious quotes in a thread about questionable wisdom.

lightningcat
2019-05-27, 10:47 AM
I am very surprised that there are no quotes from Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries. Time to fix that.

Maxim 1: Pillage, then burn.
Maxim 5: If violence wan't your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it.
Maxim 17: The longer everything goes according to plan, the bigger the impending disaster.
Maxim 27: Don't be afaid to be the first to resort to violence.
Maxim 41: "Do you have a backup?" means "I can't fix this."
Maxim 43: If it is stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you're lucky.
Maxim 48: If it ain't broke, it hasn't been issued to the infantry.
Maxim 59: Two wrongs is probably not going to be enough.
Maxim 52: Anything labeled "This end towards enemy." is dangerous at both ends.
Maxim 69: Sometimes rank is a function of firepower.
Maxim 70: Failure isn't an option. It's manditory. The option is whether on not to let failure be the last thing you do.

Max_Killjoy
2019-05-27, 11:28 AM
I am very surprised that there are no quotes from Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries. Time to fix that.

Maxim 1: Pillage, then burn.
Maxim 5: If violence wan't your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it.
Maxim 17: The longer everything goes according to plan, the bigger the impending disaster.
Maxim 27: Don't be afaid to be the first to resort to violence.
Maxim 41: "Do you have a backup?" means "I can't fix this."
Maxim 43: If it is stupid and it works, it's still stupid and you're lucky.
Maxim 48: If it ain't broke, it hasn't been issued to the infantry.
Maxim 59: Two wrongs is probably not going to be enough.
Maxim 52: Anything labeled "This end towards enemy." is dangerous at both ends.
Maxim 69: Sometimes rank is a function of firepower.
Maxim 70: Failure isn't an option. It's manditory. The option is whether on not to let failure be the last thing you do.

I think a few popped up without being labelled as Maxims.

Your post, on the other hand, was a Maxim machine-gun. :smallbiggrin:

Arbane
2019-05-28, 01:29 AM
"If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight!" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h42d0WHRSck)

Guizonde
2019-05-28, 10:51 AM
when in doubt, groin attacks are both effective and hilarious. especially with a brick.

some people just need a high five. in the face. with a chair. twice.

remember: when someone tells you to "use your head", a headbutt is not always the solution.

Tvtyrant
2019-05-28, 01:15 PM
Any freeman who can shoot 6 arrows a minute is probably too dangerous to have behind you.

People rise to the level where they cease to be competent, then stop. This is all you need to know about why nothing runs smoothly.

olskool
2019-05-28, 07:00 PM
[QUOTE=Brother Oni;23892858]"And once you have mastered these techniques, then you may attempt to study the barely restrained aggression of Bounding Overwatch, the dual lessons of the brutally cunning Mozambique Drill and the cunningly brutal Tueller Drill and finally the patient but lethal Slicing the Pie.

However each of these are mere child's steps to the final goal of killing the enemy by words only, it is an arcane rite of variable length and different words every time, but always ends with the dreaded words of 'FIRE. FOR. EFFECT.' "

"But always ends with the dreaded words fire for effect!" NOT QUITE it could end with "Battery Adjust" or even "Repeat." but It usually ends with a call of "Time on Target,"a count down of 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, followed by the exclamation "SPASH!" Which is in turn followed by an Earth-shattering explosion because that's just what we do in the FIELD ARTILLERY [aka THE KING OF BATTLE]. Remember... 1-800 REDLEG ... When it positively, absolutely, has to be DESTROYED!

As a "Redleg," I can attest to the fact that there really is NO personal problem that the proper application of high explosive cannot solve.
I know this because I too delivered "FREEDOM" 155mm at a time! And YES [mr. Harri Cristina in the DFW airport] I believe in "Peace on Earth." In fact, I believe in pieces all over the Earth... preferably little tiny ones! Whooshahhh!

olskool
2019-05-28, 07:10 PM
Beware the "old man" in any profession that kills "young men" on a daily basis!

If you did it and lived, you PROBABLY did it right...

Professional soldiers are "professional" and therefore predictable. It's that "rank amateur" who thinks outside the box you have to watch out for!

Your job is NOT to die for your Country! It's to make the other poor bastard die for his!

A bullet has your name on it and is a "special delivery" sent to you by someone you often could have detected or evaded. High Explosives come postmarked "To Whom It May Concern," and there's NOT a damned thing you can do about it once it arrives.

Guizonde
2019-05-28, 11:51 PM
A bullet has your name on it and is a "special delivery" sent to you by someone you often could have detected or evaded. High Explosives come postmarked "To Whom It May Concern," and there's NOT a damned thing you can do about it once it arrives.

"dear grid coordinates..."