Jack Nicholson as Colonel Nathan R. Jessep ... "I eat breakfast 300 yards from 4,000 cubans who are trained to kill me so don't think for one second that you can come down here, flash your badge and make me nervous."
President Marshell's speech on Terrorism "The dead remember our indifference, the dead remember our silence. I came here tonight to be congratulated. But today when I visited the red cross camps, overwhelmed by the flood of refugees fleeing from the horror of Kazistan. I realized I don't deserve to be congratulated. None of us do. Let's speak of the truth. The truth is we acted too late. Only when our own national security was threatened did we act. Radek's regime murdered over 200,000 men, women and children and we watched it on TV. We let it happen. People were being slaughtered for over a year. And we issued economic sanctions and hide behind a rhetoric of diplomacy. How dare we. The dead remember. Real peace is not just he absence of conflict, its the presence of justice. And tonight I come to you with a pledge to change America's policy. Never again will I allow our political self interest to detour us from what we know to be morally right. Atrocity and terror are not political weapons. And to those who would use them your day is over. We will never negotiate. We will no longer tolerate and will no longer be afraid. Its your turn to be afraid.
Newt: We'd better get back, 'cause it'll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night... mostly.
Ripley: Well, someone's gonna have to go down there, take a portable transmitter and patch in.
Hudson: Yeah, sure, with those things running around? You can count me out.
Hicks: Well I guess we can count you out of everything then.
Hudson: That's right, man.
Bishop: I'll go. I mean, I'm the only one qualified to remote-pilot the ship anyway.
Hudson: That's right, man, Bishop should go. Good idea!
Ellen Ripley: I don't know which species is worse. You don't see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage!
Private Vasquez: Look man! I only need to know one thing: where they are.
The drop-ship crashes]
Private Hudson: Well that's great, that's just fuckin' great man, now what the fuck are we supposed to do? We're in some real pretty shit now man... That's it man, game over man, game over, man! Game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?
Carter J. Burke: I thought you were smarter than that, Ripley.
Ellen Ripley: Well, I'm happy to disappoint you.
Look into my eye.
Henri Ducard: Have you finally learned to do what’s neccesary?
Batman: (punches Ducard) I told you! There’s only one man, I’ll let you kill!
Henri Ducard: If not murder, what do you call this?
Batman: (throws ducard to the ground of the train, leaving him unconscious) Justice...
Batman: I'm going to show the people of Gotham that the city doesn't belong to the criminals and the corrupt. People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy. I can't do this as Bruce Wayne. A man is just flesh and blood and can be ignored or destroyed. But as a symbol... as a symbol, I can be incorruptible, everlasting.
Gordon: I never got to thank you.
Batman: And you'll never need to.
Detective Flass: That's all I know, I swear to God!
Batman: SWEAR TO ME!
Bruce Wayne: They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my parents were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying, something that will not stop until it gets revenge... Me.
This pertains to the potential each one of us has inside. If you’re willing to travel to the deepest parts of the soul, you’ll be amazed what you find.
Carmine Falcone: People from your world have so *much* to lose. Now, you think that, because your mommy and your daddy got shot, you know about the ugly side of life, but you don't. You've never tasted desperate. You're Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gotham; you'd have to go a thousand miles to meet someone who didn't know your name. So, don't come down here with your anger, trying to prove something to yourself. This is a world you'll never understand. And you always fear what you don't understand. Okay.
Just like Bruce Wayne realized, fear is something each one of us has to learn to control. The fear of hitting and the fear of getting hit. You must go through the trials of training if you are going to learn to control your fear.
Ra's al Ghul: If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them and stab them in the heart.
This pertains to no mercy. If you have to use wing chun, you do it. No if’s, and’s or but’s. You simply pull the trigger.
Bruce Wayne: It's not who I am underneath, but what I *do* that defines me.
It’s not the years you put into training in wing chun; it’s the hours you put into the years. You can be the biggest fan of wing chun, but it’s how well you can apply wing chun that will define you.
Henri Ducard: Are you ready to begin?
Bruce Wayne: I-I can't. I can barely stand...
Henri Ducard: [kicks him] Death does not wait for you to be ready! Death is not considerate, or fair! And make no mistake: here, you face Death.
The criminal isn’t going to wait for you stretch and change your shoes to fight. You never know when and where you might need your skill. But you must always be ready to use it.
Bruce Wayne: That man had a gun!
Henri Ducard: Would that have stopped you?
Bruce Wayne: I've had training!
Henri Ducard: The training is nothing! The will is everything!
[Ducard bests Bruce once again]
Henri Ducard: The will to act.
Even a beginner can apply wing chun for self defense. The centerline punch is your gun. It’s just a matter of developing the guts to use it.
Henri Ducard: [to Bruce] Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding.
In today’s society we are supposed to have mercy, feel sorry and be nice to the criminal that just tried to kill me and rape my wife. Having mercy on your enemy will allow him to accomplish those goals.
Henri Ducard: Your anger gives you great power. But if you let it, it will destroy you. As it almost did me.
Your anger will blind mentally and control you. If you are not relaxed mentally you will not be relaxed physically. You will be stiff and more easily controlled by your enemy.
Alfred Pennyworth: Why do we fall, sir? So that we might better learn to pick ourselves up.
There will be many times you’ll feel the frustrations of training in wing chun. It’s the ability to persevere through them that will allow you to increase your skill.
Daxos: We expected Sparta's contribution to at least match our own.
King Leonidas: Doesn't it?
[points to Arcadian soldier behind Daxos]
King Leonidas: You there, Arcadian! What is your profession?
Free Greek-Potter: I am a potter, sir.
King Leonidas: [points to another soldier] And you, what is your profession?
Free Greek-Sculptor: Sculptor, sir.
King Leonidas: Sculptor.
[turns to a third soldier]
King Leonidas: And you?
Free Greek-Blacksmith: Blacksmith.
King Leonidas: [behind him] SPARTANS! WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION?
Spartans: HA-OOH! HA-OOH! HA-OOH!
King Leonidas: [turning to Daxos] You see, old friend? I brought more soldiers than you did.
King Leonidas: My children, gather round! No retreat, no surrender; that is Spartan law. And by Spartan law we will stand and fight... and die. A new age has begun. An age of freedom, and all will know, that 300 Spartans gave their last breaths to defend it!
Spartan King Leonidas: Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty... For tonight, we dine in hell!
Spartan King Leonidas: A new age has begun, an age of freedom. And all will know that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it.
Spartan King Leonidas: Unless I miss my guess, we're in for one wild night.
Xerxes: There will be no glory in your sacrifice. I will erase even the memory of Sparta from the histories. Every piece of Greek parchment shall be burned. And every Greek historian, and every scribe shall have their eyes pulled out, and their tongues cut from their mouth. Why, uttering the very name of Sparta, or Leonidas will be punishable by death. The world will never know you existed at all.
King Leonidas: The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and that before this battle is over, even a god-king can bleed.
Never show fear to the criminal. Play it smart, cool and controlled, but never show fear. Fear to a criminal is like blood in the water for a shark. The can sense it and it will only make them crazier.
Dilios: Immortals... we put their name to the test.
Never be intimidated because someone has 10 black belts in this or 5 black sashes in that. Material achievements don’t always translate over to true skill and application.
Persian: A thousand nations of the Persian empire descend upon you. Our arrows will blot out the sun!
Stelios: Then we will fight in the shade.
Wing chun can adjust to any situation. It is a complete art that teaches the skill of fighting on two feet to ground fighting and everything in-between.
Dilios: Immortals... they fail our king's test. And a man who fancies himself a god feels a very human chill crawl up his spine.
When dealing with multiples, if you make an example of the first one or two, the other will feel that chill and run away.
Messenger: Choose your next words carefully, Leonidas. They may be your last as king.
King Leonidas: [to himself: thinking] "Earth and water"?
[Leonidas unsheathes and points his sword at the Messenger's throat]
Messenger: Madman! You're a madman!
King Leonidas: Earth and water? You'll find plenty of both down there.
Messenger: No man, Persian or Greek, no man threatens a messenger!
King Leonidas: You bring the crowns and heads of conquered kings to my city steps. You insult my queen. You threaten my people with slavery and death! Oh, I've chosen my words carefully, Persian. Perhaps you should have done the same!
Messenger: This is blasphemy! This is madness!
King Leonidas: Madness...? THIS... IS... SPARTA!
Don’t ever be intimidated by any person, or persons. No matter how many belts they may have or how long they’ve been fighting for.
Queen Gorgo: [having stabbed Theron and while holding sword into his body] This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this. I am not your Queen.
The road of studying, developing, digesting and applying wing chun can be very long, hard and not enjoyable. But then every step forward can feel like losing weight. It makes you feel better.
Spartan King Leonidas: Give them nothing! But take from them everything!
The mentality no mercy. They try to take your life, you will take theirs.
Roy Zimmer: You don't put on a condom unless you're gonna fuck!
offense gets the glory, but defense wins the game.
Robert the Bruce: I have nothing. Men fight for me because if they do not, I throw them off my land and I starve their wives and children. Those men who bled the ground red at Falkirk fought for William Wallace. He fights for something that I never had. And I took it from him, when I betrayed him. I saw it in his face on the battlefield and it's tearing me apart.
Robert's Father: All men betray. All lose heart.
Robert the Bruce: I don't want to lose heart. I want to believe as he does.
If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, the chance it will work are remote. If you don’t think you can catch the ball, you won’t catch the ball.
Bruce Wayne: I knew the mob wouldn't go down without a fight. But this is different. They crossed the line.
Alfred Pennyworth: You crossed the line first, sir. You hammered them. And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn't fully understand. Some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
Don’t try to understand what would make a criminal do what they do. For some, it’s just in their nature to do bad things. Don’t let them do it to you.
Conan's Father: Fire and wind come from the sky, from the gods of the sky. But Crom is your god, Crom and he lives in the earth. Once, giants lived in the Earth, Conan. And in the darkness of chaos, they fooled Crom, and they took from him the enigma of steel. Crom was angered. And the Earth shook. Fire and wind struck down these giants, and they threw their bodies into the waters, but in their rage, the gods forgot the secret of steel and left it on the battlefield. We who found it are just men. Not gods. Not giants. Just men. The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle, Conan's Father: No one in this world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts. [Points to sword.] But this... this you can trust.
[Points to sword]
Conan's Father: This you can trust.
The punch, once developed, will always be there when you need it. The punch, unlike a gun or a knife, is part of you.
Conan: The riddle... of steel.
Thulsa Doom: Yes! You know what it is, don't you boy? Shall I tell you? It's the least I can do. Steel isn't strong, boy, flesh is stronger! Look around you. There, on the rocks; a beautiful girl. Come to me, my child...
Thulsa Doom: [coaxes the girl to jump to her death]
Thulsa Doom: That is strength, boy! That is power! What is steel compared to the hand that wields it? Look at the strength in your body, the desire in your heart, I gave you this! Such a waste. Contemplate this on the tree of woe. Crucify him!
While doing the sword form and the pole form are parts of the art of wing chun they are nothing without the hands that wield them. And to wield them properly you must develop punch.
Conan: Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, and why we died. All that matters is that today, two stood against many. Valor pleases you, so grant me this one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, the HELL with you!
Thulsa Doom: Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark. Now they learn why they fear the night.
Mongol General: We have won again. That is good! But what is best in life?
Mongol Warrior: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcon on your wrist, wind in your hair!
Mongol General: Wrong! Conan, what is best in life?
Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!
Mongol General: That is good.
Harry Callahan: I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
The wing chun punch is extremely powerful. To learn to fully release your potential and explode it into your enemy is what you’re striving for.
Lee: Don't think. FEEL. It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.
The more your skill and experience develop, the more comfortable you’ll feel. The more comfortable you are, the more you’ll be able to relax. The more you are relaxed, the more natural you’ll be able to perform your objective.
Parsons: What's your style?
Lee: You can call it the art of fighting without fighting.
Parsons: The art of fighting? Without fighting?
Parsons: The art of fighting without fighting? Show me some of it.
Lee: Later.
Common sense is at the base of wing chun. If you don’t have to fight, you don’t fight.
Teacher: I see your talents have gone beyond the mere physical level. Your skills are now at the point of spiritual insight. I have several questions. What is the highest technique you hope to achieve ?
Lee: To have no technique.
Teacher: Very good. What are your thoughts when facing an opponent ?
Lee: There is no opponent.
Teacher: And why is that ?
Lee: Because the word "I" does not exist.
Teacher: So, continue...
Lee: A good fight should be like a small play, but played seriously. A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come. When the opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, I do not hit. It hits all by itself.
Teacher: Now, you must remember: the enemy has only images and illusions behind which he hides his true motives. Destroy the image and you will break the enemy.
While wing chun develops you on a physical level, mental and spiritual develop happen as well. Altogether they develop you into the person you are.
Trautman: You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In Vietnam his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well Rambo was the best.
In Wing Chun you become the best you; with your hands, your elbows, your center. Your whole body will become the weapon. And you will do anything it takes to survive that life and death situation.
Rambo: First Blood part 2
Trautman: "Pressure? Let me just say that Rambo is the best combat vet I've ever seen. A pure fighting machine with only a desire - to win a war that someone else lost. And if winning means he has to die - he'll die. No fear, no regrets. And one more thing, what you choose to call hell, he calls home."
You will learn to detach form the concepts of fear and regret and learn to control them. In fighting, people don’t like to get close. In wing chun, that is our home; up close and personal. What’s an uncomfortable hell for others, we call home.
Rambo: First Blood part 3
Zaysen: Who do you think this man is? The Lord?
Colonel Trautman: No. God would have mercy. He won't.
You must never have mercy for the person trying to kill you. Or they will kill you.
Lucilla: The softest touch commands the greatest obedience.
Muscle verses muscle will always lead to defeat for the smaller person.
Maximus Decimus Meridius: At my signal, unleash hell.
In street survival the intent must be there. It’s like having a gun, but not being able to pull the trigger.
Maximus Decimus Meridius: What we do in life, echoes in eternity.
Maximus Decimus Meridius: My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.
Quintus: People should know when they are conquered.
Maximus Decimus Meridius: Would you, Quintus? Would I?
" The frost. Sometimes it makes the blade stick "
Maximus Decimus Meridius: Strength and honor.
"Am I not merciful ? !!!"
Maximus Decimus Meridius: If you find yourself alone, riding through green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled, for you are in Elysium, and are already dead.
3 weeks from now I'll be tending my crops, imagine where you want to be, and it will be so.
Titus: We who are about to die salute you.
" Are you not entertained ? Are you not entertained ?! "
"I knew a man who once said death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back"
Windy City Wing Chun Gung Fu Federation, Inc © 2008