Opponent Quotes

We are like chess players who are trying to predict the opponent's future moves, but in this case, we are dealing with life itself. True masters do not play the game on a single chessboard, but on multiple chessboards at the same time. And what's the difference between grandmasters and masters? Surprises. The moves that cannot be predicted by the opponent. Life can play a simultaneous game with seven billion people at the same time and it can take each and every one of us by surprise. And we still believe we are capable of winning, because we can predict three of four moves ahead. We are insignificant. ~ Jaka Tomc

But there's a fourth interpretation: Obama can't leave his comfort zone. No president since Woodrow Wilson has been as enamored of abstract ideas or more sure that disagreement with him is proof of ignorance, bad faith or dogmatism. As a candidate, he insisted his real opponent was 'cynicism,' and in his address last week, he returned to this trite formulation, insisting again he was bravely battling the cynics. ~ Jonah Goldberg

Do not be afraid to get close to your opponent. The closer you are, the more you will learn. ~ Manuel Dos Reis Machado

In order for non-violence to work, your opponent must have a conscience. ~ Kwame

Generally certain symptoms appear, among them a peculiar use of language: one wants to speak forcefully in order to impress one's opponent, so one employs a special, "bombastic" style full of neologisms which might be described as "power-words." This symptom is observable not only in the psychiatric clinic but also among certain modern philosophers, and, above all, whenever anything unworthy of belief has to be insisted on in the teeth of inner resistance: the language swells up, overreaches itself, sprouts grotesque words distinguished only by their needless complexity. The word is charged with the task of achieving what cannot be done by honest means. ~ C. G. Jung

It's good to be a little frightened. It's good to respect your opponent. It keeps you sharp. In the fight game, the head rules the heart. But in the end the heart is the boss. ~ Bryce Courtenay

How was your day?" she whispered.
"It went as expected," he said. "Mostly. No one died. All of the sentinels went through to the next round, but then nobody believed anything different would occur. Graydon - " His gold eyes danced suddenly. "You know what a big motherfucker Graydon is. He turned into a gryphon, and then he just sat down and looked at his opponent, who forfeited. It was the fastest bout of the day. ~ Thea Harrison

Nonviolent action involves opposing the opponent's power, including his police & military capacity, not with the weapons chosen by him but by quite different means ... Repression by the opponent is used against his own power position in a kind of political " ju-jitsu " and the very sources of his power thus reduced or removed, with the result that his political and military position is seriously weakened or destroyed. ~ Gene Sharp

He smiled, and, drawing his own knife, he continued talking. It can cut you as easily as it will cut your opponent: keep it away from your fingers. The second thing to remember is that you can do a lot of damage with it just by holding in your hand and punching.
He closed his hand into a fist and demonstrated with an imaginary opponent. He moved with swift efficiency and his imaginary foe's instant death was obvious. ~ Patricia Briggs

Propaganda must not serve the truth, especially as it might bring out something favorable for the opponent. ~ Adolf Hitler

I tried to get into the mind of my opponent and psyche him out. ~ Muhammad Ali

We have all been guilty of bending over backwards to be nice to an unworthy but powerful opponent, ~ Richard Dawkins

Is what I am not saying, young LaMont Chu, is why you cease to seem to give total effort of self since you begin with the clipping pictures of great professional figures for your adhesive tape and walls. No? Because, privileged gentlemen and boys I am saying, is always something that is too. Cold. Hot. Wet and dry. Very bright sun and you see the purple dots. Very bright hot and you have no salt. Outside is wind, the insects which like the sweat. Inside is smell of heaters, echo, being jammed in together, tarp is overclose to baseline, not enough of room, bells inside clubs which ring the hour loudly to distract, clunk of machines vomiting sweet cola for coins. Inside roof too low for the lob. Bad lighting, so. Or outside: the bad surface. Oh no look no: crabgrass in cracks along baseline. Who could give the total, with crabgrass. Look here is low net high net. Opponent's relatives heckle, opponent cheats, linesman in semifinal is impaired or cheats. You hurt. You have the injury. Bad knee and back. Hurt groin area from not stretching as asked. Aches of elbow. Eyelash in eye. The throat is sore. A too pretty girl in audience, watching. Who could play like this? Big crowd overwhelming or too small to inspire. Always something.' [p.458] ~ David Foster Wallace

A bad word triggers another in your opponent. Be ready to reap what you plant ~ Bangambiki Habyarimana

The only way to get smarter is by playing a smarter opponent. ~ Fundamentals Of Chess 1883

To rely on luck and confront a lion is a suicide mission. You have to be a 'lion' to combat a lion. Even a lion suffering from diarrhea and anorexia is still a formidable opponent. ~ Vincent Okay Nwachukwu

I tell this joke about Barack Obama is the best communicator of our generation: The guy reads a teleprompter better than any Hollywood actor. John McCain, his opponent - Stevie Wonder reads a teleprompter better than John McCain. ~ Frank Luntz

I readily admit I was not an expert on foreign policy but I was knowledgeable and I didn't need a man who was the Vice President of the United States and my opponent turning around and putting me down. ~ Geraldine Ferraro

The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his opponent, while the coward runs. It's the same thing, fear, but it's what you do with it that matters. - Cus D'Amato ~ Cus D'Amato

How do you keep to some idealistic set of rules when your opponent has no rules? ~ Iris Johansen

if someone merely wishes to provoke you, shake the dust from your feet and carry on. Fight only with a worthy opponent, and not with someone who uses trickery to prolong a war that is already over, as does sometimes happen. ~ Paulo Coelho

Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs," I said. "We have a protractor. ~ Neal Stephenson

The religious quality of Marxism also explains a characteristic attitude of the orthodox Marxist toward opponents. To him, as to any believer in a Faith, the opponent is not merely in error but in sin. Dissent is disapproved of not only intellectually but also morally. There cannot be any excuse for it once the Message has been revealed. ~ Joseph A. Schumpeter

Nothing in the world is as fearsome as a bloody, battered opponent who will never surrender. ~ Gerry Spence

I incorporate different styles that work for me. I could easily change my style depends on my opponent. ~ Tomoki Kameda

It was completely impossible to box with her. She had only one style, which we called Terminator Mode. She would try to nail her opponent, and it didn't matter if it was just a warm-up of friendly sparring. ~ Stieg Larsson

When you have butterflies and you're feeling anxious and you have anxiety or are nervous, that's when you're most powerful... A lot of people, instead of honing this power and using it, they allow it to just consume them. There's another quote that says, 'A big challenge, a big pressure is like a fire, it's like a raging fire. Either you can allow this fire to consume you and just take you over completely, or you can gain control of this fire and harness it and you blow it right at your opponent, Dragonball Z style.' That's what I'm trying to do, trying to get my emotions under control and use this adrenaline to my advantage. ~ Jon Jones

It is not uncommon for a leader to win a debate - or even an election - who is intellectually inferior to his opponent but is better able to incite the emotions of the masses. ~ Noah Lukeman

For the past weeks I'd been reacting. That was no way to win. To win, you take the initiative. You instigate the action. You make the opponent react to you. ~ Richard Marcinko

I don't like getting hit for one, although you know I did take Aikido for many years, but Aikido is a different kind of martial art, maybe even a more cerebral art because it's all about redirecting the energies of your opponent instead of trying to bash your opponent's head in effectively, so it's a much more loving art, so I guess I tend that way normally anyway. ~ Maurice Ashley

The malice of a true Christian attempting to destroy an opponent is something unique in the world. No other religion ever considered it necessary to destroy others because they did not share the same beliefs. At worst, another man's belief might inspire amusement or contempt - the Egyptians and their animal gods, for instance. Yet those who worshipped the Bull did not try to murder those who worshipped the Snake, or to convert them by force from Snake to Bull. No evil ever entered the world quite so vividly or on such a vast scale as Christianity did. ~ Gore Vidal

With that Nox turned a knob. There was a delay, but that was how the machine worked. First it gathered information about the subject, feeling, sensing - like a fighter in a ring, circling his opponent.
Kaleb sensed it, too. It was as if a doctor palpated his flesh, pushing his skin. It tingled gently. The tingling surged through his whole body. Was this it? Kaleb thought. Visions from his past shot through his brain. His mother. Father. Zenobia. Joan and Reck. The Three Musketeers. Pleasant memories.
Then the machine found what it searched for, and it acted. Waves of pain shot through his entire body, causing him to arch his back. He screamed in agony, his screams reverberating across the canyon. Then all of his muscles constricted. He couldn't breathe, couldn't even scream. It seemed to last forever. It stopped, and his muscles relaxed, allowing him to breath. ~ Cate Campbell Beatty

If I go down, it's never easy. At least my opponent knows they have to go to the end of the earth to take me out no matter what the circumstances. I do try to compete. Even if it's not your best day, I just try to walk off the court knowing I gave 100,000 percent. ~ Venus Williams

If you go too far in fantasy and break the string of logic, and become nonsensical, someone will surely remind you of your dereliction ... Pound for pound, fantasy makes a tougher opponent for the creative person. ~ Richard Matheson

Because of the level of my chess game, I was able - even against a weak opponent, such as my younger brothers or the dog - to get myself checkmated in under three minutes. I challenge any computer to do it faster. ~ Dave Barry

How do you fight an invisible opponent like suspicion? ~ Lance Armstrong

a Sicilian grandma is a formidable opponent ~ Traci Andrighetti

If you can hit your opponent with two punches, you don't hit him with one. Get off with some bad intentions in there. Believe in yourself. A guy can feel it if you don't believe in yourself. Set your mind to make yourself do it. ~ Cus D'Amato

It was like playing checkers, only to learn that your opponent was playing chess all along. ~ Barry Lyga

The best way to get a move to work is to make it so uncomfortable that the opponent gives it to you to stop the pain. ~ Carlson Gracie

Outrun the people who quit when they feel discomfort, outrun the people who stop because of despair, outrun the people who are delayed because of prejudice, outrun the people who surrender to failure, and outrun the opponent who loses sight of the goal. Because if you want to win, the will can never retire, the race can never stop, and faith can never weaken. ~ Muhammad Ali

Who is your opponent tonight, tonight I am playing against the Black pieces ~ Akiba Rubinstein

My opponent is Short and the match will be short. ~ Garry Kasparov

When you sit down to play a game you should think only about the position, but not about the opponent. Whether chess is regarded as a science, or an art, or a sport, all the same psychology bears no relation to it and only stands in the way of real chess. ~ Jose Raul Capablanca

There are three kinds of fighters: the aggressive fighter who charges in blindly trying to get the upper hand, the defensive fighter who blocks and evades until his opponent is tired, and then the most dangerous type of fighter, the one who waits for his opponent to make a mistake. ~ Aaron B. Powell

Fighting for me is a chess game. I'm not angry with my opponent. I just want to go in there and win. ~ Demian Maia

Whilst in the process of losing all his money, Cardano noticed that his opponent had marked the cards. Whereupon he leapt up, slashed his opponent across the face with his dagger and grabbed the money. Outwitting his host's spear-wielding servants, he fled into the night-shrouded maze of the streets, eventually falling into a canal. [Footnote: It is interesting to note that Cardano may well have been rector of the University of Padua at the time.] ~ Paul Strathern

I like to grasp the initiative and not give my opponent peace of mind. ~ Mikhail Tal

The mystery of this courage of Bauer's is Hegel's Phenomenology. As Hegel here puts self-consciousness in the place of man, the most varied human reality appears only as a definite form, as a determination of self-consciousness. But a mere determination of self-consciousness is a "pure category," a mere "thought" which I can consequently also abolish in "pure" thought and overcome through pure thought. In Hegel's Phenomenology the material, perceptible, objective bases of the various estranged forms of human self-consciousness are left as they are. Thus the whole destructive work results in the most conservative philosophy because it thinks it has overcome the objective world, the sensuously real world, by merely transforming it into a "thing of thought" a mere determination of self-consciousness and can therefore dissolve its opponent, which has become ethereal, in the "ether of pure thought." Phenomenology is therefore quite logical when in the end it replaces human reality by "Absolute Knowledge" - Knowledge, because this is the only mode of existence of self-consciousness, because self-consciousness is considered as the only mode of existence of man; absolute knowledge for the very reason that self-consciousness knows itself alone and is no more disturbed by any objective world. Hegel makes man the man of self-consciousness instead of making self-consciousness the self-consciousness of man, of real man, man living in a real objective world and determined by that world. He ~ Karl Marx

The fiery warrior was at the mercy of his temper and came to his senses only when his opponent lay bleeding on the floor. ~ Markus Heitz

Philosophy is not politics, and we do our best, within our all-too-human limitations, to seek the truth, not to score points against opponents. There is little satisfaction in gaining an easy triumph over a weak opponent while ignoring better arguments against your views. ~ Peter Singer

There is something that can happen to every athlete and every human being; the instinct to slack off, to give in to pain, to give less than your best; the instinct to hope you can win through luck or through your opponent not doing his best, instead of going to the limit and past your limit where victory is always found. Defeating those negative instincts that are out to defeat us, is the difference between winning and losing - and we all face that battle every day. ~ Jesse Owens

Becoming the opponent means you should put yourself in an opponent's place and think from the opponent's point of view. ~ Miyamoto Musashi

Brecht was a cynical bohemian bogey of the middle classes, but also much more than a mere provocateur. He developed and dramatized his political knowledge in remarkable ways, and was an outspoken, radical opponent of the war, its nationalism and its capitalism ~ Harold Bloom

Being a great fighter is having a perfect balance of having that toughness, skill, as well as that mental capability to be able to out-think you opponent. ~ Rashad Evans

I'll hold the door as a shield, but you'll have to fire."
"Why can't you just slice them to pieces like that chopstick?"
"Because my telekinetic magic doesn't work on living things. I can throw something metal fast enough to slice an opponent to pieces. I can hurl a board at him, because cut wood is dead. I can choke him with his own clothes if they are loose enough. But I can't simply throw a body."
Oh. "So the best way to fight you is to strip naked and attack?"
His eyes flashed with wicked light. "Yes. You should try it and see what happens."
Well, I did walk right into that one. ~ Ilona Andrews

There's no doubt Milos Raonic will be a very tough final opponent, after all he beat [ Roger] Federer on Centre Court to get there. ~ Andy Murray

The only certain rule is the one that Aristotle already gave: do not dispute with anyone and everyone, but only with those people you know who are intelligent enough to avoid saying things that are so stupid as to expose themselves to humiliation, who appreciate the truth, and who gladly listen to good reasons, even when the opponent claims them, and who are balanced enough to bear a defeat when the truth is on the other side. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer

By patriotism I mean the welfare of the whole people, if I secure it at the hands of my opponent, I should bow down my head to him. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

My martial arts came a lot from my uncle, who actually taught martial arts through the military. He was a black belt in tae kwon do, but also, he used a lot of military-style fighting where it's not the high kicks or anything like that. It's basically defeat your opponent as fast as possible. ~ Brian Tee

The warrior of light listens to what his opponent has to say. He only fights if absolutely necessary. ~ Paulo Coelho

The point of war is to rig the deck, drug the opponent, and threaten to kneecap their family if they don't fold. ~ Yoon Ha Lee

Creative memory is the historian's most subtle opponent. ~ Mason Cooley

Fear comes from uncertainty; we can eliminate the fear within us when we know ourselves better. As the great Sun Tzu said: When you know yourself and your opponent, you will win every time. When you know yourself but not your opponent, you will win one and lose one. However, when you do not know yourself or your opponent, you will be imperiled every time. ~ Bruce Lee

Patience will benefit you in every hour, every time and every opportunity. It helps you to overcome your opponent, howsoever strong he may be. It will help you in times of distress and hardships, in battles and in war and peace. ~ Abd Al-Karim Qasim

I never underestimate my opponent, but I never underestimate my talents. ~ Hale Irwin

And never let those who judge you forget that since you were obviously close enough to your opponent to shoot him with your gun, he was, ipso facto, close enough to shoot you with his. If, ~ Massad Ayoob

Existential envy which is directed against the other person's very nature, is the strongest source of ressentiment. It is as if it whispers continually: "I can forgive everything, but not that you are - that you are what you are - that I am not what you are - indeed that I am not you." This form of envy strips the opponent of his very existence, for this existence as such is felt to be a "pressure," a "reproach," and an unbearable humiliation. In the lives of great men there are always critical periods of instability, in which they alternately envy and try to love those whose merits they cannot but esteem. Only gradually, one of these attitudes will predominate. Here lies the meaning of Goethe's reflection that "against another's great merits, there is no remedy but love. ~ Max Scheler

Forget your opponent always play; against the par ~ Sam Sead

Samuel may have thought and played and philosophized about death, hut he did not really believe in it. His world did not have death as a member. He, and all around him, was immortal. When real death came it was an outrage, a denial of the immortality he deeply felt, and the one crack in his wall caused the whole structure to crash. I think he had always thought he could argue himself out of death. It was a personal opponent and one he could lick. ~ John Steinbeck

Civility does not ... mean the mere outward gentleness of speech cultivated for the occasion, but an inborn gentleness and desire to do the opponent good. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

It is very hard to talk to a person who believes that he or she has the moral high ground. You have to prevent that the Politically Correct individual views you as somebody who doesn't HAVE an idea on morality. Therefore, the first step to successfully debate the left is to establish an alternative moral position and explain to the opponent that this moral position is at least equally legitimate as his or her moral position. You can think of this as a preparatory step that needs to be taken before the real debate can actually begin. ~ Paul Nielsen

It is impossible to win gracefully at chess. No man has yet said "Mate!" in a voice which failed to sound to his opponent bitter, boastful and malicious. ~ A.A. Milne

Without a worthy opponent a man or group cannot grow stronger. ~ Robert Greene

Tact, the kind of tact you should cultivate, is not a form of deception or make-believe, but a cultivated taste which gives fine perception in seeing and doing what is best under all circumstances. There is nothing which will so readily bring you into favor, or disarm an opponent, as the right use of tact. ~ Grenville Kleiser

Machiavelli says that if as a ruler you accept that your every action must pass moral scrutiny, you will without fail be defeated by an opponent who submits to no such moral test. To hold on to power, you have not only to master the crafts of deception and treachery but to be prepared to use them where necessary. ~ J.M. Coetzee

I study the chessboard and concede defeat.
"You can gain yourself in five moves" says the Colonel. "Worth fighting to the end. In five moves your opponent can err. No war is won or lost until the final battle is over. ~ Haruki Murakami

I wonder since when, I started yawning as I left my home for a match. I wonder since when I stopped feeling anything even when we won. The person who can win against me is me alone. But all I wanted was an opponent that I could go all out against. I've always wished for a tight game in which you couldn't tell if you'd win or lose...I am grateful to you Tetsu." ~ Daiki Aomine ~ Tadatoshi Fujimaki

Sometimes the only option is to raise the stakes, to throw yourself the other way, to force your opponent further down the path they've chosen, further than they might want to go. ~ Mark Lawrence

A good chessplayer having lost a game is sincerely convinced that his loss resulted from a mistake he made and looks for that mistake in the opening, but forgets that at each stage of the game there were similar mistakes and that none of his moves were perfect. He only notices the mistake to which he pays attention, because his opponent took advantage of it. How much more complex than this is the game of war, which occurs under certain limits of time, and where it is not one will that manipulates lifeless objects, but everything results from innumerable conflicts of various wills! ~ Leo Tolstoy

You are not that kind of man Pekkala. You are not the monster that your enemies once believed you to be. If you were, you would never have been such a formidable opponent for people like myself. Monsters are easy to defeat. With such people, it is only a question of blood and time, since there only weapon is fear. But you-you won the hearts of the people and the respect of your enemies. I do not believe you understand how rare a thing that is, and those whose hearts you won are out there still." Stalin brushed his hand towards the window, and out across the pale blue autumn sky. " They know how difficult your job can be, and how few of those who walk your path can do what must be done and still hold on to their humanity. They have not forgotten you. And I don't believe you have forgotten them". ~ Sam Eastland

The first thing I learned in boxing is to not get hit. That's the art of boxing. Execute your opponent without getting hit. In sports school, we were putting our hands behind our backs and having to defend ourselves with our shoulders, by rolling, by moving round the ring, moving out feet. ~ Wladimir Klitschko

It is a strange misunderstanding to make Paul either a fatalist or a particularist; he is the strongest opponent of blind necessity and of Jewish particularism, even in the ninth chapter of Romans. But he aims at no philosophical solution of a problem which the finite understanding of man cannot settle; he contents himself with asserting its divine and human aspects, the religious and ethical view, the absolute sovereignty of God and the relative freedom of man, the free gift of salvation and the just punishment for neglecting it. Christian experience includes both truths, and we find no contradiction in praying as if all depended on God, and in working as if all depended on man. This is Pauline theology and practice. ~ Philip Schaff

opponent was half pillbug, half octopus, and all butt ugly. I closed ~ Richard Roberts

Either way, it is a curio of the moment that hard-left advocates of 'all power to the soviets' were delegated by a soviet opponent to defend the Soviet currently arguing furiously against taking the power they wanted it to take. Those ~ China Mieville

The key to a winning season is focusing on one opponent at a time. Winning one week at a time. Never look back and never look ahead. ~ Chuck Noll

At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

What your opponent wants you to think is useful data in figuring out what they think. So get the early draft, okay? ~ James S.A. Corey

Fear resides in all things, and the heart of fear is the unexpected. Do not frighten your opponent with what is right before their eyes."
The Book of Five Rings, The Fire Chapter

The Way of Walking Alone

Do not turn your back on the various ways of this world.
Do not scheme for physical pleasure.
Consider yourself lightly; consider the world deeply.
Do not ever think in acquisitive terms.
Do not regret things about your personal life.
Do not envy another's good or evil.
Do not lament parting on any road whatsoever.
Do not complain or feel bitterly about yourself or others.
Have no heart for approaching the path of love.
Do not have preferences.
Do not harbor hopes for your own personal home.
Do not have a liking for delicious food for yourself.
Do not carry antiques handed down from generation to generation.
Do not fast so that it affects your physically.
While it's different with the military equipment, do not be fond of material things.
While on the Way, do not begrudge death.
Do not be intent on possessing valuables or a fief in old age.
Respect the gods and Buddhas, but do not depend on them.
Though you give up your life, do not give up your honor.
Never depart from the Way.

Shinmen Musashi
Twelfth day of the fifth month, Second Year of Shoho, 1645 ~ Shinmen Musashi

The moon: in that luminous face one can behold those tired phases that bring only disappointment and no satisfaction; the impulses governing its expression remain patternistic, its cycles of transition easily predictable. With moderated temperament it commands the capricious sea: its diametric opponent, in whose helpless defiance, arises an empty, albeit elegant promise, an ever-changing flicker of reflected light, a simultaneous opening and closing of paths to be traversed, a vacillating hope and disillusionment in whose unsettling direction emerges something one might wish to call, even under the hardened visage of sky, a marginal sense of freedom. To walk upon the decks of ramshackle vessels rising and descending in patterns indeterminate, to lean in ecstasy over their shaky rails to witness the splendor of that which transforms immediately upon being witnessed and which transforms thereby the witness in question: it was these flights of reverie that appealed better to one's imagination than the lean pragmatism of predictable transition. ~ Ashim Shanker

For self-realization, a rebel demands a strong authority, a worthy opponent, God to his Lucifer. ~ Mary McCarthy

Nothing pains a liar more than when an opponent turns one of his lies into truth. ~ R.A. Salvatore

In the animal world, there are all kinds of behaviors that are binary: for example, to flee or to fight. In any evolutionary environment, knowing your opponent's decision would not be advantageous for long because your opponent would evolve the same recognition mechanism to also know you. ~ Chris Adami

The third gentleman now stepped forth. A mighty man at cutting and drying, he was; a government officer; in his way (and in most other people's too), a professed pugilist; always in training, always with a system to force down the general throat like a bolus, always to be heard of at the bar of his little Public-office, ready to fight all England. To continue in fistic phraseology, he had a genius for coming up to the scratch, wherever and whatever it was, and proving himself an ugly customer. He would go in and damage any subject whatever with his right, follow up with his left, stop, exchange, counter, bore his opponent (he always fought All England) to the ropes, and fall upon him neatly. He was certain to knock the wind out of common sense, and render that unlucky adversary deaf to the call of time. And he had it in charge from high authority to bring about the great public-office Millennium, when Commissioners should reign upon earth. 'Very ~ Charles Dickens

My opponent asks her supporters to recite a three-word loyalty pledge. It reads, 'I'm With Her.' I choose to recite a different pledge. My pledge reads, 'I'm with you - the American people.' ~ Donald Trump

Hard work sends your opponent a message. It says you're not talented enough to win on intrinsic merit alone. I sent my opponent a message. It said, "I'm to lazy to edit before hitting send. ~ Jarod Kintz

In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be. ~ Haruki Murakami

In holding your antagonist, therefore, you should hold him lightly as if your arms were nothing but chains which connect you with him, so that you may stretch or contract them at will when necessary, and pull or push him in any direction you choose. If you pull your opponent or apply your tricks on him by putting from the beginning too much strength in your arms, then you are going to contest with him by means of your power and against the principles of Judo. In doing so, you can never expect to succeed in your contest. ~ Yokoyama Sakujiro

In rhetoric there are the unconditionally right and the unconditionally guilty; there is total victory and the annihilation of the opponent. In dialogue, annihilation of the opponent also annihilates the very dialogic sphere in which discourse lives... This sphere is very fragile and is easily destroyed... ~ Mikhail Bakhtin

Rebecca, we live in a world where darkness seems, in the minds of many, something banished to the world of fairy tales and superhero movies. How surprising it then becomes - even for those of us who believe otherwise - that it may appear in our own lives, in our own battles. To face an opponent that is more than the average 'jerk,' who has made a deadly choice, is, let us admit it, nothing that we expect to experience. ~ Gina Marinello-Sweeney