The goal of martial arts

Ah-ha-ha! Here’s something I’ve been looking for a concise way of saying…thank goodness for old kungfu movies, eh?

This is an exchange between characters in Fist of Legend. Bolding is mine, obviously (unless you’re used to seeing bolded dialog in movies–?)

Chen Zhen:
The object of matching is to beat down the opponent.

Fumio Funakoshi:
Wrong kid, the best way to beat the opponent is to use a gun. … The goal of studying martial arts is to maximize one’s energy. If you want to achieve that goal, you must understand life and the universe. … Fighting is for animals.

- Interaction between Chen Zhen (Jet Li) and Fumio Funakoshi in Fist of Legend

Yup yup…

Thanks to wujimon for the quote!