10 Interesting Donnie Yen Quotes for life and martial arts

When it comes to martial arts, it’s fair to say that Donnie Yen is incredibly gifted. A 6th dan Taekwondo black belt, Judo black belt and Wushu Champion, his talents span across multiple arts. Of course, he is also known for being one of the greatest actors to come out of Hong Kong and starred in the 2008 biopic as Ip Man.

Even Chinese UFC Champion Zhang Weili claimed he influenced her desire to get into fighting. In short, he is an interesting character. Not only is he highly skilled but he also has some great thoughts and philosophies when it comes to life in general. Here are some of the most inspirational Donnie Yen quotes, both for martial artists and for inspiration in general.

“Better to be called something positive and inspirational, than something negative”

“Martial arts is a form of expression. An expression from your inner self to your hands and legs”

“For years, I looked at Bruce Lee as a mentor or as being a Chinese or Asian man living in this country”

“I try to update my arsenal constantly, learning different martial arts since childhood. To understand what’s out there. To be in tune”

“What I’ve learned when I was poor is that whenever a person asks what do you do for a living, they are trying to calculate the level of respect to give you. That’s why I preferred to stay low key and mysterious”

“A lot of people don’t realize, when you’re acting in a martial arts film, you’re not just performing martial arts. You’re actually acting as much as any other actor”

“For me, I like to have explosive moments. Whether it’s a particular movement itself or a whole sequence. I like to have shocking moments, for audiences to feel like ‘whoa’. That’s always been my forte”

“I think a lot of people don’t realize that martial arts are just an expression like anything else. It’s just that most people are trained not to kick or punch, but you can walk or run or dance, which is also part of expression”

“Bruce Lee is the man. He was definitely ahead of his time”

“My mom lives in Boston. She’s famous for teaching me Wushu and Tai Chi. So, from when I was young, my mom and aunt were like ‘you’re training…you’re not training baseball or football.’ Training everyday was normal. Later, when I was almost a teenager, Bruce Lee became my idol”