--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm an athlete, but first and foremost…" description: "\"I'm an athlete, but first and foremost I'm a martial artist.\" — Dan Hardy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/dan-hardy-5434_art_i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i_783091.jpg" --- # I'm an athlete, but first and foremost I'm a martial artist. ![“I'm an athlete, but first and foremost I'm a martial artist.” quote by Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/dan-hardy-5434_art_i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i_783091.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/dan-hardy-5434_art_i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i_783091.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/dan-hardy-5434_art_i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i_783091.jpg) > “I'm an athlete, but first and foremost I'm a martial artist.” [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Martial arts shape identity beyond sport, emphasizing discipline and mindset. **In simple terms:** Being a martial artist defines one’s core values. Key Takeaway Integrate martial arts principles into daily life. Themes discipline identity mindset Mood motivational reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - training routines - career transitions - conflict resolution Key Concepts sports psychology martial arts Questions to Reflect On - How does martial arts influence your decisions? - What non‑sport areas benefit from its philosophy? A Different Perspective Physical sport may not translate to all life areas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Athlete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athlete/) [Martial Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martial-art/) [Martial artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martial-artist/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) ## Related quotes > [What's a martial artist? Someone who respects his opponent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-blaydes/what-s-a-martial-artist-someone-who-respects-his-opponent/) [Curtis Blaydes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-blaydes/) > [I am a professional martial artist, and I am a professional fighter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-am-a-professional-martial-artist-and-i-am-a-professional-fighter/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [I'm a martial artist, not a fighter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uriah-hall/i-m-a-martial-artist-not-a-fighter/) [Uriah Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uriah-hall/) > [I've got respect for my mom, especially as a martial artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-perry/i-ve-got-respect-for-my-mom-especially-as-a-martial-artist/) [Mike Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-perry/) > [I'm a martial artist, and I don't train because I have a fight; I train because it's my lifestyle, and I'll train every day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/i-m-a-martial-artist-and-i-don-t-train-because-i-have-a-fight-i-train/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) > [I'm a martial artist and I want to treat the UFC and MMA as martial arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renato-moicano/i-m-a-martial-artist-and-i-want-to-treat-the-ufc-and-mma-as-martial/) [Renato Moicano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renato-moicano/) > [My husband is a martial artist, and he thinks it's hilarious that I have a stage-fighting-proficiency certificate. He thinks that's ridiculous. Can't say I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-nicol/my-husband-is-a-martial-artist-and-he-thinks-it-s-hilarious-that-i/) [Lesley Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-nicol/) > [I see myself as a martial artist. I'm a creative fighter. It's not about hitting the guy and hurting him, it's about scoring points,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/i-see-myself-as-a-martial-artist-i-m-a-creative-fighter-it-s-not/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) > [I am an athlete first and foremost, and it is vital for my competitiveness, my well being, and for my preparations for events during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caster-semenya/i-am-an-athlete-first-and-foremost-and-it-is-vital-for-my/) [Caster Semenya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caster-semenya/) > [I'm a lifelong martial artist and to have an arena to test my skills is essential for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-m-a-lifelong-martial-artist-and-to-have-an-arena-to-test-my-skills/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [Martial Arts will always be part of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/martial-arts-will-always-be-part-of-my-life/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/a-good-martial-artist-does-not-become-tense-but-ready/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [I want to be the greatest mixed martial artist ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-fitch/i-want-to-be-the-greatest-mixed-martial-artist-ever/) [Jon Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-fitch/) > [I don't think I'm in any position to call myself a martial artist. I'm a student of the martial arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-don-t-think-i-m-in-any-position-to-call-myself-a-martial-artist-i-m/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [Actually, for me, I really love to do action movie. You know, most people, they know, they thought that I am a martial artist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-bingbing/actually-for-me-i-really-love-to-do-action-movie-you-know-most-people/) [Li Bingbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-bingbing/) ## More by Dan Hardy > [I can see why the UFC would picture me as being a bit problematic, because I do say what I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-can-see-why-the-ufc-would-picture-me-as-being-a-bit-problematic/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [I'm a firm believer that the power of the mind can overcome pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-m-a-firm-believer-that-the-power-of-the-mind-can-overcome-pain/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [I'm a lifelong martial artist and to have an arena to test my skills is essential for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-m-a-lifelong-martial-artist-and-to-have-an-arena-to-test-my-skills/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [I've always said I'll finish my career with UFC no matter how it ended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-ve-always-said-i-ll-finish-my-career-with-ufc-no-matter-how-it-ended/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [I would much rather be dealing with a knee injury than a serious concussion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-would-much-rather-be-dealing-with-a-knee-injury-than-a-serious/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [Outside the Octagon, outside training, I'm really not an aggressive person at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/outside-the-octagon-outside-training-i-m-really-not-an-aggressive/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [If I'm stepping in to do something I want the stakes to be high. I want people to doubt me, I want the challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/if-i-m-stepping-in-to-do-something-i-want-the-stakes-to-be-high-i/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [Articulating the sport, being a voice for the sport is something I would be foolish not to relish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/articulating-the-sport-being-a-voice-for-the-sport-is-something-i/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [I don't like Brock Lesnar and his idea of fun either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-don-t-like-brock-lesnar-and-his-idea-of-fun-either/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [I'm the kind of fighter that likes to break people down, mixing in fast kicking and fast punching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-m-the-kind-of-fighter-that-likes-to-break-people-down-mixing-in/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [My first fight at UFC 89 was an undercard fight and after that I was co-main event. I've never really had that build-up into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/my-first-fight-at-ufc-89-was-an-undercard-fight-and-after-that-i-was/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [I have no interest in fighting on the streets - I never did have - but I like to out-think my opponents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-have-no-interest-in-fighting-on-the-streets-i-never-did-have-but-i/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [Sport is about turning losing situations into winning ones. That's how you stay on top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/sport-is-about-turning-losing-situations-into-winning-ones-that-s-how/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [It's difficult to really develop any kind of muscle strength when you just don't sleep long enough, when you get two or three hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/it-s-difficult-to-really-develop-any-kind-of-muscle-strength-when-you/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) > [People need to speak up if they see something that is not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/people-need-to-speak-up-if-they-see-something-that-is-not-right/) [Dan Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) [Explore all 100 Dan Hardy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm an athlete, but first and foremost I'm a martial artist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Hardy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i-m-a-martial-artist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i-m-a-martial-artist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/dan-hardy-5434_art_i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i_783091.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/dan-hardy-5434_art_i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i_783091.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/dan-hardy-5434_art_i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i_783091.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm an athlete, but first and foremost I'm a martial artist.” — Dan Hardy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dan Hardy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hardy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm an athlete, but first and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i-m-a-martial-artist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hardy/i-m-an-athlete-but-first-and-foremost-i-m-a-martial-artist/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```