“Before and after practicing Judo or engaging in a match, opponents bow to each other. Bowing is an expression of gratitude and respect. In effect, you are thanking your opponent for giving you the opportunity to improve your technique.”

“Power is a game, and in games you do not judge your opponents by their intentions but by the effects of their actions.”

“I can entertain the proposition that life is a metaphor for boxing — for one of those bouts that go on and on, round following round, jabs, missed punches, clinches, nothing determined, again the bell and again and you and your opponent so evenly matched it’s impossible not to see that your opponent is you… Life is like boxing in many unsettling respects. But boxing is only like boxing.”

“Stand before your god, bow before your king, kneel before your man.”

“Tournaments like the World Cup, they are a bit like that -- you can't start out by thinking of how you will play the final at Lord's. You look at your first opponent and you think how to defeat him, then you think of your next opponent. It doesn't matter who you think you might meet in the final, you should only think of your next match. That is the only way to win a tournament, that is what we did in 1983, we played one match at a time…”

“If at first you don't succeed, kill your opponent.”

“The two of us haven't seen each other for a year now, and when we saw each other we bowed in front of each other. This very idea of bowing — you don't bow in front of a screen. It's made impossible, or very difficult, for people who constantly see non-persons on the screen.”

“In randori, one must search out the opponent's weaknesses and be ready to attack with all the resources at his disposal the moment the opportunity presents itself, without violating the rules of judo.”

“When your opponent is hurrying recklessly, you must act contrarily and keep calm. You must not be influenced by the opponent. Train diligently to attain this spirit.”

“I am not one of those who see war as a cricket match where you first give anything to defeat the opponent and then shake hands”