Judo is the way to the most effective use of both physical and spiritual strength.  By training you in attacks and defenses it refines your body and your soul and helps you make the spiritual essence of Judo a part of your very being.  In this way you are able to perfect yourself and contribute something of value to the world.  This is the final goal of Judo discipline.
.....Jigoro Kano

At the moment the body loses balance and the center of gravity is lost, all action is made impossible, for all our forceful actions are possible only in a stabilized posture.  Therefore, if a contestant unbalances the opponent's posture at the instant the latter is about to start an attack, he can make it ineffectual and thus defend himself.  Again, the ultimate result of breadking balance is to throw the opponent and hold him, and, thus getting him under control, to make the state of unbalance pemanent and conclusive.  In short, breaking balance, throwing and holding form the technical system of Judo.
.....Kenji Tomiki

I may venture to say, loosely, that in Judo there is a sort of counter for every twist, wrench, pull, push or bend.  Only the Judo expert does not oppose such movements at all.  No, he yields to them.  But he does much more than yield to them.  He aids them with a wicked sleight that causes the assailant to put out his own shoulder, to fracture his own arm, or in a desparate case, even to break his own neck or back.
.....Lafcadio Hearn

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who errs, and comes short again and again (but)....who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."
.....Theodore Roosevelt

What matters most is not the SIZE of the dog in the fight ...but the size of the FIGHT in the dog.
(anonymous)

The ten scientific principles that apply to the study of all martial arts:

1. The wimp who made it through the eliminations on luck alone will suddenly turn into Bruce Lee when you're up against him.
2. The referee will always be looking the other way when you score.
3. You will have trouble with the ties on your gi pants when members of the opposite sex are in class.
4. The day you leave work early to make it to class on time, the sensei will be sick.
5. The sensei will only use you during demonstrations for joint-locking techniques.
6. If you have to use your training in self-defense, your attacker's father will be a lawyer.
7. After a flawless demonstration, you will trip on your way back to your seat.
8. After years of training without a single injury, you will pull a groin muscle the night before your black belt exam.
9. In an otherwise vacant locker room, the only other person will have the locker right next to yours.
10. No matter how many times you take care of it before your promotion exam, you will invariably have to go to the bathroom when it's your turn.