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We can say that judo is an art because it is a method of arriving at self-realization and true self-expression. We can further say that judo is a science because it implies mastery of various laws of nature: gravity, friction, momentum, velocity, weight transmission, and unison of forces. In its most important phase, it constitutes a kind of higher logic developed through practice and the ascension of the true personality: a realization of the spiritual self in the philosophic rather than the religious sense of the word.

The study of judo without the realization of its secrets—that is, its metaphysical side—leaves one in partial mental emptiness. We must first realize that the study of true judo is symbolic of mental attitudes and behavior. The subconscious mind is where our behavior patterns are collected in a vast reservoir of our years of experience. When we are able to tap these resources we can build our personalities anew, developing positive attitudes and, in the end, mastering the purely physical. It has been said, in regard to a judo expert's level of mental development, that "the arms are an extension of the mind." Training in judo disciplines the mind through physical-symbolic exercises, bringing about a maturity of the skill of higher logic. It is the use of this skill that characterizes the mental reaction of the judoist to a given situation when it arises.