[My father, Kisshomaru Ueshiba,] always did make a point to give me certain pieces of advice while I was out on the mat, for example, to always perform my techniques cleanly and carefully, to keep my hips down, and to make my movements large.

The essence of Budo is the absence of openings, waki ga nai, which means never leaving an opening, either through our actions or our words. . . . [w]hat interests me most is being able to practice with people whose codes are different from mine and to make it work nonetheless! That is precisely why I like to practice with people I don't know, beginners, tall people, big people, karateka, judoka and so on.