"Hiram was and is a very good student. He was always interested in improving. He always questioned everything that he learned to deeply ingrained that knowledge. He always sought excellence. But what I liked most was seeing a student fall in love with JUDO as much as I did, to the point of making it a pillar of his life. Surely his day-to-day life and his way of walking the path of life are with the principles and values that JUDO teaches. And this was the philosophy and will of Jigoro Kano, that judo should improve the lives of the people who practice it and that they should have a positive influence on society. Hiram Irizarry is an example of what Jigoro Kano wanted judo to be for society."