"You haven't beaten me!"

There's a scene* in the movie "Batman Begins" where Bruce Wayne (spoiler alert: he becomes Batman) is training with Ra's Al Ghul (spoiler alert: he turns out to be the bad guy). To set the scene, the latter is mentoring the former in his brand of ninjitsu (ninjas!). The two are fighting on ice, Ra's talks some smack about Bruce's father, and Bruce musters some rage and manages to get the best of his master. Or so it would appear. Ra's says "You haven't beaten me! You've sacrificed sure footing for a killing stroke." He then taps the ice with his sword and Bruce plummets into the frigid water. It's at this point where today's lesson begins.

As you're learning to fight, a lot of emphasis is placed on posture and body positioning. How many times have you heard your instructor say something like "back straight!" or "keep your heel on the ground!". This isn't mere pedantry. It is only by having "sure footing" (to use Mr. Al Ghul's terminology) throughout your entire series of movement that you truly become unbeatable. Take care not to take "sure footing" too literally, however. Integrity of structure in your entire body from the beginning of the movement until the end is the ultimate goal. It is of course a lofty one. As it was alluded to before, your instructor(s) probably note one or two things for you consistently. When they make that observation, take that opportunity to slow down and put your mind into that body part for the rest of the class (and maybe the next one!) and really be conscious of how it's moving. Moving towards and through conscious competence is the only path to unconscious competence. And don't worry - once you've corrected the noted deficiency, your instructor will surely have another one for you to work on; it is a service they provide.

As a benchmark as to whether you have integrity of structure throughout your movement, pause at different points during your execution. While smoothness of execution is also desirable, moving smoothly through a compromised position doesn't do you much good. You should endeavor to execute your movements and techniques in such a way so that if someone said "matte!" you could stop and have a good body position. Of course, if in that same moment your uke was also in a position of unbalance, that would be most excellent. But one step at a time.

So why is all this important? It isn't just the start and end points that matter, but how you get there. Be unassailable. If you compromise your structure in the service of completing your motion, a savvy opponent will capitalize on your temporary weakness to destroy you. Intentions to end in a strong position count for naught if you never make it there!

One example of how this applies to your Kaze Arashi Ryu practice specifically can be seen in something as simple as the cross block that we normally execute from irimi tai sabaki (i.e. "One and two"). Often times, beginners will execute this by ducking under their arm, rounding their shoulders and adopting what I typically call "Turtle Pose". Instead, endeavor to keep your back straight and guide the strike over. This not only keeps you in a better position, but done correctly raises the center of your uke which should make your next movement easier.

And for those of you playing at home, think of the non-martial applications of this. If in your business dealings you move through dishonest positions (i.e. less than ideal integrity), have you really won? You may have bested that particular opponent in that particular encounter with deceit, but you arrived there through questionable means. All it will take is for the seemingly vanquished to tap the ice you're standing on and send you into the freezing lake. Be unassailable. Only when you accomplish victory through these means will you have truly won.

* This scene can be viewed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiaRYQlsjy4. Copyright Warner Brothers, all rights reserved.