Ronin Exercise

Use The Last Samurai for emotional fuel. I used it before to explain all eight positions, but it still has power.

Watch the trailer below:

 

      BUilding the Self-Image of a Martial Artist

 

Now that you’re a little jacked up, ask yourself:

What self-image do you feed?

What identity do you live by?

This is not an abstract question. It is the foundation of who you are becoming.

If you are using life as a training ground, if you are forging the value of a Martial Artist, then you are, to some extent, a new person.

A self-directed person.
A deliberate person.
A person who no longer moves like a Pinball—bounced around by external forces—but who moves with power, control, and presence.

Ronin: The Autonomous Warrior

As you recite the mnemonic, you come to the word “Ronin.” This is the moment.

Your posture shifts. – Your body aligns. – Your self-image takes form.

At that moment, you are no longer just you. You are your avatar—your chosen self-image. 

And here is where you will encounter resistance.


Why This is Hard:

This should be easy, right? You just adjust your posture, hold yourself in alignment and carry on.

But you will find that it is not. Because posture is not just a physical habit—it is an unconscious reflection of your identity. Your posture is the role you have assumed in life.

  • If you have lived as someone beaten down by life, your posture will reflect that.
  • If you have spent years in self-doubt, your stance will show hesitation.
  • If you have allowed yourself to be small, your body will move in a way that seeks to disappear.

Changing this is enormous. But this is exactly what we are here to do.


Posture is Power

When you get it right—when you align your posture, balance, and physical attitude—it will feel wonderful.

It will feel like you are there. Like you have already succeeded. Like you have stepped into the future version of yourself—the one who has already become.

But here’s what will happen: Later in the day, when you are not thinking about it, you will slip back.

Back into the old self-image.
Back into the old posture.

That’s the fight.

If you can hold this posture consistently, something incredible happens:

People will react to you differently.

  • They will sense something different about you.
  • They will assume you are a person of power.
  • They will respond to you as if you are a warrior, a leader, a force.

And the reality?

You will become exactly that.


Let’s Begin.

You will do this every time you shower.  This is your ritual.

1️⃣ Take a breath and relax.

  • Let go of all tension.
  • Loosen your body but remain aware.

2️⃣ Become aware of your feet.

  • Shift your weight over the middle of your foot.

3️⃣ Check your alignment.

  • Are your hips over your heels or just forward of them?
  • Is your head over your hips?

4️⃣ Feel the string.

  • Imagine a thread pulling you up from the crown of your head.
  • Your body is aligned, balanced, relaxed.
  • You are hanging in perfect tension.

5️⃣ Absorb it.

  • Feel the new posture.
  • Feel how it changes your presence.

How to Train It

This is a serious project.  To assist yourself, study the greats.

  • Observe how movie heroes stand.
  • Watch how elite athletes carry themselves before and during competition.
  • Pay attention to martial artists, warriors, leaders.

You will see the same patterns.

They do not shrink.
They do not hesitate.
They move with deliberation and control.


Posture is Identity. Identity is Destiny.

  • Change your posture, and you change your self-image.
  • Change your self-image, and you change who you are.

And now—you train it.

Every day.
Every movement.
Until the day comes when you no longer have to remember to stand like a warrior—because it is simply who you are.

Now go. Stand as you were meant to stand. ..and check each time you shower, or pass a window or mirror.