Posture and Movement Playbook

Mat Manual companion guide to "The Stiff Arm Trap." Print it. Posture is a skill with drills, and movement is the engine under every throw. This is the drill book for both.

SAFETY, BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE ☐ Constraint games change the rules of a round, never the safety rules. Ukemi readiness, tap rules, and mat awareness apply in every game in this book. ☐ The wall-ban games remove a defense. Intensity drops when they run, by agreement, out loud, before the round. A banned defense at full power is an injury format, not a drill. ☐ Circling and movement drills run at walking pace until the feet are automatic. Pairs moving at speed watch the edge of the mat and the pairs around them. The pair on the ground has the right of way. ☐ Dragging and arm-collapse drills move a partner's balance without completing throws unless the drill says so. The partner being dragged keeps their falls ready and their feet honest. ☐ Any round can be stopped by either partner, at any time, for any reason. The round stops. Then the discussion.

The Postures, at Checking Standard

Posture is graded the way technique is graded: by observable points, not by impression. Use these checklists on yourself with a partner's eyes, or in front of a mirror in solo practice.

Shizenhontai: The Natural Posture

The home position. Everything in this playbook exists to make this posture your default.

• ☐ Standing upright, spine tall without strain, head up and eyes on your partner's chest
• ☐ Feet about shoulder width apart, weight even across the whole foot, not parked on the heels or the toes
• ☐ Knees soft, never locked, never deeply bent
• ☐ Shoulders down and relaxed, elbows hanging near the body, not flared or pinned
• ☐ Hands in front of your own chest, ready to grip without reaching
• ☐ You can step in any direction without a preparatory rock or sway. If stepping needs a wind-up, the posture is a pose, not a base

Migi and Hidari Shizenhontai: The Working Stances

The natural posture with one foot advanced: migi (right) or hidari (left). This is where judo actually happens.

• ☐ Advanced foot a comfortable step ahead, not a lunge. Weight still close to even, slightly favoring neither foot
• ☐ Rear heel light, ready to drive or follow
• ☐ Hips and chest mostly square to your partner, turned only as much as the stance asks
• ☐ The same softness checks as shizenhontai: knees soft, shoulders down, hands live in front of the chest
• ☐ You can change sides with one follow step and no loss of height. Bouncing between stances is a posture leak

Jigotai: The Defensive Posture, Read Honestly

You are in jigotai when most of these are true. Read the list against yourself in randori video or a partner's report, not against your intentions.

• ☐ Feet clearly wider than the shoulders and staying planted
• ☐ Waist bent, head down, eyes on the mat or on your partner's feet
• ☐ Hips dropped back behind the heels, weight sunk backward
• ☐ Arms extended and rigid, elbows locked, holding your partner at maximum distance
• ☐ Steps rare and short. The base relocates as a unit instead of walking
• ☐ Attacks per round: near zero. This line is the posture's signature and its verdict

Jigotai held for a moment, against a named attack, is a tool Kano kept on purpose. Jigotai as the shape you live in is the trap the companion article describes. The drills below assume the second case and rebuild the first.