It seems important to me to give some thought to this important part of the practice in order to insure an injury and a frustration-free practice. What first comes to my mind is this: if we were to practise our art in another place than in the dojo, we would have to move fast and with energy without undergoing the process of preparing our body for action.

I remember a film by Bruce Lee, The way of the dragon; it brings together Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, who, before fighting in the Coliseum, turn their back to each other in a tacit agreement, and apply themselves to warm-up exercises. In a quite opposite way, in the film Nikita by Luc Besson, Anne Parillaud steps on the mat without any form of preparation but easily reverses the situation and takes the advantage over her partner by biting him, thus breaking the rules. This of course induces laughter in the audience but from an ethic point of view, this is contrary to Bushido rules.

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