Batman Begins Does Not Suck

[Fragbait]

I haven't seen the movie.

But I did see a couple of clips here and there.

And by damn, it almost looks like ol Batty is using something like Aikido in the film.

My heart flutters. Defensive arts displayed in a Holywood film?

Aikido is the only martial art I have ever felt passionate about. It is the true art. There are no belts. Your most powerful enemy is self. And there are no little kids running around as 5th degree blackbelts or whatever.

I might be wrong, maybe it was just the editing of the clip or something, but it looks as if they were showing actual defensive posture, instead of glitzy glammy kung fu nonsense.

This almost makes sense, given that Batman had to trained in reflective and deflective measures to use his gauntlets properly.

Oh man... I feel sick. A movie where somebody did their homework on fighting styles. It can't be true. I must be wrong.

Please, please, somebody that knows what they are talking about tell me if this is true.
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Hi,

What Batman alias Bruce Wayne is actually practising in the movie might be closest described as Ninjutsu. He learns to fight with swords and explosives, both of which I don't remember as Aikido's most used means. Perhaps they took some of the basic Aikido positions and mixed them up with some 'stylish' sword fighting, for that I wouldn't know. If you go into the movie expecting a lot of Aikido moves (using the energy that the enemy brings forward to you to his disadvantage, as far as I understand it), though, you might be disappointed. To often there's just plain 'blade rattles on blade' battle.


As to Aikido being the only 'true' art: There are others. Of course you won't find them by looking at the bigger American citys and searching for what is popular there. Those 'Karate' and 'Kungfu' schools are profitable only by letting rich guy's kiddies become a blackbelt when they just left the kindergarden. Also there are certain 'martial arts' that could rather be described as fighting sports, for example boxing, taekwondo or eskrima.
Being a former disciple and violet belt of traditional Shotokan Karate International in Germany (SKID), I have to insist that pretty much any 'wushu' as the Chinese would put it can be an art if practised traditionally and not with the focus in mind to brawl and compete with others. Perhaps the main difference between martial arts and their brothers the fighting sports is that the first ones also chiefly teach the mind and educate the character, while the second ones focus mainly on the body and the physical strength and technique.


Greetings, Fragbait