Samurai

Feeling & Expressing
Feeling & Expressing
Healthy & Active
Healthy & Active
Theatre
Theatre

An opportunity for students to let loose vocally and physically, Samurai is a great way to break the students’ bond to the outside world and welcome them, ninja-style, to the programming space.

Materials

  • No materials are needed for this activity.

Framing

This silly game is a great precursor to any energetic or vigorous activity that seeks to increase excitement and release daily stresses. 

Instructions

  1. Have your participants spread out around the room and lie down on the floor on their backs.
  2. Ensuring that none of them can see each other, the participants will collectively count to 21 by having one person at a time contributing a number, starting with 1.
  3. Have your group stand in a circle, with each participant forming a “Samurai sword” by putting their hands together, palm-to-palm.
  4. Begin the round having one participant raise their sword above their head, making a ninja sound, and then bringing their sword down, “stabbing” across the circle at another participant.
  5. While the first Samurai has their sword up, the two Samurais on either side of him/her will “stab” the first Samurai’s belly by moving their sword sideways towards them and making a ninja sound.
  6. The Samurai who was “stabbed” across the circle then raises their sword while making a ninja sound, and passing the stab to another player.
  7. Continue playing until the group’s energy has increased. 
  8. There is no pattern to uncover, just the expectation to contribute the next number when appropriate, allowing a participant to say two consecutive numbers if needed.
  9. Everyone should remain completely silent unless contributing a number. If two or more participants speak at the same time, or a number is repeated, the group must restart the counting from 1.

Modify

  • Try out the elimination version: When a Samurai raises his/her sword and the two Samurais on either side move to stab him/her, the one who makes the move first stays in the game and the other leaves. Play a game of Rock Paper Scissors or something similar to determine the winner from the last two.

Safety

  • At no point should participants strike or even touch one another with their swords. Your group should be reminded to simply make the motions only.

Wrap-up

After ending the game, reconvene for a brief reflection by posing to them some questions like:

  • How were you feeling before this activity? How are you feeling now?
  • What were you thinking during the activity?
  • Did the activity help you to forget any bad things that may have happened to you today?


Canadian Improv Games. “Samurai.” Improv.ca. Retrieved online from: http://improv.ca/samurai/