Theme of the month February 2009: Juicy Kuzushi

This year my first theme of the month is "Juicy kuzushi". Kuzushi is the art of disrupting your opponent's balance. Even if (s)he is stronger, faster, and/or swifter, once balance is broken these advantages evaporate, and resistance becomes negligible. The "juicy"-ness refers to my ambition to squeeze a lot out of the kuzushi concept. Plus: It rhymes.

I have written about the broader concept of kuzushi before, and intend to explore all of the aspects of kuzushi that I listed in that post:

Looking more broadly at the problem of "leveling" an aggressor, any or all of the following means can contribute to the cause:

• Unbalancing: Bringing the aggressor's center of gravity beyond his or her base of support
  
• Mis-alignment: Moving parts of the aggressor into an awkward configuration
  
• Distraction
  
• Pain (which can also be a distraction)
  

All of these measures help to reduce the aggressor's ability to resist the remainder of the technique. However, for subtle kuzushi, it is best when there is neither too much nor too little of the contributing components. Too little, and there is no effect. Too much, and your intentions are telegraphed.

These seem like a fine four points to look at over each of the next four weeks.

Some more specific ideas:

• The kuzushi exercise: Use of the hands, role of the elbows, weight distribution
• Same throw / multiple kuzushi
• The base of support; the dead angle
• Misaligning the hips and shoulders
• Twisting in restraint and control
• Combining unbalancing and misaligning
• Examples of distractions: kiai, feints, strikes, annoyances
• The effects of pain; a few pressure points

* * *

The next time we revisit kuzushi as a monthly theme, I might use another decomposition. For example: The role of kuzushi in:

1. Throwing techniques
2. Groundwork
3. Restraint and control
4. Striking techniques
5. Day-to-day life

Also: The flip-side of applying kuzushi is establishing, maintaining and recovering balance and alignment.