Featured in Aikido Journal Blog

A couple of days ago 2008 post of mine, The Broader Meaning of Kuzushi, was picked up by Aikido Journal and featured in their blog.

Nice!  Not only that, but one of their readers, Dan Rubin, was able to point me to the likely source of the quotation in the top left corner of this blog:

The source of the quotation is cited as “unknown.”

I thought you might like to know that the analysis, if not the exact quotation, is that of Donn Draeger in Classical Budo (1973), at page 11 (and elsewhere): “...a number of preconceptions and rigid beliefs about the relationship of the bujutsu (classical martial arts of self-protection) to the budo (classical martial ways of self-perfection) prevent a true understanding of these disciplines.”

Thanks Dan!

Self-defence technique meets 1920s chic

Fabulous clip of 7 stone (44.5 kg) Miss May Whitley giving a lightning introduction to the role of unbalancing  in jiu-jitsu  before throwing her good friend "the bandit" repeatedly onto a hard stage floor.  Be sure to watch with the sound turned up to enjoy her wonderful accent and his howls of pain:



Attacks and jiu-jitsu counters demonstrated:

1. Handbag snatch: Arm-lock plus projection throw
2. Rear choke: 1st shoulder throw (kata seoi)
3. Straight punch: Reverse arm-bar (waki-gatame)
4. Front kick: Inner-rear sweeping throw
5. Front choke: Circle throw (tomoe nage)

Thanks to Sue for highlighting this clip and more on her blog.

Simply spiffing: what, what!?

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.

The Broader Meaning of Kuzushi

The first and most important step in applying a throwing technique [ideally: any technique] is to first employ kuzushi. Usually, I would explain kuzushi as "unbalancing", but delving a little deeper we find that kuzushi derives from the verb kuzusu, meaning "to level, pull down, or demolish".

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.

By practicing cooperatively we can learn to sense when our (or our partner's) balance is lost, and where our (or our partner's) alignment is compromised. Developing sensitivity, and an acute feeling for the interplay of these factors can help to make the application of kuzushi elegant and irresistible.