KUZUSHI

 by Phillip Starr

*Portions excerpted from the book, “Martial Maneuvers” by the author.

In Japanese martial arts such a judo, “kuzushi” refers to breaking the opponent's balance. The characters for kuzushi are pronounced “bengjun” in Chinese. The first character means “to collapse.” The second character refers to balance. One author translated the first character as “demolish” and that infers a violent, explosive action and kuzushi needn't be so conspicuous. A smooth and often subtle movement causes the opponent's equilibrium to collapse, to fall in on top of itself. This is really an art form of its own.

In judo and other highly sophisticated grappling arts kuzushi was once practiced very assiduously. After all, it's very difficult to throw an opponent whose balance is intact. Not only is it difficult to throw her, it's very risky attempting to throw someone whose balance is intact because she's easily capable of countering any attempt to bring her down. She can then quickly apply powerful striking or grappling techniques of her own.

Learning how to break the opponent's balance and use her own force against her is in keeping with one of judo's famous maxims, which reminds practitioners to strive to obtain maximum effectiveness with minimum effort. There's a lot more to that statement than meets the eye.

If an opponent pushes against you and you push back or try to hold your ground, you are resisting him. In such a situation, the stronger person will win. However, if you yield to him and pull him in the direction he is pushing, you can easily gain control of his movement.

The same is true if the opponent pulls you towards himself. If you'll yield to his force and push him, his balance is easily broken and he can be brought under control without too much difficulty.

In both cases the object is to yield to the aggressor's force and thereby displace his center of balance. Once that's achieved, he's helpless unless he's allowed to regain his balance.

In the practice of aikido the art of breaking balance is a little more intriguing. When the opponent attacks, his mind (intention, known as “yi”) leads his body. A skilled aikidoka is capable of exploiting this fact, allowing the opponent to overextend himself by subtly encouraging him to do so. The enemy's force and movement can then be easily intercepted and redirected.

In both of these grappling forms, students move from the grossly overt to the fine and subtle. That is, a beginning judo student usually fails to apply kuzushi at all. He'll grunt and strain as he tries to literally lift his opponent and throw him. As he continues to study and practice the art, he'll discover the importance of kuzushi. At that point he usually grabs his partner's jacket in a death-grip and starts yanking, pushing, and pulling in outwardly gross attempts to effect kuzushi.

But the technique of the master judoist is much more subtle. Knowing that taking a powerful grip on his opponent's jacket can lead to entanglement, joint twists, and other problems, he gently HOOKS his partner's jacket with his fingertips and a delicate touch. His touch is fine so that he can feel his opponent's movements and thereby detect his intentions. This is not unlike taijiquan's “tui-shou” (push hands) exercises. When he unbalances his opponent it is done so subtly that the opponent himself is often unaware of it until he's airborne.

An aikido novice often focuses on how to turn the joint or the arm or whatever and pays little or no attention to the concept of kusuzhi. She uses her own strength in an attempt to force her assailant's joint to turn this way or that, and after just a few minutes of practice she's soaked with sweat.

The master seems to glide along a current of air and her uke (receiver) often feels that he has no control over himself at all. He is caught up in a whirlwind of movement that may result in his being tossed several feet away or brought down quickly in a painful joint twist. The more effort he uses to attack the master, the easier it is for the master to throw him or bring him into submission.

The same thing is true in Japanese kenjutsu. The two swordsmen face each other with their weapons positioned just so. There is very little overt movement; no hopping around like a rabbit on amphetamines. The first one to make an error will be struck down instantly. They're focused on what they're doing, joining their minds to feel each other's intent.

Obviously, if one stumbles, he will quickly become a popular breakfast food – toast. But there's little chance of that because they've trained long and hard to maintain physical balance. If either fighter initiates an attack with a large, gross movement, he will be struck down instantly.

They're not just standing still and admiring each other's pretty eyes. They're feeling each other's mind and spirit. If one swordsman's spirit should become unbalanced – if it should waver for even an instant – the fight will be brought to a sudden close because his opponent will sense it and destroy him. This kind of kuzushi is extremely subtle.

There is a story told about the founder of modern judo, Dr. Jigaro Kano. A British boxer who was a sailor on a ship was asked by the ships captain to have a bout with the famous judo master. He felt that a grappling art was no match for Western fisticuffs. Although Kano was dressed in a business suit, he agreed on the spot to demonstrate the effectiveness of his art. The two contestants squared off. Kano reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket and deftly tossed a handkerchief into the air. As the boxer glanced at it, Kano skilfully took advantage of the moment and threw him, being careful to cushion his opponent's head so that he wouldn't be injured by the fall.

There's more to the story that just a chuckle. Kano distracted his opponent by UNBALANCING HIS MIND and as I've said before, mental and physical balance are inseparable. Once his opponent's mental balance wad disturbed, his physical balance was likewise (although very subtly) disturbed. And he was vulnerable. Consider the true qualities of balance. That is, one's equilibrium consists not only of one's physical posture but also one's mental poise. Thus, you can execute kuzushi and place the opponent in a very vulnerable condition by unbalancing either his body or his mind!

Of course, you must have very fine technique to take advantage of such a subtle thing. Kano's technique was so perfect that he was able to utilize that microsecond of vulnerability and throw his opponent.

There are other very subtle forms of kuzushi, particularly in so far as self-defense is concerned. For instance, when an aggressor speaks (as in giving a command), his mind is focused largely on what he's saying and his reaction time drops by almost 50%. The same is true of laughter. If he laughs, he's highly vulnerable. One officer with the Arizona Border Patrol was faced by two assailants. One held a pistol while the other aimed a shotgun at him. His own weapon was still holstered. He told them that if they'd lay down their weapons, he'd simply arrest them; otherwise, he'd be forced to kill them both. He darned well knew the reaction he'd get. They both laughed. And he killed the two of them.

Here's another useful tip. Have a partner stand normally, with his feet spread about shoulder's width. Step forward and place one foot directly between his feet. Place weight on your foot. Your partner may lean back or perhaps even stumble a bit. In any case, he will feel very uncomfortable and “unbalanced.” This is because you are stepping on what I call his “third foot”, which is actually his center of gravity. For a moment, he is quite vulnerable. This can be a useful tidbit of information when it comes to throwing, executing joint techniques, or striking (in which case you aim to step on his third foot but it will be necessary to land your blow before your foot touches down).

Remember, there's more to kuzushi than just pushing or pulling. “Balance” consists of two parts; physical balance and mental balance. Strive to improve your skill with kuzushi until you can apply it in very subtle ways. Highly advanced, masterful forms of kuzushi are not easily seen.