For most of us
balance is not an issue. We wake up in the morning, role out of bed, put our feet on the floor, lift our bodies up and begin to walk. If we are healthy and our inner ear is functioning properly, our bodies internal gyroscope finds our center of gravity which gives us our sense of balance, our muscles and limbs find their coordination and strength and we proceed to move and walk an continue with our daily activities.
While we take our sense of balance for granted, our bodily immediately knows and feels when it is out of balance and in danger of falling. It tries to transmit this information to us almost simultaneously and if successful, we are able to reorient ourselves, compensate and take some preventive measures, like taking an extra step or grabbing on to something or some one, before we actually fall. Our ability to stand erect and remain balanced is one of the true gifts of our anthropological evolution. There is however a moment, a second, when we, or our bodies are not really sure if we can compensate, if there is enough time to compensate or how to compensate for being unbalanced. It is that moment, when the body is unsure of what to do, when it is vulnerable, that we wish to exploit.
When we stand and walk naturally we are centered and in balance. Our bodies maintain this balance through a complicated series of communications between our eyes, ears, limbs, and brain. If the interplay between the organs is interrupted for even a moment the brain must relay this information back to our muscle and skeletal system in order for it to make the necessary adjustments, lest we loose our balance and fall.
To attack or be attacked requires the body to make multiple adjustments to this, both delicate and sophisticated system, in order to maintain our strength, center of gravity and balance. The breaking of our opponents or attackers center and thus his balance while maintaining our own is the essence of
kuzushi. The act of breaking an opponents balance, their equilibrium, to take or replace their center of gravity, negates their strength while enhancing our own and renders their movement or attack futile.
The body is quite sensitive to this feeling of unbalance and will react swiftly to rectify itself, so any attempt to unbalance must be done swiftly and without notice. When we are pushed or grabbed our first instinct is to push and grab back. In many instances these reactions give our attackers bodies the information they need to readjust their center of gravity, their balance and remain strong. When we are punched, or attacked with a weapon, the way in which we try to block or try to stop the attack, telegraphs the same information and is counter productive to our defense.
The creation of unbalance and lose of center must be subtle and imperceptible to the attacker. Any attempt at readjustment once the movement begins must create pain and further unbalance and negate or absorb the attackers momentum. The movement should be over before it begins. The Kuzushi of an attacker can be felt by degrees within a circle or inches on the floor. To disrupt it requires an understanding of both motion and movement, what creates weakness and what creates strength, how to create an undisturbed line of force, position and posture which will allow you to counter balance an attack and apply your desired technique.
