The Endless Search for Absolute Kime: Karate Budo by Lavigne Gilles

Author:Lavigne, Gilles [Lavigne, Gilles]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Published: 2015-05-01T21:00:00+00:00

8.4 Kuzuchi

We have now arrived at a very interesting principle in the realm of Mental Kime and it concerns body asymmetry and unbalance. To possess good mental strategy with regards to conflict “Kuzuchi” or unbalance is the third principle that we need to study. To know how to unbalance an opponent we must first understand Balance.

Balance from a physical perspective is the function of the vestibular apparatus which lies in the ears. It is a series of three semicircular canals filled with liquid and tiny hairs. These canals provide us our sense of orientation in space. It tells us when we are upright, how gravity affects us and detects motion in threedimensional space. The first series of tubes pertains to the horizontal position of our bodies in relation to the earth at our feet. The second series of tubes pertains to the vertical axis of our bodies and the last to movement. The tiny hairs inside these canals or tubing are stimulated by the liquid and serve as a sort of sensory antenna. The antenna or hairs activate our nervous system to the brain. The signals from the vestibular apparatus reach the brain via a nerve and stimulate a specialized cluster of neurons called the vestibular nuclei. The brain processes them and in turn the brain returns commands to the different multiple muscles to adjust themselves to ensure balance. It is a process that we learned as a child and the neuron network was programmed in a manner of speaking early in life. Now that we have attained maturity this process has become an automatic one or if you wish an unconscious process, one that we can call reflexive.

This is an important factor and consideration as we shall see. Balance is something that all human beings have cultivated into a reflexive automatic reactionary process within themselves. These reflexes have been refined through evolution and serves man to quickly address and self correct any situations of unbalance. As a Martial Artist we must examine these reflexive automatisms and develop strategies to exploit them to our advantage which will ensure victory HEIHO on our adversaries. I have broken down my study of Kuzuchi into four parts:

1) Static Kuzuchi

2) Dynamic Kuzuchi

3) Reflexive Kuzuchi

4) Subtle Kuzuchi

5) Mental Kuzuchi

8.4.1 Static Kuzuchi Judo is predicated on the fact that an opponent can be toppled by creating asymmetry in an opponent’s axis which will result in unbalancing him. Jigoro Kano (1860-1938) the founder of Judo developed a teaching model called “Harpo no Kuzuchi” to demonstrate Kuzuchi from a static position. The model deals with having a Uke stand in a normal stance his feet shoulder length apart. ( Hashi dashi) The Tori proceeds to have the Uke bend forward at the waste, back from the waste, from one side at the waste to the other side, all the time the tori pulls and pushes the uke in all cardinal directions all eight of them (North, South, East, West. North East, South East, NorthWest and SouthWest).

The exercise is to create awareness and understand the impact of creating body asymmetry and its effect on balance.

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