The pursuit of martial arts is largely developing our understanding of Kuzushi (disrupting the opponent), and it’s opposite, how to restore ourselves to a strong core baseline when we are disrupted.
The widespread definition of Kuzushi is off-balancing, but I feel that this only tells part of the story.
This is semantics, but semantics are important for focus. I believe that we can effect Kuzushi on an opponent laying on the ground, for example by twisting his head off-alignment with his spine, but that’s not quite off-balancing.
The verb Kuzusu
くずす【崩す】〖壊す〗destroy; 【取り壊す】pull [tear* /teər/ ] … down; 〖原則などを〗change; 〖列などを乱す〗fall* out of line; 〖姿勢などを〗【膝を崩す】sit* at (one’s) ease; 【バランスを】lose* one’s balance; 〖字を崩す〗【筆記体で】write* in a cursive [running] style; 〖お金を細かくする〗break*; 【両替する】change; 〖体調を〗get* out of shape.
Two missing from this dictionary but probably the most apt would be disrupt and collapse.
As a tentative model, I’d see 3 types of Kuzushi
- Kuzushi as off-balancing : disrupting their balance by getting the Center of Gravity off the Base of Support.
- Kuzushi as collapsing : disrupting their frames.
- Kuzushi as twisting : disrupting their head alignment or hip/shoulder alignment.
Maybe I’m mistaken to see those three as all Kuzushi, maybe we can keep Kuzushi for off-balancing and use other descriptions for collapsing frames and twisting the spine.
崩し くずし
倒し たおし
捻り ひねり
this is a work in progress.