All about Kuzushi

All of us know what kuzushi means: breaking of balance. When we start judo, we are told that kuzushi is critical to successful throwing. But what exactly does kuzushi entail, and how do you achieve kuzushi? Let’s explore kuzushi in detail here.

Hands first!

The very first thing you need to know about kuzushi is that the hands play an important role. Before you attempt to throw your opponent, you have to use your hands to push or pull them off balance. If you attack with your legs first, you won’t succeed in throwing them. The hands always come into play first.

Strategic gripping can help you achieve kuzushi.

Using the hands to achieve kuzushi doesn’t just mean pushing and pulling uke. Strategic gripping, in order to dominate uke, can also help you achieve kuzushi. When you dominate uke, they will be in a bad situation, with horrible posture. They won’t be balanced.

Kuzushi is momentary.

If you are able to achieve kuzushi, know that it doesn’t last. It barely lasts a second. It’s there only for a fraction of a second, before uke regains their composure and balance. So, you have to strike immediately, the moment you have them off balanced.

Action-reaction is one way to achieve kuzushi.

We use the action-reaction principle a lot in judo. It’s where you push or pull uke, causing them to resist and respond by going in the other direction. This creates opportunities for you to attack because when they are either pulling or pushing in response to your initial action, they are momentarily off-balanced. What you need to do is to immediately attack them in the direction they are moving towards.

So, there you go, everything you need to know about kuzushi, in one blog posting!