Kaze Uta Budo Kai Forum Archive

I'm just playing this week with variants of the balance break in kata -- if youthink of the directions on a clock with uke coming at tori from 12 and our normal break in the 23 being at 1:30 to 2 o'clock or so and then turning circular (an irimi/tenkan combination popular in the Ueshiba world) -- in the the old 17 balance break was more at 2:30 to 3:00 and was more linear and sharp angled-- the older Tomiki form worked from the backstep and broke balance at 4-5-6-7-8 o'clock and had greater rise and fall effect (also might help in absorbing the oncoming force) --
What do we find in the 9 o'clock to midnight range? -- i can only think of a limited body of stuff here-- (sumiotoshi variations and a outside turning leg scoop from yon kata) -- i'm thinking there must be more here....
also as i write this it occurs i have left out the vertical directions! the balance breaks that occur straight up and down are also of a limited scope (because they fail to get tori's center off the line-- failure here can be dramatic) but nonetheless they are useful tools and are due further investigation

This is interesting. Basically, we're talking about the first two movements of the walk, with the addition of a directly forward & directly backward step. We experimented a little Saturday morning and found some interesting things. Mainly the sumi-otoshi tripped my trigger, as it's a neat Judo variant and something Chuck used to throw several of us with regularly.

Things that step backward.... I immediately think of releases 9 & 10 in the expanding form. This really shows the dramatic effect on the body-fall/rise dynamic.

The vertical directions remind me of the "window wash" portion of the last movement of the walking kata. It looks like a very innocent move, but it's one of the wildest things I've been thrown with. It also reminds me of technique #16 (last standing technique without weapons) in San-kata, as well as the last technique against the knife in San-kata.

We have been playing with the back corners for some time now (4:30 & 7:30). I have found them very effective in the releases and the techniques. Especially the releases, you get a huge body drop and rise, which becomes very effective in the 1st 14 of Yonkata.

Ushiro ate would be 12 o'clock I guess? I know kata is kata and not real world. What in real world would you say dictates at what (time) you do the balance break? It's always been something I've worked with in my head on "what if" I did the kuzushi at 1:30 ish and it doesn't work...or me and the attacker collide? To me it seems to come down to either I have to be dead on with timing or perhaps I just do the initial off line step and "wait" for something to turn out of it? The latter is where I get the colliding thought from.

John

in the real world the variables are endless and the subconscious reflex rules -- if you are already in motion at the moment of the encounter , that is big one - if so, what direction were you headed? are you functioning out of a startle reflex or did you see it coming/developing?--is a weapon involved? -- which foot are you on?-- where are your hands and what are they doing?-- environmental hazards? what is the surface you're walking on? what is your subconscious up to while it is coordinating this whole set of stuff? By in large if you train consistently and with principle it will "do the do" and you just go along for the ride. If you are deciding what to do to the guy in a real encounter (if the conscsious mind and the neo-cortex is activated) its probably too late.