Principle #11: The Kazushi Principle (off-balancing your opponent)

 

Recommendation:  Watch "Principle #11: The Kazushi Principle" on GracieUniversity.com 

(Disclaimer: I am not being paid/sponsored in any way to promote "Gracie University". I have found their "The 32 Principles" videos incredibly helpful and I hope you do too. It's not necessary to watch these videos to benefit from this blog.)

I was recently frustrated and didn't know what to do...

At the end of class, we transition to a time of 'open mat' -- when you can roll with someone and focus on things or just roll and see how it goes. It's a great time to get extra practice and experience, and I really enjoy it.

But I was frustrated, because it starts with each person on their knees, facing each other. You grab your opponent, and one of you eventually goes down first, and the other tries to take mount, and the roll begins.

But as a big-time newbie to Jiu Jitsu, no one prepared me for this intro time of the initial sparring from the knees approach. I honestly didn't know what to do nor did I have any type of plan.

When I got home, I did a quick look up on YouTube of how to start from the knees in BJJ. And my search instantly gave me tons of videos to watch, each with some really good tips and strategies. I eagerly watched several, got a couple of good strategies in my mind, and felt ready for the next open mat session to put it into practice.

The method I chose is a simple one:  Judo grips, and then tilt your opponent one way to get some resistance from them, and then quickly "turn the steering wheel" the other way and toss them over. And guess what? It worked!

I've been sticking to that technique over and over, having continued success. I felt energized and excited. Just a few weeks ago I had been left feeling frustrated and confused.

Recently I was paired with someone who was almost brand new to BJJ, and when we looked at each other on our knees to start, I asked, "Wait -- before we begin, do you have a strategy?" They replied, "No" and I said, "Let me teach you something I recently learned..." They got to practice the method on me, and I felt good passing on something that I had just learned to someone else that will make their BJJ a little better.

The Kuzushi Principle is really very simple: it's breaking your opponent's balance for a specific objective. We see this in Judo a lot, and it applies to BJJ too.

At the core of it is the idea that you are doing an action to create a reaction, and then you are using that reaction in your favor to do something else.

It's taking advantage of your opponent's center of gravity and base points (the parts holding them up). By doing something to off-balance them, you are creating an opportunity in which you can then move them in a certain direction to get a desired result.

As I grow in my practice of BJJ, I'm learning more and more about this concept. Instead of just grappling and trying to do something (or do anything for that matter), it's BETTER to have a strategy in mind: "If I do A, will my opponent respond with B, so I can then do C..."

I like this principle because it makes BJJ more of a chess match and less of a brawl, but that's also what I don't like about it (my instincts just want to brawl, especially since I don't KNOW much yet and what can or should be done).

How does this apply to our spiritual lives?

Personally, I believe that when bad things happen (and they will), we need to look for the blessings that are hidden in the situation. For every event in our lives that causes suffering, we can run in prayer to Jesus, asking for his help and wisdom. And that's the best place to be.

A good friend of mine once said to me when I was going through some really hard times, "Hey Brian, look at it this way: you are more dependent on the Lord right now, and THAT'S a blessing!"

At first, I wanted to dismiss what he said as just another meaningless cliche. But it's really true: When we are more dependent upon the Lord, how is that NOT a blessing?

Maybe that's why Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord, always, and again, I say Rejoice!" We also see this in the prophet Habakkuk who wrote, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3:18).

I don't know what you're going through -- maybe it's more than you feel you can handle. Personally, I'm going through a lot too right now (more than what I want to share publicly here). 

Just know this: we can off-balance doubt and fear by accepting what's happened, and choosing to trust and rejoice in the Lord that He will get us through, and that yes, we are closer to Him. And that's a blessing that no opponent can take away from us!

Keep Rolling,

Brian