Pre-Kuzushi

When four-time Olympian Jason Morris was visiting his friend two-time Olympian Rene Capo at my dojo, Rene and I were watching him randori. Rene said to me, “Here comes his tomoe nage.” Yep. A few steps later, up and over went uke. I inquired, and Rene said, “He always makes those first steps like that.” 

Jason’s big throws, a tai-otoshi and a move he calls his “Sticker” ( an ankle wrapping, foot lifting ko soto gake kind of thing) are moves he does that are his methods, unique to him. They aren’t easy to instantly copy. Jason showed these on a previous visit a couple of years before, and on this one, was kind enough to again give us a mini-clinic on them. The first time, folks really sweated to get the moves right, and a few weeks later, most abandoned them. So, this time, I asked Jason if he would not only show what he did, but also the “when”. He liked that idea. I think some folks actually got some of that input. 

Earlier, in my competition days, my money throw was seoi-otoshi. I did it with a step across the front that was followed by the other leg then corkscrewing across into tai form, while the arms did a morote seoi nage top. The leg part started similar to o-guruma. When I visited other dojos, I’d get asked sometimes to teach that. By the end of an hour, most students were getting it. I never saw it performed in randori or shiai. Many years later, when asked by one of my students how I used to do the throw, I showed him how I did it. As I watched him try it unsuccessfully in randori over a couple of sessions, I realized the problem. I’d never shown him, or the students of years before, when I did it, how I set it up. Worse, I didn’t know myself!

But when I’d done it to win matches, I didn’t have a conscious idea, and I couldn’t have told you my pre-kuzushi set-up. I was an unconscious competent of the non-useful variety.  I was not a conscious competent. Nor, did I know enough about such things to be able to become aware of this situation, so I couldn’t take my unconscious skill, dissect it and use that information to improve my other throws. That was then, and now I can hope to pass this on to you, for all your tachi waza.

·         Experiment with walking styles

·         Uchi komi for a purpose you know

·         Randori with intent

             Walking Styles

The answer isn’t anything like, “I do it when uke steps forward with the right foot.” That’s because the question is, “How, and with what rhythm did you get to that point, just before uke stepped?” Let’s look at some examples we might be familiar with, or can imagine, almost feel.

You make a circular tai sabaki step with one foot, as if to walk around uke, uke responds by stepping in a sideways scissors step, and you do okuri ashi barai. Or, you walk backwards with two tsugiashi steps, uke follows with somewhat similar steps, and on the second step, you perform tai otoshi. Or,uke steps back with the sleeve side foot and you don’t follow, but do a non-compliant step and rather than follow, you step forward but more to the side than the line on which your regular step would have gone; uke next steps awkwardly to a right sided recovery and you do a quick step around for harai goshi as uke’s right foot comes down. 

 Now, how about your throws? Let’s use a throw with which you have a modicum of success, and let’s make it one you feel suits you, and you want to make it more effective. You first have to know where you want uke to take the critical last step. Now, experiment with how to get uke there in a flowing manner. You have arrived at the throw’s sweet spot. If you get it right off the bat, good for you; but expect to struggle with this for some time. 

Uchikomi

When I first accidentally found the walking pattern that pulled the trigger on my seoi otoshi, I didn’t have to worry about the kuzushi and tsukuri. I’d done hundreds and hundreds of step-ins all summer long. The throw now had the speed and the form. Once the set-up dance had done its treachery, the seoi showed up. I believe that is a major reason uchikomi is valuable. It makes it possible for your reflexes to fire off the throw into a functional form when the right opportunity says hello. 

No matter what the uchikomi situation is in your dojo, there often is time to show up early and get an uke and do a hundred uchikomi.   Uchikomi can be done with a judo partner anywhere, since there is no throwing. 

There are uchikomi apparatus you can purchase for doing solo uchikomi. Super legend Isao Okano used to use a tree for an uke, and it is said he wore the bark off one side. 

Randori

This is perfect to work on in randori. That’s one of the things randori is for, the learning of the dance that goes with your attack. Don’t get mechanical. It will help make your judo work. You don’t have to throw at each possible chance. You want to go for a feeling, not an ippon. Don’t waste randori by making it a contest. It is practice time, and you will be rewarded if you use it conscientiously. Kano Shihan referred to randori as “randori practice”. It was a learning time. There are plenty of times when you randori with judoka of lesser skill. This is a very good opportunity to practice pre-kuzushi. 

         Use the Internet. Watch the judoka who are good at the throw you are working on and see if you can find each one’s pre-kuzushi. Then, see if it works for you. Don’t try to copy their exact throw, but learn how their set-ups and walking styles might help you.  Note that these are not necessarily what they show when they demonstrate how they do their favorite wazas. Yasahiro Yamashita is a great example of this. Watch him do a clinic on o-soto-gari, and then watch him use it in shiai. 

Search for the “when” in your throws, not the “what”. This will help make your judo work. 

 

 

Kaeshi Waza - Make Your Counters Count

If you do good kaeshi waza, counter techniques, your judo will improve.  If you study counter techniques, your judo will improve exponentially.  Consider these thoughts.:

• A perfect waza can’t be countered.

• The similarity between a good throw and a good counter is the seizing of opportunity.

• Excellently applied counters should not rely on strength.

• Counters teach us to do better wazas. 

• There is a concern regarding teaching counters to novice students.

• Countering must be practiced.

• Study Mifune’s Nage Ura no Kata.

If a technique were perfect, that would mean that it could not be countered, or it wouldn’t be perfect. However, very rarely is any technique perfectly done, and even the best techniques can be made to be imperfect; and that is what you must do to make a good counter. This is true of both standing techniques and holding techniques, from hold downs, to arm locks to chokes. The world of counter techniques for this is very large and might be a different blog. For now, tachi waza will be the focus. 

You can use a couple of methods for making a throw vulnerable to your kaeshi waza:. 

1. Control the force, thereby stopping the kuzushi to tsukuri action. For example, a direct front throw such as o-goshi or ippon seoinage can be hip checked. Then the throw might be countered to the rear with tani otoshi. 

2. Join the force. Momentum can be redirected. A scooping lift on an incoming hip technique can give you ushiro goshi. Okuri ashi barai can be countered by tsubame gaeshi. 

3. Uke’s force can be totally avoided. Don’t be there when they show up, and uchi mata becomes uchi mata sukashi. Or, an attacking hip can be slipped and your hip slipped in; thereby, o-goshi countered by uki goshi. 

If you look deeply into kaeshi waza, you will see how important it is to thwart your opponent’s kuzushi. Sufficient kuzushi will almost always result in a successful throw. Even ugly throws work if it is in place. Once kuzushi begins to blend into tsukuri, the placing of the fulcrum point, the oncoming completion of the throw is almost inevitable. I’m never tired of saying that kuzushi is judo, and judo is kuzushi. Yet, speed and strength very, very often are what make throws work. I also never tire of saying that these aren’t judo throws, just because they happen in a judo venue. These, then, are what you should hope to conquer with counters. 

Rule # 1 - Take Control of Uke’s Kuzushi.

Take away the off-balancing, or exploit the lack of it. In order to make a successful counter, you first have to take control. 

Simple and moderate readjustments of your body weight and its position to the attack can throw off kuzushi. If you can anticipate it, you can use debana, i.e. move to a different place just before the kuzushi is attempted, strike first based on anticipation. (This is a frequently sought after kendo technique.) It doesn’t have to be a huge movement, and probably shouldn’t be. 

Defend by creating a physical force against uke’s arm(s) or body. For instance, uke is attacking with uchi mata, and you force their collar hand’s (tsurite) arm to a non-functional place. Or, a hip technique is being started and you push that hip further through, creating a counter leverage against the initial kuzushi. 

The good news inside all of this perhaps seemingly technical advice is that you can find a myriad of counter techniques already suggested for every throw. The bad news happens if you just do them and don’t understand them., Understanding them helps you to see the things you must do to perfect your own throws, and make them less vulnerable and more likely to succeed. 

Rule # 1 - Take control of uke’s kuzushi. The good news here is that many opponents attack without creating good kuzushi, or often without any. The bad news is that they all too often succeed anyway. 

Change Your Reflex

When beginners, it’s expected that an attack is met with an alarmed resistance. That method of defense becomes stiff arms, rigidity, and some sort of defensive posture. Those are the very things combination techniques are made for. Also, most advanced players just blast through that defense and throw the beginner anyway. 

At the original North Star Judo, we had a thing called “Fred the Post”. A large, building support that was just at the edge of our mat area; so, we padded it and named it. Later, we hooked up a harness. Once you were in it, you became the perfect uchi komi partner. Tori could blast in with maximum pull and intention, and you could just stand there and smile, maybe even taunt uke, just for fun. “Is that all you’ve got?” “C’mon, try harder!”. One bonus thing that ukes got was an awareness that fast could be slow. You could feel the smallest part of the start of a throw. The first step in, that was once a speedy blur, now became in slo-mo. You could feel if there was kuzushi. Or not. 

Sadly, too often, the instant fear reaction becomes a situation where the judoka is just happy to have avoided being thrown. Let’s say that two judoka are walking about in randori and one blasts in on a throw, the other resists and the throw fails. The survivor is happy the throw failed and they continue. Frequently, that survival is a period of time when there is a struggle between the players at the moment when tori is grunting at a struggle and uke is desperately resisting; in other words, a really ugly moment. In effect, uke allows tori to fail without paying for it. This throw effort could likely have been countered at the first initiative. Or, it could have provided opportunity for attack while tori #1 was recovering from the awkward failure. Take a break and watch randori sessions and you’ll see a frightful abundance of this. Look for the opportunities and say, “If I were in there, I could have…” 

Counters are Proactive

You don’t have a Fred the Post and a harness. You do have randori. If you allow yourself to be thrown, you can study the throw, beginning to end. Take some falls to learn what the throw (and the thrower) is doing. Eliminate the beginner’s fear reflex. 

“The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”

Sun Tzu - The Art of War

Sun Tsu quotes are great, but you are advised to pick out the operable words therein. I believe in this case, we are concerned with “Opportunity”.  You must learn what the opportunities are like, and the best way is to let them take place. Get thrown. Forget resistance and focus on what’s happening. See where the potential weaknesses are and where and how kaeshi waza can be made. 

The need to be proactive is an important one. Early on, and in some cases forever, some judoka become counter bushwackers. They wait in the bushes and, rather than making their own throwing efforts, try to ambush their partners. If that’s done in a purely defensive way, it isn’t doing your judo any good. However, if you want to play some judo chess, then by all means do so. Create false opportunities for your adversary, set traps, then spring them. This is especially cool to do if you know what your opponent likes to do. Create an opportunity just for that situation. This is called having a strategy. All judo is reactive, and the better your good reflexes, the better your judo. Useful reflexes come best from training, from practice; otherwise, they aren’t functional, as in the case of reacting to a throwing attack with stiff arms. 

Use Seiryoku Zenyo 

There are only so many types of common judo throws. Most judo throws are like other judo throws. One counter might, therefore, suit several. There’s a maximum efficiency feeling to this idea. The attaining of maximum efficiency via the best use of ones efforts is one of the founding principles of judo. Shihan  professor Jigoro Kano saw it as a judo exercise and a way of enhancing ones life personally and socially. Studying it as it applies to kaeshi waza is a good idea. Rather than only saying, “How can I counter this throw?” also ask “And to what throws can I apply this counter?”. 

For more info on seiryoku zenyo, read what Kano had to say: http://kodokanjudoinstitute.org/en/doctrine/word/seiryoku-zenyo/

If you add these extras to your counter techniques, your kaeshi waza, they will likely help make your judo work. 

          

P.S. I've taken liberties with italics. Never mind.

P.s.s If you are enjoying these blogs, please help your judo friends to get on my safe mailing list.

 

KUZUSHI  

Judo is kuzushi. Kuzushi is judo. 

No kuzushi, no judo. 

This puts me in mind of the stories we’ve heard about the computer repair person getting called out to a home because the buyer of a new computer can’t get it to work. The repair person sees the problem immediately, plugs it in and it works.  

In 1962, at the first National Collegiate Championships, now legend Kazuo Shinohara faced off against the top three medalists in each of the six weight categories for a demonstration. I was among that fortunate group. 

My go-to, money throw was a seoi otoshi of the morote top/tai bottom variety that I entered into with a left foot step across, then reversed to a guruma-like corkscrewing right leg into the lower body tai classic position. Dynamo that it was, its inner secret was the pre-kuzushi step that set it up. After several steps, I gave it a try against Shinohara. I knew my speed was good, my movement certain, and my final position was going to be perfect. As I came twisting in, I wordlessly thought, “I’ve got it! I’m going to throw the great Shinohara!”

If you take a baseball bat and hit a telephone pole as hard as you can, the result will be a punishing vibration back to you that will sting your hands, charge up your arm and rock your brain. That is what it felt like when I made slammed into Shinohara. Here’s the good part; as I jolted off him, he said, “Nice try”. It wasn’t sarcastic, and I’ve treasured that ever since. 

Moments later, he foot swept me so fast I didn’t have time to slap for ukemi!  He went through the remaining players just as easily, frequently using his famous tsurikomi goshi. He vanquished eighteen national level players in about as many minutes. 

Why didn’t my throw work? Shinohara sensed the set-up for the kuzushi, destroying it even before I started in. Otherwise… Ah, but that’s just in my judo fantasies. 

Here is what I now think kuzushi is, and what you might be able to do to improve yours. 

1. The initiation of kuzushi lasts less than a second. 

2. That millisecond action is downward. (Unless uke has provided the kuzushi by taking a sliding step, a step that is accelerated beyond its normal placement, or other directional opportunities, by and large, this is the case.)

3. Kuzushi must blend with tsukuri (think Shinohara).

4. The direction of the primary and split second kuzushi must be downward to an angle corresponding to the correct direction of the throw.

5. All the major impetus of the throw must go into that “kuzushi zone”. 

6. Even good kuzushi often fails because tori lets or sometimes knocks uke back to the original position, destroying it. 

7. It is really important to know to which direction the throw is supposed to go. 

Below are front and side kuzushi. It’s hard to see, but my left hand, ball of the thumb, is pressing downward and in the desired direction. In the third picture, my left hand seems to be doing kuzushi, but its kuzushi work is now blended into the tsukuri. The millisecond of primary off-balancing happened way back in time. 

   

It is important to give kuzushi its own major moment. It isn’t a jerking of uke into a direction. It is a small beginning movement that puts uke in a position where uke almost has to take a step in the applied direction, or fall like a tree. 

Imagine you are walking a dog, on a leash, even a fairly small one, and the dog suddenly wants to run off path and sniff a tree. Your walking, your balance, will be upset in that direction. It isn’t because the dog is strong, not because the dog was quick, nor because you were daydreaming. It is because of the angle of the leash. 

You won’t need a doggy to test this. Stand up and grab your own shirt mid-sternum and gently pull straight forward. Nothing will happen. Now, pull downward to a spot about three to four feet in front of yourself. You will feel yourself begin to tip forward. As you do, give gentle, continued pull upward. You will have to either take a giant step forward or stop pulling. 

Here is the almost mystical Kyuzo Mifune’s idea of the blend of kuzushi to tsukuri doing ashi guruma. Does it look exaggerated? It isn’t. This is actual application. Notice that his left hand is not pulling extremely upward. 

What you must care about is that you give kuzushi its due importance. No kuzushi, no judo. I don’t care if you can perform fifty different throws. If you don’t apply distinct and functional kuzushi to them in practice and performance; although you can perform them, they aren’t really judo throws. 

If you can slide a dollar bill under the part of uke’s foot or feet, where the kuzushi has liberated it from the tatami, you have kuzushi, and the start of a true judo throw. 

The main message is that perhaps too many throws are tried, some successfully, without kuzushi. They most often work if done against beginners, or by somebody who is physically strong relative to weights involved. 

• Think, first and foremost, about out how you apply kuzushi to every throw you do. 

• Be very mindful of it in uchikomi.

• Use randori to learn pre-kuzushi set-ups. (This is sometimes just about a “feeling” you will pick up on.)

• The better the kuzushi, the less force needed in the path through tsukuri and kake. That’s maximum efficiency via optimum use of your energy. 

The next trick is to figure out when to apply the kuzushi and how to set that up. That is for another blog. Meanwhile, enjoy applying these applications to your kuzushi and making your judo work. 

---- These throws are from my book, Judo Basics. 

 

Some Inner Secrets of Combination Techniques (Renraku Waza)

 

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu says, “All warfare is based on deception.”

A combination technique is the result of responding to a response.

A combination works when two things happen.

A.      The uke responds in accord with the perceived intention of tori’s first move.

B.       Tori’s second move works in accord with the next throw’s kuzushi application / timing.

                Each in its turn:

        A.      I’ve seen many judoka in practice and randori make the first move so unconvincingly that there would really never be a response to it. That first move should put fear into uke, such that uke feels it is essential to resist by either getting away or forcing against. The first move should be done with evil intentions. Most often, uke’s response to tori’s attack can be a reflex; something that uke doesn’t plan to do. Or, uke might have a planned response to something uke knows tori does, maybe a counter, and tori responds to that. For now, let’s just deal with the first example.

 B.      When uke responds to your attack, you have to use application / timing. That sounds fancy, but it isn’t. Uke is going to respond in such a way that you are going to do your combination’s second attack in the direction uke is moving to thwart the force you initially applied.

        However, here is the critical part.  You must wait until that moment happens. It is the waiting that is critical. If tori doesn’t let uke respond, then there is no opportunity presented by uke. In learning and practicing a renraku waza, we often do the follow-up technique before uke creates the chance. That’s possibly because we know what’s next, so we just rush into it. We try to get to part two before part one is complete, and it isn’t complete until uke responds.

        Consider competition legend* Isao Okano's seoi-nage to his ko-uchi gari. Okano does a monster seoi-nage attack. Uke has to recover. So, uke attempts to regain balance by leaning back and using a defensive posture.  It is in this millisecond moment that Okano lunges for his ko-uchi. If you’d like to see it in devastating action, go here:

https://youtu.be/HyAuyU-fLJU

              Perhaps you’ll do well to think of a combination not as One - Two, but rather as One…and Two, needing a millisecond beat between the attack and the follow-up. During that millisecond, uke is responding defensively. Look at it this way; you are attacking a defensive response that is made against your primary intention. That could be a defensive posture, the moving of a body part, a hip check, or even a try at a counter.

The good news is that if your primary attack is strong enough, uke will automatically give you the response, and it will happen in an instant.

It is also often necessary for tori to change attack position and angle to comply with the newly presented kuzushi opportunity. Looking at a common primary attack, ko-uchi-gari, with uke stepping back to avoid the throw, we see the angle of vulnerability change. First, it was to uke’s rear corner. Once uke steps back, the angle of kuzushi changes to either uke’s direct front or rear. Now, to what throws is uke vulnerable? Hane goshi is one. What does tori have to adjust to make them work? This same scenario and the questions of adjustment are true in all renraku situations, not just ko-uchi.

Another example: The combinations of harai goshi to o-soto-gari and its counterpart, o-soto-gari to harai are examples of when a major adjustment takes place on tori’s part. In both cases, tori needs to adjust to uke’s resistance to the primary attack by making a major change of support foot position. In each of the throws, tori’s support foot’s toes have to point in the direction of the throws. Not only do the toes change direction, the foot position on the mat moves. This goes in harmony with a major turning of the torso.

Almost any throw can be looked at with renraku waza in mind, be it before as a set-up or after in response to a defense. There are possibly considerations to make with your favorite throw(s).

Here might be a fun endeavor. Fill in the blanks. No fair using the ones already in the blog. If you can, think of two.

THROW	RENRAKU #1	RENRAKU #2
Harai Goshi	O-Soto Gari	(Hint: Mine is in Nage no Kata)

All too easily, we can come up with combinations that really don’t have both throws in them that we perform well. Going back to Okano, he was lethal with both seoinage and ko uchi gari as singular attacks. Having a combination technique that works with your favorite throw is great. You will succeed if you have that one, as either a set-up or a follow-up, be a strong throw in itself.

Ideas for Success

·         Initially, make this a cooperative endeavor with your sensei. That might mean the choosing of the techniques through polishing them, to sensei keeping an eye on you in randori. You don’t want to be working on your renraku waza, have your sensei ask you what you’re doing, and you say. ”Just something I read about in a blog.”

·         Do 10 minimum nage komi with it at every practice. Sometimes, you can find the time to do that right before or just after regular class. One of the best ways to practice a throw is to actually do it in a drill fashion. Obviously. Finding the opportunity is challenging; but do just ten each time and after a year you’ll be getting good at it. You will likely be able to fit ten in somewhere.

·         Try it in every randori session, and with any level of partner, and with every partner. Don’t do it and then get into working on it and interrupting randori. Just do it. Consider doing a couple of tries with each partner.

·         The best way to “fail” at this is to have too good a first effort and actually throw with it.

·         Don’t wait for the perfect chance to do it. Just do it.

                Having a good renraku waza adds another dimension to making your judo work.

*   Just so you appreciate the source,  Okano entered the 1964 Summer Olympics while studying at Chuo University 's law school, and won the gold medal in the middleweight division. He won another gold medal at the World Judo Championships in 1965, becoming the champion of his division at only 21 years of age. He also won the open-weight class division of the All-Japan Judo Championships in 1967 and 1969, and placed second in 1968. He competed at only 80 kg (176 lb.).