The Eight Planes of Kuzushi:
Eight Planes of Kuzushi:
There are eight directions that one of the core blocks can be pushed or pulled to break the opponent’s posture. There are eight directions the hands can push pull and tug on an opponent. There are eight directions you can throw an opponent using footwork and hand techniques.
No discussion would be complete without an understanding of the eight-planes of directions the balance can be broken. Once the opponent is on one leg or pin he/she can be thrown in any direction. The single point of contact with the ground creates a natural pivot point. A combination of hands and footwork working together is necessary to set-up the direction the throw will take. The opponent’s stance will often dictate the direction.
Hands:
Hands are used to move the shoulders and head out of alignment. To move your opposition out of alignment it may take a combination of hand techniques. The shoulders can be twisted in a circle by pushing on one shoulder and pulling on the wrist by the other. Shoulders can be rocked side-to-side by lifting on the lapel or under-hooking the armpit with one hand and pulling on the elbow, sleeve, or wrist with the other. The hands can be used to push or pull the shoulders on the forward plane or backwards plane. To throw the opponent on an angle it takes a combination of twisting the shoulders and pushing or pulling the adversary in the direction of the throw. Grasping the lapels and pushing upwards using the elbows as a lever places the opposition on his/her toes. Once an opponent is on his/her toes they essentially are on one pin. Using a combination of hands and pulling or pushing can direct the plane or direction of the throw.
Hips:
Hips are used as a fulcrum against the core legs and feet. Legs are used as a weapon to attack the opponent’s legs to facilitate the throw.
Head:
Wherever your head is located that is where your weight will be. This is true of breaking an opponent’s balance, and it is also important when throwing your opponent. In the process of throwing an opponent keep your head centered and remember where you’re looking is the direction uke will be thrown. Students tend to lean their head over their bent leg while executing tai-otoshi. This unbalances the throw making the leg uke is being thrown over weaker, so keep your head in the center of the throws and look where you intend to throw the adversary.
Note: Simply hooking an opponent’s head and pulling them in any direction automatically unbalances the opponent. The body follows the head.
Shoulders:
The next area that can be used to break an opponent’s balance is the shoulders. By pulling on uke’s sleeve/wrist/elbow while lifting with an under-hook on the adversary’s opposite shoulder places all the opponent’s weight on one side. The stability of the stance is now compromised. This is done by an up and down motion sometimes referred to as “Driving the Bus” or “The Big Circle.” If the opponent is wearing a judogi, grasp the lapel with your right-hand instead of using an under-hook, and use your elbow as a fulcrum to lift the adversary and break their balance by forcing them to place the majority of their weight on one leg. From this position, you can lift the light-side leg making the stance even more unstable, or if you’re more aggressive you can reap the heavy-side leg.
Balance can be broken by manipulating the opponent’s shoulders. This can be done by pulling uke’s sleeve across their body while pushing backwards on uke’s opposite shoulder. The rotation of the shoulders takes uke out of the stronger plane. This turns uke’s shoulders and sets-up a throw.
Trunk or Waist:
The most crucial area of the trunk is the waist. Balance can be broken by moving the hips put of balanced plane. The buttocks can be used to strike an opponent to break his/her balance
Feet:
Is important to determine which direction uke must be pushed or pulled to break their balance. Generally, you can draw an imaginary line between their feet and push or pull on that line at a 90° angle to off balance your opponent. Note that a ready stance is strong side to side, and weak front to back. The back and forward motion is along the weak plane. In a forward fighting stance, the balance is more easily broken side to side while front to back stability increases. To find the weak plane, when an opponent is in a forward stance, we draw a line between the feet and find our ninety-degree attack angle. To be in the proper position, for the throw, we simply adjust our angel until we line up on the weak plane.
In a Horse-Riding stance, the strong plane is side-to-side. The weak plane is front to back. We determined the weak plane the same way we did with the Ready Position stance. Recognition of the weak plane comes naturally with practice.
In a conflagration the opponent rarely will be found with his/her feet parallel. Generally, they will have one foot or the other forwards. This may strengthen their foundation forwards and backwards, but it too comes with a disadvantage. Attacking the lead leg and pulling backwards expands the width of the stance and automatically causes the balance to be broken.