A person's unbalance is the same as a weight

[marvin8]

One of the codes of karate that I am most impressed by is this: "A person's unbalance is the same as a weight."

I understand this to mean that stealing a person's balance is the same as forcing them to carry a heavy weight while still trying to fight you.

It depends on how far you force them to carry the weight. Unbalancing someone is different from forcing a person to carry a heavy weight which requires them to be balanced.

There is another Isshinryu karate code, "The body should be able to change directions at any time." This is similar in concept to the CMA term "double weight." There is a distinction between unbalanced and unable to change (double weighted). A person can be balanced yet unable to change.

Secondarily, this is also part of the reason that stance training is so important; so you don't lose your own balance.

Yes. That is part of the purpose of martial arts training (e.g., kata, forms, etc.), to teach people how to fight/defend with balance, alignment while not overcommitting.

You are right.

- Head on collision is the best situation for striking art.
- Rear end collision is the best situation for throwing art.

Head on collision can be best for both striking and backward throws (e.g., osoto gari/front cut, ouchi gari, kouchi gari, kosoto gake).

Breaking the opponent's balance is one of the prime goals, IMO. But this does nothing if there is no immediate follow up - The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself (another of the isshinryu codes). Loss of balance = opportunity.

It may be for gripping and throwing an opponent to the ground from close/grappling range. From kicking or striking range, the time to enter and attack is when "the body is unable to change directions." A high-level fighter will double weight their opponent before entering from a distance without touch...

Lopez starts with weight loaded on the back foot. Commey tries to punch Lopez's head located on the back foot. However, Lopez moves his head to over the front foot—simultaneously slipping Commey's punch and knocking down Commey who is balanced but unable to change.

https://imgur.com/WwsvBnU

1. waiting for an opportunity: You may be responding to a feint. You may not have enough reaction time to respond. You may get countered.
2. creating an opportunity: It can be a more conservative approach. You can create an opportunity using defense or offense. You may have more control.

One should aim to control the fight from the beginning, whether using defense or offense. One should attack when they have an advantage—when the opponent is double weighted, cannot change. In the street, it's not about scoring points. It's about survival and/or stopping the threat. Martial arts is both an art and science.

Michael Page is a MMA fighter who has a background in Lau Gar kung fu. He talks about creating opportunity and set ups.

Yes, good point. Breaking non-physical equilibrium is at least as important, directly or indirectly. Often easier, too. Many ways to do this.

I want to do this anytime there's opportunity.

Yes. There are various ways and timings, including when an opponent is unbalanced or unable to change directions.

 

[isshinryuronin]

Yield to the push in a controlled manner and you will not be unbalanced.

This may work if the push is not followed up.

If I can get your upper body to move forward enough, you will have to take a step forward to regain your balance... to keep your center mass within your foot print. If I move your upper body forward enough that you need to take that step, and then prevent that step from coming forward.

Yes. The initial loss of balance must be followed up on by an immediate strike, or by continuing to control the motion, staying one step ahead of the opponent trying to regain balance until a finishing technique can be delivered.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Or

- move their center to be outside of their base.
- you take over your opponent's position. You then let your opponent to fall where your position was.

same thing, just more words

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

I focus on balance, posture, coordination. I train on a polished and waxed concrete floor with cotton soled slippers. I recommend anyone to try their workout routine under these conditions. Can you, kick overhead without the down leg moving, move and strike without slipping, go through your workout at full speed and power while keeping your structure? Try even a static rooting/uprooting exercise with a friend like this. This type of training can reveal some hidden flaws in alignment and inform a person about where they are generating their motions from. Handy tips in this regard are that the bottom moves the top, the back moves the front, the inside moves the outside, right moves the left and so on…

 

[Gerry Seymour]

CMA equivalent to taking their center

We used a similar term in NGA - I think it's the same principle.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Has anyone mentioned borrowing balance? Sometimes I'll borrow my opponent's balance.

In short.he ends up fighting against his own balance.

 

[Bujingodai]

Has anyone mentioned borrowing balance? Sometimes I'll borrow my opponent's balance.

In short.he ends up fighting against his own balance.

Absolutely, when pulled etc using that momentum to execute a strike or throw.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Absolutely, when pulled etc using that momentum to execute a strike or throw.

I was thinking more of when your opponent tries to take your balance the you use opponent's balance as your own.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Both.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Being mentally unbalanced can be at least as important in a fight as physically.
I once avoided a fight by taking a pencil out of my pocket, saying something like "you think you're tough???" and then breaking the lead off against my prosthetic eye (they didn't know it was fake).
They were thrown off balance and/or thought I was totally off balance, and I was able to walk away.

 

[HighKick]

One of the codes of karate that I am most impressed by is this: "A person's unbalance is the same as a weight."

I understand this to mean that stealing a person's balance is the same as forcing them to carry a heavy weight while still trying to fight you.

From what I've read, learned, and observed, when a person loses their balance, the very first thing they do is try to regain their balance. Everything else is secondary to that primitive survival urge, including fighting. A person who is slipping on ice will fling valuable items in the air as they flail about, trying to keep from going down. Nothing matters in that moment except not falling down. It's instinctive.

So I always attempt to steal a person's balance. It doesn't have to be a big obvious thing like a leg sweep (although of course that works too). It can be as little as trapping a punch and pulling them slightly off-kilter, or pushing, or hitting them once to unbalance them and the second time to do damage, and etc. Lots of ways, big and small, to steal balance. Even if it's just a tiny disturbance in their equilibrium, even if they don't consciously realize that they've lost their balance, the primitive part of their mind knows and attempts to regain that balance.

Secondarily, this is also part of the reason that stance training is so important; so you don't lose your own balance.

This so very true.

Without going into a very long story, I have a head injury that very much affects my balance.
It has taken me a long time to work around the balance issues. What it has forced me to do when sparring is use the imbalance to gain strength or leverage when possible. It took some time and is definitely a learned trait, not natural at all. Definitely a reaction instead of an action.

It led me to study the philosophy of push/pull quite a bit and I try to apply it accordingly. It ani't pretty, and my wrestling experience helps quite a lot, but it usually works even when outfighting.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Being mentally unbalanced can be at least as important in a fight as physically.
I once avoided a fight by taking a pencil out of my pocket, saying something like "you think you're tough???" and then breaking the lead off against my prosthetic eye (they didn't know it was fake).
They were thrown off balance and/or thought I was totally off balance, and I was able to walk away.

That would be a classic scene in a really bad superhero movie.

 

[Dirty Dog]

That would be a classic scene in a really bad superhero movie.

Makes sense. I'd be a pretty bad superhero.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Being mentally unbalanced can be at least as important in a fight as physically.
I once avoided a fight by taking a pencil out of my pocket, saying something like "you think you're tough???" and then breaking the lead off against my prosthetic eye (they didn't know it was fake).
They were thrown off balance and/or thought I was totally off balance, and I was able to walk away.

Now THAT is a good story.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

this is also part of the reason that stance training is so important; so you don't lose your own balance.

There is another training that can be as important (if not more important) as the stance training. That is, you lose your balance first. You then regain your balance back (dynamic rooting).





I believe that people play skateboard always have good balance.

 

[Fungus]

There is another training that can be as important (if not more important) as the stance training. That is, you lose your balance first. You then regain your balance back (dynamic rooting).

As someone that tends to get tired in the fights, it feels like allowing yourself to temporarily slightly loose or perturb your balance and regaining it as/if needed feels like less energy consuming than putting alot of energy in maintaining perfect balance at all time, even if it may appear sloppy from the outside.

Is there something to that?

Makes me think of "drunken master".

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

As someone that tends to get tired in the fights, it feels like allowing yourself to temporarily slightly loose or perturb your balance and regaining it as/if needed feels like less energy consuming than putting alot of energy in maintaining perfect balance at all time, even if it may appear sloppy from the outside.

Is there something to that?

Makes me think of "drunken master".

Drunken style requires an enormous output of energy, I have only seen it done well by two people. If you lose balance you also lose structure. No root, no structure, no punch. Conditioning and fitness are as important an ingredient as any technique training.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Drunken style requires an enormous output of energy, I have only seen it done well by two people. If you lose balance you also lose structure. No root, no structure, no punch. Conditioning and fitness are as important an ingredient as any technique training.

Have you ever watched Emanuel Augustus fight?

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Have you ever watched Emanuel Augustus fight?

No but I will look it up.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

No but I will look it up.

YouTube should have some good highlights. I'd go for the highlight reels as they will be more entertaining.