Job done!

Victory!! - the offending concrete pillar is no more. And what's more I managed to remove it without sending cracks down into the rest of the house (phew!). So major step 1 in prepping the dojo space is done and just in time as we will move into the house this weekend. Finally we get into our own house and home:).

The open mat space in the dojo is going to be at least 6 x 7 metres which should be plenty of room to practice those 'big' sacrifice throws we all love, not to mention weapons work with the 6ft bo staff. I can't wait to get this built!

Getting back to the saga of the 3 day battle with the concrete pillar for just a moment, I was reminded of another principle of combat when the pillar finally fell. I had attacked the pillar systematically, knowing that just pounding it with the hammer randomly would never get me anywhere (well not for a very very long time anyway). So I worked around the base of it, chipping away its support piece by piece, chopping out the steel bars and then finally it cracked at the base and fell over under its own weight. A perfect example of 'kuzushi' - which in martial arts terms describes the unbalancing of an opponent through the process of putting them in a position where their stability and ability to recover balance is destroyed.  The noun comes from the verb kuzusu meaning to level, pull down or demolish.

Without well executed kuzushi, attempting to throw an opponent ,especially one who is bigger than you or resisting the throw, becomes extremely difficult and usually requires sheer brute strength to pull off. Kuzushi can be achieved a number of different ways (positioning, using the opponents momentum against them, by striking or even feinting or distracting the opponent) and I find an active awareness of 'kuzushi' is equally essential in both karate and jujitsu training. Good 'kuzushi' enables even an opponent who seems to made of concrete to be beaten with ease!