Kuzushi comes first

The first real thing that landed for me was kuzushi: 崩し, breaking balance.

I kept trying to finish things. Sweep, pass, submit. They kept failing, and I thought the problem was the finish. It was not. The problem was that I was trying to move someone who was still standing on their own base.

The order is the lesson

You break the balance first. Then the technique is almost a formality. A sweep against someone already off their base is not strength, it is timing. The same move against someone settled is a fight you lose slowly.

Off-balance first. The rest is bookkeeping.

I am writing this down because I will forget it the moment I get excited and reach for a finish again. Which will be next class.