Kozushi 101

Like so many things in our lives we have all the greatest intentions of doing amazing things when we begin, and so quickly and easily get side tracked as the day, the week, the month drag on and new shiny things catch our eyes. Its my hope that this blog will be one of the many projects that get started and then sit dust covered and incomplete in the middle of my dojo.

Initially this blog was to be called Mushin (no mindedness) as it reflected the empying of one's mind with purpose to acheive something better... but like so many projects as well... there are many trips back to the drawing board. The renaming of Kozushi (unbalance) was pivotal as this has been a source of strength and weakness in my life like so many people and each feeds the other. Above the physical seeking of balance, there is the balance of career, family, God, and activities... among a invariably longer or shorter lists for each person. I could bore any given person with the minutia of what that entails, but since we're talkng about balance no one should be spending that much time reading this blog when there are so many more things to do instead.

When its boiled down to its barest point, balance is reliant on the existence, position, and focus on a center point. When we speak of physical balance we often refer to our "center of gravity" COG this is an imaginary axis which runs through our middle between our various points of balance control (Head, Shoulders, Hips & Knees) and based on their relative position will determine where our COG is and what we can do with it. If my weight his shifted forward moving my COG toward my lead leg this restricts my ability to kick from that leg or to retreat, but benefits my use of hands. Conversely if I shift to the reverse (rear) side I gain my defensive front leg and my ability to side step and retreat but lose the power of my punch and kick.

The balance of our lives is like this as well, difficult enough with two legs, can you imagine having 4 or even 7 legs to coordinate. However, the most inportant aspect here is where or more to the point what is our center? Your career? Money? Your family? God? However, some COGs in our spiritual and mental lives are not nearly strong enough to be that center. How long will your career last? 30year? 40 ? How about your health? How long will your children be dependent on you to be the center of their lives.

I've been asked so many times how do I maintain that balance... and time and time again, I'm floored by the fact that people can't see me trying to juggle balls and ride a unicycle... The only time I feel balanced is when I place my COG the right place and rely on it so help keep me solid.