Past The Mechanics: A Discussion with Hal Lehrman Shihan on Kuzushi

by Jesse Kaufman, Open Sky Aikikai

Hillsborough, NC www.aikisky.com

I had an interesting discussion with Hal Lehrman. I wanted to ask him to help me clarify what he does in his Aikido that is so unique. I've been having trouble describing it to others. Recently I learned about the concept of kuzushi and wondered if he agreed that execution of kazushi was what I noticing in his Aikido.

Kuzushi means "breaking down." It is that moment in Aikido technique that breaks the balance. My hombu correspondent, John Presley, says that kuzushi can mean "taking something apart to the point that it can no longer stand on its own." John says, without kuzushi, the technique just wonÕt happen.

When I asked Hal if his kazushi was what I was seeing when he teaches, the conversation took an unexpectedly philosophical turn. Hal said, "as a martial artist you have to have kuzushi, the breaking of the balance."

Hal talked about how unique Aikido people are because they are characteristically "kind, gentle, and robust." Hal said Sugano Sensei has said that the product of Aikido is the change it makes in the Aikido practitioner. That is the goal of the practice.

Aikido practice changes a person's relationship and interaction to the world and to the reserves of energy and understanding they discover in themselves. This is what O'Sensei was after, and why Aikido is a do or way, an empathic and proactive worldview. However, he went on to say, there can be no real Aikido without the technical presence of accurate kuzushi.

Practicing with Hal Lehrman helps an aikidoist unfold both the technical moment of unbalance, the kuzushi, while gaining Hal's articulate insights on the humane worldview, the way of Aikido.