| By
Yosef Susskind
In
“Effortless Power” parts 1-3, we set our covetous gaze on the unique ability of
masters and champions to exercise effortless power with insurmountable
creativity. We asserted that Guided Chaos delineates governing principles
of body mechanics, which manifest in athletic and martial excellence.
These principles are: Balance, Looseness, Sensitivity, Body Unity, and Freedom
of Action.
Balance
Without
balance, there can be no power. Imagine two climbers of similar body mass
suspended in harnesses, hanging freely from a rocky ledge. The one on the
right says, “bro, that harness is totally giving you a muffin-top,” and a fight
ensues. No matter how much they paw at each other, they will inflict
limited damage. Without a surface to brace against, they can only deliver
limited force. As soon as one of their strikes delivers sufficient force
to overcome both bodies’ inertia, the strike will push them apart—swinging in
mid-air—and cease to do damage.
Isaac
Newton’s 3rd law of motion states that every action has an equal and opposite
reaction. When one climber’s fist exerts force on the other’s body, the
body pushes back. Both climbers are pushed, and swing apart in opposite
directions. The force of the strike does not penetrate, but dissipates as
it moves the climbers.
Try
striking a heavy-bag while standing on a balance board. You may stand on
one leg or two. If your balance is centered, you can hit every bit as
hard as you would on steady ground. If your balance falters, the force of
your strike will send you backwards, and likely take you off of your
feet. You push the bag—the bag pushes back. As soon as your strike
generates enough force to push you off balance, you can no longer exert force
on the bag. The bag wins.
Whether
you are standing on a balance board or on the ground, to exert force and
penetrate an enemy you must be able to exert at least the same amount of force
with your feet as they brace against the ground. The moment you project
more force onto the target than your feet can match against the ground, the
force of the strike ceases to penetrate the enemy and instead pushes you
backwards, and possibly off your feet. Your strikes are only as strong as
your balance.
Cultivating
combat balance means learning to control your equilibrium under combat
conditions. There is no limit to the number of ever-changing factors we
may have to adapt to in the melee. We may have to yield and strike and
step all at once, attacking in multiple directions while evading in
others. These feats can only be executed with equilibrium control.
Imagine
being surrounded by enemies (as LtCol Al would say, “Don’t let that shit happen
in the first place”). All of those surrounding enemies, each of their
weapons, and every striking surface of their limbs, are a constellation of
danger. Your body must conform to their orbit, and move through the
spaces in between the danger. You must adapt to their positions and
harmonize with their movement: Penetrate the stars’ orbit and start
smoking planets.
To
achieve this, how creative would you want your body’s movement to be?
Wouldn’t you want to have the full range of possible human motion at your
disposal? Mastery of balance, or “equilibrium control,” is a prerequisite
for this paradigm of dynamic movement. Balance not only allows you to
move gracefully even at the limits of your body’s full range of motion, it
allows you to move there powerfully, so that there is no position from which
you cannot assault or ambush your enemies. No matter how uncanny your
body position, if you are in control of your equilibrium your leg can flex
against the ground, creating the footing from which your body can deliver its
full power onto the enemy.
In
the coming newsletter, we will continue to examine the role of balance in
effortless power.
Copyright
12/23/17 | 
