Make Contact Without Colliding— Thinking About the Centerline —
In martial arts, developing strength is important.
However, possessing strength and always directing that strength straight against the opponent’s force are not the same thing.
The stronger the opponent is, the more likely it is that meeting their force head-on with equal force will simply turn the encounter into a contest of strength against strength.
Of course, there is great value in developing a body and mind that do not collapse under the opponent’s force.
However, when we consider the principles of martial arts more deeply, another important question arises.
That question is:
How can we capture the opponent’s center without unnecessarily colliding with the opponent’s force?
I describe this relationship with the phrase:
“Make contact without colliding.”
“Not Colliding” Does Not Mean Moving Away
When people hear the phrase “not colliding,” they may imagine avoiding an attack or moving away from the opponent.
That is not what I mean here.
It does not mean escaping from the opponent.
Nor does it mean moving one’s own body sideways and breaking the relationship with the opponent’s center.
Rather, one continues to face the opponent while maintaining one’s own centerline and continuing to capture the opponent’s center.
When force comes from the opponent’s center toward one’s own center, it may sometimes be necessary to make direct contact with that force.
However, one does not remain on the same line and continue pushing against it with opposing force.
Through defensive technique and body movement, one changes the direction and condition of the opponent’s force.
As a result, the opponent’s line of force begins to move slightly away from one’s own center.
At the same time, changes occur in the opponent’s posture and center of gravity.
As these changes develop, the opponent’s center itself also begins to shift away from its direct relationship with one’s own center.
The important point is:
One does not move away from the opponent’s line of force.
One maintains one’s own center while causing the opponent’s line of force to shift and the opponent’s center to lose its stable relationship with one’s own.
While creating this condition, one maintains one’s own centerline and keeps the power of the whole body integrated, allowing that power to act upon the opponent’s center.
In other words:
Maintain one’s own center.
Change the opponent’s line of force.
And continue to capture the opponent’s center.
This is one of the essential ideas behind the principle of “make contact without colliding.”
The Centerline and the Line of Force
To understand this principle, it is necessary to distinguish between the centerline and the line of force.
The centerline is not merely a geometric line dividing the body into left and right halves.
In martial arts, it can be understood as a central reference through which the whole body is integrated, and from which posture and force are organized.
The line of force, on the other hand, is the direction in which force is actually acting at a particular moment.
Therefore:
Capturing the opponent’s center is not the same as continuously receiving the opponent’s force head-on.
One continues to capture the opponent’s center.
At the same time, one does not lose one’s own center.
From that position, one acts upon the opponent’s incoming force and changes its direction, causing the opponent’s line of force to move away from one’s own center.
Furthermore, by affecting the opponent’s posture and center of gravity, one causes the opponent’s center itself to become unstable.
Meanwhile, one maintains one’s own centerline and keeps the power of the whole body integrated.
This creates a relationship fundamentally different from a simple collision of force against force.
Ideally, the opponent is prevented from fully expressing the power of the whole body, while one remains structurally integrated and is able to direct one’s own power toward the opponent’s center.
I believe that this relationship is the starting point for understanding the principle:
“Make contact without colliding.”
“Not colliding” does not mean avoiding contact.
Nor does it mean moving away from the opponent.
Rather, it means making contact with the opponent’s force without allowing that force to act fully upon one’s own center, while changing the opponent’s line of force and the condition of the opponent’s center.
It does not mean refusing to use force.
It does not mean becoming passive.
It means maintaining one’s own power while avoiding an unnecessary collision with the opponent’s power.
What, then, is required in order to do this?
I believe that one must first develop:
“a self that does not collapse even when forcefully met.”
In the next article, I will consider this point further.
This article is part of an ongoing series of reflections being developed for the forthcoming book:
Budo o Manabi, Do Ikiru ka? II — Learning and Applying Martial Principles
(working title)
