One of the common themes among all grappling arts is a focus on stability as a fundamental principle.
Whether called base, root, center, balance, or even frame or posture by some people, stability is an integral component of any grappling-based martial art. Whatever name we use for the concept, what we are talking about is the attribute of being unmovable in a direction that is detrimental to our physical well-being, of manifesting the physical quality wherein, whether pulled or pushed, our body remains stable and unaffected.
Leaving our opponent out of the conversation for a moment, stability alone is not really the target. To simply be stable is not the essence or the aim of the grappling body. Dynamic stability is.
True stability in grappling describes a state that is fluid, mobile, and adaptive. It is the ability to remain unwavering in an unwanted direction while also being unstoppable in the direction we desire. It is to have unshakable integrity combined with physical freedom and pliability such that we never find ourselves in a state of resistance, but, instead, exist in a constant state of desirable and advantageous options.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as a founding member of the Severna Park and Baltimore Holistic Chamber of Commerce.
Street art photo taken by Robert Van Valkenburgh, artist unknown unless otherwise noted.
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