I love de ashi bari, foot sweep. Only get it right about one in one hundred attempts, but when it works, it is so elegant to see the opponent falling helplessly to the ground. It is one of those wonderful movements in shotokan that requires a tiny amount of physical effort which then generates an enormous result. The challenge is to get the timing right. This is finesse, not brute force. Sweep the leg too early or too late, you're vulnerable to counter-attack. Sweep it just at the right time before he sets weight on front leg, down he goes. Like in this example.
Training ashi bari this weekend in the dojo got me thinking about the nature of temptation. The expression "the devil made me do it" is not quite right theologically speaking. It implies the temptee is powerless against the temptor. In ashi bari, the sweeper doesn't change the sweepee's direction of travel, only taps one of his legs to break balance. In temptation, the sinner is headed in the wrong direction by his own free will and the devil just taps the leg a bit to break balance. Down goes the sinner.
Moral? Practice ashi bari frequently. Think about countering the devil's ashi bari with counter-measures.
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