catch somebody off-balance
throw somebody off-balance
throw somebody off balance

David was caught off-balance and fell heavily to the floor, pulling Kit down with him.

The First Speaker had not expected it and was caught off-balance.

Calliope lit up a smile of her own and was pleased to see the other woman caught off-balance.

The other woman was clearly caught off-balance.

Unaccustomed to being caught off-balance, Fenring cleared his throat several times.

Perhaps that was why she'd been so affected and caught off-balance.

The Fremen who clutched the gun fell backward, caught off-balance by the unexpected action.

For the merest fraction of a second, the captain was caught off-balance.

The one with the branch was caught off-balance because of the swing's momentum.

It was so unexpected that the big Russian was caught off-balance.