From 合気道パーフェクトマスター, 2009 by Doshu

Doshu yonkyo omote nerve

Doshu yonkyo omote twist

Doshu yonkyo ura nerve

Doshu yonkyo ura twist

In the screenshots, pay attention to Uke’s pinky finger to notice which arm Doshu is performing yonkyo on. In the DVD he demonstrates yonkyo omote on one arm, but yonkyo ura on the other arm. The screenshots are misleading as they look like they are done on the same arm.

As far as I can discern, Doshu presses on the same nerves for both yonkyo omote and ura.

Maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe the key idea is to hold Uke’s wrist like that of a bokuto.

Update: 2010.07.31 – After class tonight, K, Tak, Atsuko and I discussed and practiced yonkyo. We talked about maykubu (pulse-area) and toukotsubu (around the radial bone) and how Doshu discusses these two distinct-yet-close pressure points. We all agree the video is misleading visually, but when we take into account the points of the text, what Doshu says in other text, and when we actually practice omote and ura, we clearly understand that the pressure points are different. It is true that it feels more natural to press on toukotsubu when doing ura yonkyo, and of course myakubu when doing omote.

myakubu – 脈部
toukotsubu – とう骨部

I figured out where the nerves on the forearm arm. In fact, I’ve dug out anatomical papers on how Aikido’s yonkyo works.¹ I’ve practiced on drunk roommates to see if they can still feel it, and I have practiced with friends in the dojo. It hurts!

I don’t want to hurt to my friends when we practice. That is why I choose to do yonkyo a couple inches higher on the inner forearm – there is muscle there to protect the nerves better. I try to think about my partner when doing this technique and follow the Golden Rule. Some people out there can put their whole body weight on my fragile nerve if they get upset and it is their turn to do yonkyo.

1. See http://wazajournal.com/techniques/yonkyo/yonkyo-pain-mechanism-explained.html [↩]

Both shoulders are grabbed from behind, but Uke hasn’t locked Tori down yet  – there is a chance to move.

Tori takes a big step forward and extends the same arm forward as the leg that just stepped. This should cause Uke to come around farther and even be on his toes or off-balance. Before Uke can regain his balance, Tori steps back to the original position he was before he stepped, however he must take care to return under Uke’s arms.

Both of Uke’s arms should be in front of Tori like the unbuckled back seat passengers of a speeding car end up in the front seat after a small head-on collision (but everyone is safe).

Now, you have at least two choices: take hold of Uke’s arm that is just in front of your line of sight, or use your forehead to push his forearm is front of you. Eric J. and I found out that there is good leverage in the latter method. It also causes Uke to go even farther off balance. Thanks Eric!

Tori can then properly take hold of Uke’s arm and continue with ikkyo, nikyo, sankyo or yonkyo etc.

Here is a fascinating collection of techniques which start from katate-ryotedori (morotedori). Most of his ki-no-nagare waza start with sen-no-sen sotomawari. At [3:39] he employs uchimawari do shihonage omote (I hadn’t seen anyone do this before). His zanshin after a pin is very focused. Also, when he does iriminage at [4:20] his Uke starts to turn as if to escape. Saito Sensei has a nice surprise against that, and now I am not afraid to practice that myself. See below for the still.

His kotegaeshi at [4:34] looks a little suspect, I might put that out of my mind for the time being. However, he actually does koshinage while uke is grabbing with both hands – I was led to believe that was impossible. Not only is that not impossible, Saito demonstrates five variations of this koshinage all while Uke is still holding on! See below for the first two.

Morotedori koshinage ichi

Morotedori koshinage ni

I’ve practiced this two ways and I one feel more natural. For ura techniques, the footwork is similar for both Aikikai and North American styles. Omote is another story so I will focus on ura here.

Both in gyakuhanmi hidari katatedori.

Atemi is important and helps the whole body move. Rotate the hips as soon as you are grabbed so your right arm has more reach toward and through Uke’s head (but don’t snap or hit). This hip rotation helps the body into position for your left leg to slide out and back, while your right leg slides left and forward. Your hanmi should have changed into a solid migi handmi.

Here is the interesting part. Some people pull Uke into themselves, others don’t pull at all. Pulling and extending are two different ideas. I prefer not to pull because when I am pulled I tend to keep going in that direction (think of a bull in a china shop). Instead, it feels right to, when in migi hanmi and out of the line of attack, to extend Uke’s arm by lowering your weight onto his bicep then elbow crease in a sliding motion. This way Uke’s only momentum is down and not hurling into you. Ben Sensei does this beautifully.

Tissier’s demonstration is particularly smooth as he brings Uke’s striking hand quite low before he flips his hand over to grab securely.

Both Doshu and Tissier start yonkyo with the same movement as ikkyo (slide out and step in deep right away).

Yonkajo Osae

I started comparing Yoshinkan versions to Aikikai versions so I will do the same with yonkajo. You will notice that in the clip below Shite starts yonkajo with the same footwork as ikkajo: shuffle sideways and in. One neat addition they do is a (kind of) nikyo pin after Uke is down. I say ‘kind of’ because he does not clamp Uke’s shoulders with knees but instead leaves one leg up.

I’ll also point out that the Yoshinkan Shite initiates the attack – he strikes before Uke can.

This is an example of a smooth transition from a temporary ikkyo to yonkyo. It is similar to the ikkyo-to-sankyo transition, except after the hand switch Uke’s arm is pulled back so yonkyo tsubo can be pressed. Here is omote and ura.

I like how Tori slides out with his right knee and enters with his left leg. I like this because is left leg is already at Uke’s armpit under his shoulder when he applies the pressure. Alternate ways require a leg switch which this version does not require.

Ben Sensei showed us one way to perform tsuki yonkyo recently. This is not a test version (see the bottom of this post for this) but a variation.

We always have to be aware that Uke may lunge or pull back his punch making it very hard to consistently capture Uke’s wrist; so we don’t even try.

Here, we still slide off the line of attack, but with our forward arm we cut down on top of Uke’s elbow using our shuto and then our forearm using a slicing motion toward his hara. If he pulls back or not, this has the effect of jamming Uke’s arm into his body and taking his balance a bit in the action.

Next, Ben Sensei recommends atemi to the face with the rear hand so as not to injure but to distract. Then cut down Uke’s chest to his captured arm, down his arm to his wrist all the while keeping contact with him. While cutting down extend his captured arm outward and away from him and toward you, but not directly in a path to hit you. It should be easier to transition to a solid yonkyo hold. Tori can then raise Uke’s arm and cut down as in proper yonkyo (ura or omote).

Just for a comparison, here is a video I found on YouTube of the similar technique.

The tori in this video slides outside but does not change his hanmi, cuts down on the incoming tsuki from the outside with his shuto, captures the wrist of Uke from below, then raises Uke’s arm to the outside then back inside into the yonkyo position, then cuts down for omote.

His ura starts the same, but a tenkan to the back is performed for the final dosa.

However, throughout the entire clip it looks as if Uke can pull back and regroup for another attack. Ben Sensei focuses on immobilizing the striking arm at the elbow.

—

The test version involves stepping back when the tsuki is coming and capturing it with the back hand, transitioning to ikkyo, then changing to yonkyo.

Update: 2010.07.28 – It has been three months since this post, and from practice my preferred tsuki yokyo is to do irimi parry with my closest shuto at Uke’s elbow. If he pulls back then I can move with him. If he leaves his arm out this will work too. My back hand then takes hold of Uke’s tsuki wrist with my palm against his inner wrist. Finally, I can take Uke’s arm back and up and continue into yokyo omote or ura. This is halfway between Ben Sensei’s variation and the gentleman’s in the YouTube video just above.

Worked on this with Ben Sensei, Eric and Kanae yesterday.

Example: Using (Hidari hanmi to start)
Starting in Ai Hamni. Uke steps in with a chudan tsuki. Nage slides in and  blocks with left hand (block on elbow or higher) trapping uke’s striking hand (right hand) to uke’s body and an atemi with the right hand (simultaneously). The atemi hand then slides down uke’s striking hand (this is useful if uke decides to retract his/her hand).
By trapping the hand initially this makes it difficult for uke to retract his/her hand. In any event even if uke does retract, once nage slides down the hand after the atemi, it becomes easy to grab uke’s hand and perform the yonkyo.
Another key point is that nage should focus his/her energy on the inside knuckle of his/her index finger to apply pressure to uke’s hand.

Uke attacks by grabbing the shoulder and striking with shomenuchi (no step).

Method 1

Nage pivots off-line on the side that is grabbed and the leading hand blends with the downward strike, rather than actually blocking it. The tenkan causes Uke to become off-balance. This is the basic movement that can then lead into ikkyo, nikyo, sankyo, shihonage, kotegaeshi, kaitennage, iriminage etc.

Method 2

If Nage has sufficient time to respond he can enter directly while Uke’s striking hand is still raising or is at its peak.