I’ve been working hard on the updates to the site, and came across an old post about tenchinage where I looked closely at Wakasensei. Wakasensei twisted his hips to protect his groin and also moved off the line of attack before even entering beside Uke. In my previous experience with it months ago it would cause both stiff and lax ukes to really go off-balance, and one really stiff uke I sent flying. It was so cool. However, just when I was getting it I was told it was “not the basic version”.  I stopped doing it while helping others prepare for their 5th kyu. That was probably when I lost it, but thanks to my January post I remember it again.

This point feels connected to the principles of tai-no-henko.

Update 2010.09.08 – Wakasensei only shows this point once of all the times he does tenchinage. I must be thinking of a different video clip.

Kotegaeshi Back tap

I could not remember for the life of me who did kotegaeshi nagare this way, but by pure chance I found this video of Kanazawa Sensei doing this at a demonstration. He was one of my teachers at Hombu on the beginner’s floor. Picking up their habits I am.

The reason for this tap is to ensure that Tori has done a decent tenkan and not a sloppy half-tenkan, if I remember correctly, before the kotegaeshi-nage. I’m very glad to have found this because one class (in Canada) one Sensei asked where I got this from and I could not remember.

There are just endless variations of kokyunage from yokomenuchi. There is only one place that I have practiced something like this before… almost forgot about it, but thankfully I stumbled upon this video (please mute the volume first). The key observations are keeping connected with your partner, not with limp sticky hands, but with relaxed tension that comes from matching the inertia of your partner.

The cut-downs in this clip are inline with my philosophy about kuzushi (which can get overlooked in normal practice).

This kind of partner practice is a dream of mine, and I finally got to play like this last seminar. 普通稽古の間ではこんな稽古をやりたいな。

You have your choice of ushiro tekubitori kotegaeshi now. The version I have known for years is a sidestep to the outside of Uke’s front leg. Another version is not quite a step to Uke’s back leg, but more of a step forward with a turn (Doshu style, if I had to give it a name). There is another version that I have only seen Donvan Waite do, but I will write about that one later.

Aside: All are just fine. There is no reason to prefer one over another. Maybe there is a wall beside you on one side or another, or another attacker is on the side you normally escape to. Lately there has been a shift of techniques from one style to another which is exciting. Techniques that were written in stone are now written in stone on a different stone. :)

I am excited that we are learning variations on old techniques and calling these new variations the basic versions. This tells me that try as one might to restrict the pattern of a certain technique, variations will always creep in by way of new students, new seminars, new leaders, and by visiting other dojos. If these variations adhere to the principles and desired outcome of a particular technique (are they recognizable and can be called that technique) then I feel they should be embraced with open arms to keep our minds (my mind) flexible.

Back to ushiro tekubitori kotegaeshi. This is the kotegaeshi that Ben Sensei wants us to do from now on for a test as we found out when R demonstrated for our class on Friday. Enjoy.

Tori raises Uke's center

Tori starts a kaiten toward Uke's front leg

Tori finds Uke's outside arm and reaches for it

His outside wrist captured and outside attack range

About to tenkan again, if needed

My hope about knowing, practicing and demonstrating the variations of several shihans is that when I am eventually out there no one will say, “Oh, he’s a Yamada guy”, or “He’s a Tissier guy”. I hope they will say that I am just open-minded and have many influences in my own style.

When doing ikkyo ura (or many other ura waza) we take Uke’s arm to the side and extend him first. There is wide variation in how it can be done. I have been exploring one way which is easy and Uke doesn’t even feel like he is being moved. Inspiration for this came from Tissier when he does one-handed tenchinage, and how many shihans do katatedori sumi-otoshi to the side. Actually, Ueshiba Wakasensei was the inspiration for a modification to my tenchinage. When I think about the lessons learned from these techniques and from some shihans, it feels natural to apply these principles to any katatedori ura waza, but I will just explore ikkyo ura first.

When I first searched for a clip of this gyaku hanmi katatedori ikkyo ura lately, I noticed a nice quirk that Donovan Waite Sensei does in addition to the principle of not pulling on Uke – the idea I wanted to write about. Well, I will present three alternatives to moving out to the side with Uke’s arm grabbing still.

1. Move straight back to extend Uke and cut down on his elbow at the same time (and pray he doesn’t tackle you).
2. Move out 45 degrees and cut down on Uke’s elbow while exchanging legs and keeping good hanmi.
3. Move exactly to Uke’s side and cut down on Uke’s elbow (or not)

The third option is the one I am most interested in now. Uke has very little strength to stop you from moving to his side (especially if you move from your hara), and you can even do so without even extending Uke. That is, Uke doesn’t need to be extended as long as you can get beside him while his is holding on to your wrist. I find that if I cut down on Uke’s elbow at this point it is overkill as he will drop like a stone and the waza may end. The main idea is to get beside him and then start continue the ura waza.

Donovan Waite Sensei starts gyaku hanmi katatedori ikkyo ura by first sending Uke’s arm inward. This causes Uke to twist away from Tori which adds extra protection against a strike from Uke’s other hand. Donovan Wait then goes to Uke’s side and continues the waza similarly to how I tried to describe above.

Actually, the gentleman in the clip below moves similarly to Donovan Waite from the above clip.

Big circle this time. When doing the soto tenkan, make a big circle with your arm to keep Uke extended. When you cease your tenkan before Uke has come all the way around, go beside Uke and make sure to protect your groin, then do a light nikyo on Uke. The goal is to cause him to lower his own center like you would want to do for any other kotegaeshi, as well as for him to let go of one hand to brace the ground or tap. As he is lowering himself, do an irimi tenkan toward his front shikaku and apply kotegaeshi pressure. No muscles should be used in nikyo, says Kubo Sensei.

Arai Sensei talked about kihaku (kokyuryoku), which leads to taisabaki, which leads to automatic waza. He said that Tori has to have “the willingness to give like Buddha.”

We should have a natural hand position like we are holding a bokuto, and we must be relaxed when we do the technique or take the technique because takemusu can then happen. We should move with Uke and feel the way he is reacting to us.

The final message on Saturday from Arai Sensei was to move “like a fish” – don’t be stiff.

白川先生は両手取り回転、両手取り入り身投げとかについて「出前ソバ」って言いました。なるほどね。

There is another principle first discussed in detail by Igarashi Sensei about big circles and little circles and how one circle size does not fit all. Combining this knowledge with the teaching of Shirakawa Sensei is already causing me to change how I turn in ryotedori tenkan, and it feels nice (as K and I discovered on Monday when we did フクレン).

The idea of 出前そば is strange to me. But, K has waitress experience so she was animated when Shirakawa Sensei made this point in Japanese only – it was not translated to English and I would have missed it had it not been for her. Can you imagine carrying a plate of soba while riding a bike? That skill would be directly transferable to this technical point.

Because a tight Z-axis is maintained while minimizing the orbit of the rotation when doing tenkan or kaiten from a ryotedori grab, there is power, leverage and agility. The next point Shirakawa Sensei made was that Tori can raise Uke in the Z-axis by raising his hand. This can get Uke on his toes during the rotation thus reducing his gravity. The result is it is easier to move Uke and throw him in whichever way is desired.

I never thought to cause Uke to raise himself on his toes in anything other than sankyo before.

Another rule: When Uke grabs your jo for jodori you should never let go of your jo. Principle: try to gain decent leverage.

Shirakawa Sensei was the second person to blow my mind away with something simple in jo causing me to ask myself, “Can we do that?”. When I did jodori with T a few weeks back he slid one hand further down his jo causing himself to have more leverage so he did less work to move me. Shirakawa Sensei wanted to use even less energy so he created more leverage by sliding his hand over Uke’s hand and re-grabbed the jo between Uke’s hands.

Was that leagal?? Then I asked myself, “How come I am still asking myself if some move is legal or not?” Trying to free my mind here by abandoning rules and adopting principles.

Shirakawa Sensei then made a point above leverage, and that if Uke has more jo than I do, how can I move him?

A principle I noticed by three shihans was to create a pivot about just one axis before pivoting. If an axis of rotation is bent then it is like trying to move in two axes at the same time when it is more efficient to move about one axis only. On the kaiten, Tori does not push the jo upward, rather he readjusts his leverage to cause the jo to go perfectly vertical so there is only the Z-axis to rotate about. He then enters deeply through a window he has created, turns, then throws Uke with his leverage.

This can also be shihonage depending on the turn.

Again, Shirakawa Sensei’s point was to not struggle with Uke’s power. I starred this a few times in my notes – one star for every time he mentioned it in his session.

When aite pushes on your jo, don’t push back; let him push your jo and then do irimi. If he pulls on your jo, don’t pull back; go with it and do irimi. There is no power struggle in jodori. That is, do not oppose your aite’s force. Do not resist.

After you irimi and tenkan, you can then push and cause Uke to move more easily.

Key point: On the irimi tenkan, minimize the distance between you and Uke and create a vertical axis to move about (no tilting). Keep the rotation tight about the vertical axis you have created to increase your agility and leverage.

Jodori is an extension of ryotedori, explains Shirakawa Sensei. For both you need to slide your hands up like in tenchinage, enter deep, then tenkan.