Not a waza in and of itself, but a good start to many techniques. On the tsuki, use the irimi parry and enter very deep. When practicing with a partner, ask your partner to jab or punch and pull it back as quickly as he can. If Tori does not enter deep enough, Uke can fire off a second punch to Tori’s ribs, for example. But, if Tori goes deep and uses the front tegatana to parry, then even if Uke pulls his arm back, Tori should still be ‘attached’ to him and safe.

Tori: instead of keeping your grabbed forearm level at about shoulder height through the irimi tenkan, lead with tegatana and slice upward through the rotation. Try to lead Uke around with your tegatana above your head, but smoothly without pulling. This causes Uke to be on his toes and rotating – a potent mix for the rest of the waza (which might be ikkyo, iriminage, etc.)

Takashi-san made us physically do tenkan and kaiten with straight legs, then from kibadachi, then from between those extremes. The point was made that the lower we sink, the more we are forced to use the balls of our feet and the quicker we can pivot and turn. This was a nice demonstration. I know from experience that showing and explaining to pivot on the balls of the feet seldom does any good, but putting students in a position where they are forced to experience it is helpful.

Everyone at the Igarashi Sensei seminar performs kaiten repeatedly (with a tenkan thrown in for fun).¹

1. Thanks to Derek Koter for this video [↩]

1. Keep correct Aikido hanmi stance – the feet form a T not an L
2. Shoulder check
3. Transfer weight to the balls of each foot to prepare for the pivot
4. Transfer body weight to the rear leg 60/40
5. Pivot in-place on the balls of your feet 180 degrees.
6. Step back (do not trace an arc or sweep with you foot – step back)
7. Keep body weight forward 60/40 the new direction you are facing.

It is possible to maintain balance and posture through the tenkan. Do not bounce, hop, bob or wobble while doing tenkan. This is a critical foundation for every other Aikido waza.