Kubi Hineri – Stepping-In Knee Strike Headlock Entry Variation

Uke grabs Ai Hanmi Katate Dōri. Tori takes a small step to the outside with his rear leg while pushing on Uke’s arm with the hand on the same side as the stepping leg, and simultaneously pulls his captured hand free. He then delivers an atemi to Uke’s ribs with the now free rear hand. Tori then enters to the inside by lifting his lead knee, and as he steps in, he seizes Uke’s head in a headlock and pulls it downward. By raising the knee to step while drawing the head down, he delivers a knee strike to Uke’s face. As he sets the foot back down while maintaining the headlock, he follows with an atemi to Uke’s head. Tori then steps with his rear leg and executes a Tenkan pivot, wrapping the striking arm around Uke’s head in the classical head-wrapping motion of Irimi Nage. Through this rotation, he twists Uke’s head, throwing him to the ground. While the throw uses the head-wrapping action, control of Uke’s head, and exploits his broken posture and tendency to rise—similar to Irimi Nage—it functions more like Kubi Hineri, as Uke is thrown through a twisting of the head rather than a simple backward extension.