Gyaku Hanmi Katate Dōri – Tenchi Nage – Kōichi Tōhei Variation
⛩️ Source
This excerpt comes from the first part of a series of privately made 16 mm short films of Kōichi Tōhei Sensei demonstrating at Los Angeles Aiki Kai in the early 1960s, possibly filmed during his year-long tour of the United States in 1964. The film is part of a collection that belonged to Chicago Aikikai, then known as the Illinois Aikido Club, which was rediscovered and returned in 2025. The films were digitized by the Chicago Film Archives and uploaded to YouTube in 2026 by Chicago Aikikai.
🔖 Technique Notes
As Uke grips Gyaku Hanmi Katate Dōri, Tori enters to the outside, guiding the grabbed arm downward on the outside. This unbalances Uke forward and down. As Uke rises again, Tori follows that upward movement, entering in close and wrapping his arm around Uke’s head as in a classic Irimi Nage, completing the Tenchi Nage sequence.
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