Yokomen Uchi – Irimi Nage – 90° Inside Retreat / Uke Overextension Long 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 steps forward to attack with Yokomen Uchi, Tori retreats at a 90° angle to the centerline, hopping to the inside along the trajectory of Uke’s strike, extending it, and seizing Uke’s attacking arm with both hands. This causes Uke to overextend, unbalancing him forward and slightly downward.
As Uke continues turning from this overextension, his movement creates space for Tori to move in behind him. Tori enters on the outside, takes Uke’s head with his lead hand, and performs a Tenkan pivot, drawing Uke downward. As Uke begins to rise, Tori maintains control of the head, preventing him from recovering an upright posture. Tori then completes Irimi Nage by wrapping the other arm around Uke’s head in the direction opposite to the initial pivot.
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