Yokomen Uchi – Kokyū Nage – 90° Inside Retreat / Uke Overextension 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 and seizing the attacking arm with both hands. In one continuous movement, Tori extends the line of the attack, carrying Uke forward and slightly downward until he falls.
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