Yokomen Uchi – Shihō 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, extending it, and seizing Uke’s attacking arm with both hands. This causes Uke to overextend, unbalancing him forward and slightly downward, and opens space for Tori to enter on the inside.
Tori then continues his entry and performs an Enka pivot, raising Uke’s arm up and over his head before cutting down to complete Shihō Nage.
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