25 Jan 2006

Studied kotegaeshi with ML yesterday after the beginners class and right now I think kotegaeshi is all about timing, not about hand, feet, or hara movement. The hand and feet movement is important, you have to have that working first so that you don’t have to focus on yourself throughout the execution of the technique. Also, you should keep in mind that the power comes from your hara, kotegaeshi is not about twisting the uke’s wrist and forcing them go down. However, right now it feels like the moment you throw is the key to just about everything; if you wait until uke has regained their balance after the initial guidance, it’s too late. The thing that I use as a guideline is uke’s feet, specifically the rear one. If you let the uke to land the foot firmly on the ground after they turn towards you, you have either off-balance them again or simply use brute force and turn the wrist. By changing the timing to throw before the rear foot lands or just at the moment when it taps on the tatami, uke is still light and moving and can be easily guided by turning the wrist and dropping your hara.