Tenchinage

Tenchinage is one of the most basic Aikido techniques. The way I was trained Tenchinage was always executed from having both wrists grabbed as done here. It always seemed that this was just an exercise to teach striking and that a technique looking like this from any attack should be Tenchinage although that was not the way it was done. In Aikido And The Dynamic Sphere Westbrook and Ratti do call this movement Tenchinage from a variety of attacks. Viewed this way Tenchinage is not only a good way to teach Aikido striking it is a very powerful technique.

Example 1, Tenchinage Irimi

Fig. 1 Start of Tenchinage		Fig. 2 Edge of Hand Towards Uke		Fig. 3 Palm Towards Uke's Face

1. In Fig. 1 this is not a normal attack because this an exercise to teach striking . Uke just grabs Nage's hands.

2. In Fig. 1 the partners are in Gyaku Hammi to protect themselves from a sudden kick.

3. In Fig. 2 Nage steps forward for the first step of the Irimi movement. Nage's body drops down as Nage steps in so that Nage's right elbow drops below Uke's left hand. Nage does not use arm strength to try to lift Uke's hand. Nage's palm turns toward Nage's face. This weakens Uke's arm making it possible for Nage's body to close with Uke.

4. Continuing in Fig. 2 the turn of the palm toward Nage's face is also important because Nage is practicing using the little finger edge of the hand, the Tegatana, to strike Uke in the neck figuratively cutting off Uke's head. This movement is teaching Nage's body how to generate tremendous power against Uke's resistance for this strike.

5. It is not very clear in Fig. 2 but Nage's left hand is near Nage's belly. The reader is familiar with Aikido has probably experienced people doing this technique by Nage's left hand extending behind Uke. Both Uke and Nage are doing Aiki. It is very rare for Nage's hand to go behind Nage's back and certainly not in this situation. It is not good to teach Nage this bad habit. If the hand starts to go behind Uke's back Uke should turn to keep the hand in front. If Nage does this it will interfere with the technique. For this reason both of Nage's hands stay in front of Nage.

6. In Fig. 3 Nage's right hand has rotated so that the palm now faces Uke's face. After the strike to Uke's neck Uke's hand rotates grasping Uke's face and tossing Uke's head to the rear corner.

   Fig. 4 End of Irimi Step		Fig. 5 End of Tornado Twist

7. In Fig. 4 Nage has taken the 2nd Irimi step and has initiated the tornado twist. Nage's hands are turning with Nage but they are not near the front edges of Nage's body.

8. In Fig. 5 Nage has finished the tornado twist and Uke is on the ground. Frequently Nage ends in a position like the start of a forward role. In this case Nage is holding Uke up to soften the fall.

9. This exercise is good to do with only the first part shown in Figures 1 through 3. Uke can give strong resistance with proper form, not trying to compete, so that Nage can master the body mechanics of generating tremendous striking power from the legs, hips and body position without using arm strength.

Example 2. Application

Movie of Example 2.

Fig. 6 Start of Application		Fig. 7 Strike Riding Rail		Fig. 8 Strike Hitting Neck

1. Fig. 6 shows the start of the Tenchinage application. This starts with about the same body positions as Example 1. In this case Nage is holding Uke's right wrist.

2. In Fig. 7 Nage's strike is coming up Uke's chest. This is called riding the rail because it is an example of a fundamental principle. If a strike moves along Uke's arm or along the surface of Uke's body it is more difficult to see and intercept than if the strike was coming in through empty space. Nage is using the body mechanics learned in Exercise 1 to develop power.

3. In Fig. 8 the strike hits Uke's neck powered by the rotation and forward movement of Nage's body.

4. Even if Uke's chin is tucked in Fig. 8 to protect Uke's neck this edge hand blow to Uke's face will have interesting results.

5. Many instructors do this strike as a palm-heel to the chin. The palm-heel is very effective but the people who developed Aiki Jujitsu were swordsmen and knife fighters. Even in the United States knife fighters such as Lynn Thompson like to use the edge of the hand like a knife when unarmed.

6. Notice in Fig. 8 that Uke's right hand is beginning to wrap around Nage pulling Uke down. All of the attention is on the strike but Nage's left hand can throw Uke even if the strike does nothing.

   Fig. 9 Push Head Back		Fig. 10 Second Step of Irimi		Fig. 11 Near End of Twist

7. In Fig. 9 Nage continues the strike by rotating the striking hand to grab Uke's face and throw Uke's head back.

8. Fig. 10 shows the end of the second step where Nage is wrapping Uke around Nage. As this step comes in Nage's leg brushes Uke's leg without being noticed to further disturb Uke's balance.

9. Fig. 11 shows Nage pulling up on Uke's arm to protect Uke from the fall. Nage should continue to twist to prevent a counter throw and to turn Uke over for a submission.

Example 3, Tenchinage Stepping Back

Movie of Example 3.

Fig. 12 Start if Tenchinage back.		Fig. 13 Nage's back foot steps forward.		Fig. 14 Nage's right foot steps back.

1. This is being called Tenchinage stepping back because it is not any of our named movements. Grouping this move with a named movement will be confusing.

2. The idea of this section is the Aiki Strike. This Example is not related to the striking lesson. There are several lessons here that seem appropriate to discuss with Tenchinage.

3. Fig. 12 starts like Fig. 1 of this section with Uke holding Nage's hands. They are in opposite hammi.

4. In Fig. 13 Nage needs to take Uke at right angles to Uke's line of balance. To do this with Uke standing still Nage's left foot has stepped forward to get closer to Uke.

5. In Fig. 14 Nage then takes a large step back at right angles to the line of attack. This pulls Uke off balance into Nage.

6. The action of the arms in Fig. 14 are critical to success. In Fig. 13 Uke is holding Nage's hands down. To move Uke, Nage needs to raise Uke's center. Uke is too big for Nage to lift. Nage's shoulders completely relax so that it is like Uke holding down a Gi belt. As Nage steps back the belt pulls Uke's arms up lifting Uke's center. In this way Nage can lift Uke's center to move Uke without using arm strength. This causes Uke to lose balance and lunge forwards.

   Fig. 15 Uke has stepped towards Nage.		Fig. 16 Nage steps forward.

7. In Fig. 15 Uke has taken a big step forwards. Nage's hands had come up as in the previous picture because of Nage's relaxed shoulders. As Uke falls forward Nage's right elbow drops down like the irimi version and Nage's left hand drops to Nage's left side like the Irimi version.

8. This exercise creates an amazing wave motion that is not unusual in Aikido. Uke is sucked toward Nage and down by the undertow as Nage steps back. Then as Uke tries to regain balance the wave comes up and breaks over Uke throwing Uke back. All of this with Nage just walking around with relaxed arms.

9. In Fig. 16 Nage has stepped forward as in the Irimi version causing Uke to lose balance and fall.

10. Yamada Sensei shows several ways of doing Tenchinage. The way shown here is the way that fits best with the overall Aikikuta system.