gates

As I see it there are a couple of separate issues here.

Firstly on basics:
O'Sensei started each and every class with Tai-no-Henka, and Morote-dori-kokyu Ho and finished every class with Suwari-waza Kokyu-ho.

O'sensei believed in basics as fundamental stepping stones to higher 'level' techniques.

The second issue cuts right to the heart of many debates about Aikido techniques and their effectiveness, in this or that situation.

A spontaneous action can only be made if there is no precognitive thought pattern prior to the movement. Thoughts just get in the way, even more so notions of 'trying' to do this or that technique.

It is my understanding that the technique 'revealing' itself is a manifestation of an action without the notion of a doer. Similar to the pure mind of a Kyudo exponent becoming the action of releasing the arrow, by a long and arduous process of letting go of the self.

It is only through repetition of Kihon-waza that such a manifestation can be made with effectiveness . I'd suggest that the techniques were chosen carefully to streamline the learning, and the basics, tai-no-henka, morote-dori-kokyuho are central to that. (As you can prob tell I practice Iwama Style !!)

In the moment just let go and react, if your training has been good then you will have nothing to fear.