Nito

A number of years ago, working as a bouncer, I was talking to a somewhat inebriated gentlemen on a set of stairs inside the club, trying to convince him that the object of his affection would probably not be appreciative of him trying to woo her in the womens restroom. I was always a better talker than a bouncer, so I was kind of surprised when he reached out to try and push me (down the stairs). He was beginning to apply pressure to my chest, so I took one step down, grabbed his hand, and applied a direct, pretty nifty kotegaishi. I would like to say that it was a textbook example, but 1) I hadn't practiced aikido on stairs before. 2) He was really drunk. 3) I had been training for only about a year or so (read nifty kotegaishi as near frantic, complete lack of finesse, sandwich clamping of the guys hand). End result was he was coherent enough to realize the logic of my argument when I had him leaning half way over the railing. The cavalry (other bigger, meaner looking bouncers) came before I could get myself into any more trouble, and we all lived happily ever after. One of the guys asked me later, 'what was that, some sort of Ninja stuff, or what?'
To modify what Mr. Fooks wrote, sometime getting off the line isn't possible (staircase). Luckily, he had drank enough to forgive my lack of experience and skill. I did manage to take his balance, and it was enough to save my butt