George S. Ledyard

a) one of the most important functions of hanmi handachi is to give people experience dealing with an attacker who is taller than they are

b) never reach up to the attacker as you will take yourself off of your own base; your arms raise only as far as is comfortable for you which is usually about the forehead

c) from your description of the technique you ar almost certainly putting too much effort into the elbow; don't grab the elbow until the very end of the technique. The function of the elbow hand is to rest your body weight on top of the partner. Instead use the other hand to lead the partner as if you were doing a draw and cut with a sword; try cuttin the partner down to the ground without touching the elbow at all and you'll get the right feel for the lead hand. The elbow hand merely follows and you shouldn't feel much pressure there at all.