Peter Goldsbury

I cannot answer for Carsten, but it is curious that all the postwar manuals written in Japanese by those affiliated to the Aikikai do not use a term for the 'other role'. The prewar books were quite clear: the person who executed the waza was 仕 (shi-te), and the person who received the waza was 受 (u-ke).

In the postwar Japanese manuals (I am thinking of the two books published by Kisshomaru Ueshiba, the early books written by Morihiro Saito and the more recent books written by Moriteru Ueshiba), the style is usually of the form, 'If your partner grabs your wrist, do this and this and this...' You can also see this in English, with Koichi Tohei's early books like This is Aikido. In the books by Kisshomaru Ueshiba and Morihiro Saito, the Japanese is usually 相手 (aite), but Moriteru Ueshiba favours 受け (uke). The only dojo I trained in where the doer of the waza was referred to as 取り (tori) was the Ryushinkan Dojo in London, when Minoru Kanetsuka was the chief instructor. His early training was in the Yoshinkan. In Japan I have rarely come across this term and when I teach, I hardly ever need to use a term for the one who executes the waza. The one occasion when the term is used is in grading tests when the candidates exchange roles. Then the term is uke-tori koutai (受け取り交代/交替).