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[edit] Yonkyo
[edit] Descrition #1
From gyakyu-hanmi katatetori (uke left hand grabbing nage right wrist).
- Extend the fingers of grabbed hand below and then to the outside of ukes hand.
- Turn your palm towards ukes wrist allowing you to grab ukes wrist (fore-finger the highest finger closest towards ukes elbow, not little finger). This grab should look the same as ukes grab on you (symetrical).
- As you grab you turn (tenkan) on your front (right) foot, and step back with the left foot so both you and uke are facing the same direction but you are slightly behind uke.
- Simultaneously with the tenkan, control ukes elbow so that it raises in the air and ukes forearm is vertical.
- Slip the thumb of your left hand across ukes pulse (flat across the back of the wrist) and thus hold the lower wrist (at ukes wrist joint) with the left hand. The right hand should still be in contact, hand held as if holding the sword (top of your right hand should face you, with ukes wrist underneath. Grabbing tightly with the little and next finger but very loose with the fore-finger).
- Extend your right hand finger joint (where your fore-finger is attatched to your hand) into ukes wrist; keep hold of the wrist with the other fingers.
- Also, as you extend into ukes wrist control ukes elbow, and thus his shoulder. Ukes forearm should start at vertical and you slide forward in the right stance cutting down and forwards as if their forearm was your sword. The elbow should be cut down towards the mat.
[edit] The pin.
Maintaining the elbow (and shoulder) of uke in contact with the ground via extension through the elbow, and with a right angle between ukes body and upper-arm and between their upper-arm and forearm raise the wrist (rotating the shoulder joint forwards even further)...wait for tap out.
- Do not raise your own elbows out to the side excessively during this technique.
- Your palm starts face up as you grab uke, and then you use your body and sword raising motion to raise ukes elbow and cut down, until your right palm is face down.
- The knuckle of your forefinger is pushed in along a nerve on the inside of ukes wrist. There should be a definite feeling of extension (and ki flow) through the knuckle in, and up, ukes arm. Rolling the knuckle with pressure to the outside (ukes little finger side) of ukes arm increases the pressure on the nerve.
- Although the nerve runs all the way up the fore-arm, higher up the fore-arm the nerve is more protected by fat and muscle. The best location is 2 finger widths up from ukes wrist crease. The point is not located in the middle of ukes wrist, but towards the outside (ukes little finger side). Imagine the forearm, as it faces you, divided into 3 equal section - dig the knuckle in at the point of the division between the middle and outside section (about one finger width from the middle of ukes wrist) and roll knuckle towards the outside section.
- For ukes with fat on the wrists, try to push the fat to the left side with your hand as you grab with the right hand.
- Practise getting the nerve by having uke hold his elbow high (body and fore-arm both at right angles to upper-arm), ukes palm facing you and you stood just behing their arm. Be honest about the amount of pain felt.
[edit] More information
This technique should not require pain for the technique to work (in very aggressive situations the uke is unlikely to feel the pain); the tenkan and sword cutting motion should be sufficient to control ukes shoulder and down them. However, like the majority of aikido pins, this technique can be used effectively even when the person is not being violently aggressive but you need to control them, and in such cases the pain that this produces can be useful. Indeed the raising of the elbow, pain and shoulder control enables this to be used as a simple escort technique.
The 'pressure-point' is a ki draining point and will cause no damage, although it should reduce the aggression of the uke.
This technique is very strongly related to sword techniques, and produces more intense pain if the uke has a weapon (due to tightening of the ligaments). A good way to understand the mechanics of this technique is for uke to attack shomen with the sword:
[edit] Yonkyo against sword
- Nage steps in deeply and performs a tenkan as uke performs a shomen cut (vertical slicing cut to head).
- Simultaneously with the tenkan nages right hand grabs the nages left wrist just as or before the sword descends. Nages left hand grabs ukes sword between where ukes two hands are (nages thumb towards ukes body). The cutting hands of uke and nage should be timed to be simultaneous.
- Nage applies yonkyo (as above) with the right hand, whilst the left hand actually cotinues the cut in a sweeping motion diagonally towards nages left, removing the sword from ukes grasp (and holding it on the side of the body away from uke).
- Uke is pinned with the right hand only whilst you keep the sword away from them. This should be one fluid single cutting movement!
