There was a logic to my Sensei's system of Aikido that I didn't respect enough when I was still training there. We had to do Koshinage from the first test (a requirement now dropped) and every test there after. The tests called for specific attacks, and often specific variations were expected of the Mudansha. We were always made aware that other variations existed for each name - for example, I remember four very separate and distinct variations of Shomenuchi Koshinage.
These are harder falls, and they are more difficult for beginners to perform. At Ikkyu many associations expect 5 Koshinage. Not all dojo actually teach much about Koshinage leading up to this point, so trying to do five different ways becomes difficult and not well expressed. This is my experience in the USAF, but I realize different dojo have different regular practices. A number of times, I have come across Aikido students who are taking Judo classes to learn to do Koshinage for Aikido tests. This is a sad comment.
The old requirements for hip throws alone in the CAF:
Gokyu: Katate Dori Koshinage (with or without a tenkan)
Yonkyu: Shomenuchi Koshinage
Sankyu: Tsuki Koshinage
Nikyu: Morote Dori Koshinage, Yokomenuchi Koshinage, Kubishime Koshinage
Ikkyu: Ushiro Ryote Dori, Plus 5 Koshinage, plus Aikiotoshi (a reverse Koshinage variation?)
Along the way, we were taught more than one way to do Tsuki Koshinage (one using an Ikkyo, one using an Uchi Tenkan). We were all taught how to do a specific variation of Kata Dori Menuchi using a Soto Tenkan Tenkai.
If you learn how to do Ikkyo to any attack (we had to) then learn how to make Ikkyo a Koshinage (what I did at Yonkyu for Shomenuchi Koshinage) then you can do hip throws to anything. It's accurate, but this is pretty low level stuff.
I started to codify my own five types of Koshinage. I am embarrassed that I too am borrowing heavily from Judo in the names and the pictures. I never learned how to codify Aikido Koshinage. Demonstrations, often with no discussion, is how we show different ways of doing things to each other.
First, I see one arm extending whether in an Ikkyo, Sankyo, Yonyo, Gokyo, Shihonage or Ai Hamni grip. I call the first one a single projection. Until I get some posing done, these are the best pics available through Google. I apologize to the the people who have put these pictures online. I know you didn't volunteer for this. As soon as I can get my own pictures taken, I'll replace these.
Second is like a Judo O-Goshi or Uke Goshi. Hold around Uke, extend another part or wrap it around you. I am deliberately vague as in Judo, wrapping around the waist or through the groin or around the neck or with Uke facing towards you or away from you is a different name and a different technique but I see one side pull in and the other extend.
Third is like a Tenchinage Heaven and Earth throw. Having two hands active at different heights can mean a number of different expressions. Judo calls it tsuri komi goshi. I had a hard time finding a pic that showed both hands actively extending and controlling Uke - a number of times, the upper hand just ended up wrapping around Uke and more into the previous type of throw.
Fourth was something I started to call Seoinage. The trajectory is pretty vertical, with Uke stretched over my shoulder and hips instead of just across the hips. I am aware that Judo actually considers this a Te Waza (Hand technique) instead of a hip throw. This is how I learned Kubishime Koshinage. I tend to consider some of the pics more a form of makikomi, as there is a horizontal rotational force that wraps Uke around Nage's spine. Nage doesn't have Uke going over the shoulder but instead around it. The differences are slight, but I like to keep them distinct.
The final type is difficult for me to find a picture of. We did this at Ikkyu, after having several years of koshinage leading up to it. It is a harder throw, and a harder fall. I learned it from Ushiro Ryotedori, and for no worthwhile reason that was the name I gave to the throw.
I spent a long time online looking for a pic, and finally just went to an old video of myself:
Both arms are extending, and Uke travels hip to shoulder. For Uke to fall safely I need to raise the one arm higher at the end.
There are a number of different Koshinage out there. Most Aikido doesn't seem to codify them, so I am submitting my own vague, broad and not terribly useful codification. There are many great pictures out there, I just found these were the best to show what I was trying to describe. Koshinage is often made different by the overall technique: The initial blend and lead, the moment the koshinage is applied, and the final cut. So, the number of possibilities out there is huge and almost limitless. With these five ideas, I saw how I could add a koshinage to any of the other basic techniques. It's a flavour of a basic like Ikkyo or Shihonage, almost a coat of paint lacquered over the actual technique underneath. I saw that pure koshinage is very rare. Kokyunage is still an Aikido technique pared down to it's most basic essence.
Comments welcome. Do you agree that most Aikido koshinage fall into these five types?
Aikiotoshi was never called a Koshinage for us, and Judo has Sukuinage which comes under Te Waza again, but I do see a form of Koshinage that rotates outward while the above all tend to rotate inward.
These are harder falls, and they are more difficult for beginners to perform. At Ikkyu many associations expect 5 Koshinage. Not all dojo actually teach much about Koshinage leading up to this point, so trying to do five different ways becomes difficult and not well expressed. This is my experience in the USAF, but I realize different dojo have different regular practices. A number of times, I have come across Aikido students who are taking Judo classes to learn to do Koshinage for Aikido tests. This is a sad comment.
The old requirements for hip throws alone in the CAF:
Gokyu: Katate Dori Koshinage (with or without a tenkan)
Yonkyu: Shomenuchi Koshinage
Sankyu: Tsuki Koshinage
Nikyu: Morote Dori Koshinage, Yokomenuchi Koshinage, Kubishime Koshinage
Ikkyu: Ushiro Ryote Dori, Plus 5 Koshinage, plus Aikiotoshi (a reverse Koshinage variation?)
Along the way, we were taught more than one way to do Tsuki Koshinage (one using an Ikkyo, one using an Uchi Tenkan). We were all taught how to do a specific variation of Kata Dori Menuchi using a Soto Tenkan Tenkai.
If you learn how to do Ikkyo to any attack (we had to) then learn how to make Ikkyo a Koshinage (what I did at Yonkyu for Shomenuchi Koshinage) then you can do hip throws to anything. It's accurate, but this is pretty low level stuff.
I started to codify my own five types of Koshinage. I am embarrassed that I too am borrowing heavily from Judo in the names and the pictures. I never learned how to codify Aikido Koshinage. Demonstrations, often with no discussion, is how we show different ways of doing things to each other.
First, I see one arm extending whether in an Ikkyo, Sankyo, Yonyo, Gokyo, Shihonage or Ai Hamni grip. I call the first one a single projection. Until I get some posing done, these are the best pics available through Google. I apologize to the the people who have put these pictures online. I know you didn't volunteer for this. As soon as I can get my own pictures taken, I'll replace these.
Second is like a Judo O-Goshi or Uke Goshi. Hold around Uke, extend another part or wrap it around you. I am deliberately vague as in Judo, wrapping around the waist or through the groin or around the neck or with Uke facing towards you or away from you is a different name and a different technique but I see one side pull in and the other extend.
Third is like a Tenchinage Heaven and Earth throw. Having two hands active at different heights can mean a number of different expressions. Judo calls it tsuri komi goshi. I had a hard time finding a pic that showed both hands actively extending and controlling Uke - a number of times, the upper hand just ended up wrapping around Uke and more into the previous type of throw.
Fourth was something I started to call Seoinage. The trajectory is pretty vertical, with Uke stretched over my shoulder and hips instead of just across the hips. I am aware that Judo actually considers this a Te Waza (Hand technique) instead of a hip throw. This is how I learned Kubishime Koshinage. I tend to consider some of the pics more a form of makikomi, as there is a horizontal rotational force that wraps Uke around Nage's spine. Nage doesn't have Uke going over the shoulder but instead around it. The differences are slight, but I like to keep them distinct.
The final type is difficult for me to find a picture of. We did this at Ikkyu, after having several years of koshinage leading up to it. It is a harder throw, and a harder fall. I learned it from Ushiro Ryotedori, and for no worthwhile reason that was the name I gave to the throw.
I spent a long time online looking for a pic, and finally just went to an old video of myself:
Both arms are extending, and Uke travels hip to shoulder. For Uke to fall safely I need to raise the one arm higher at the end.
There are a number of different Koshinage out there. Most Aikido doesn't seem to codify them, so I am submitting my own vague, broad and not terribly useful codification. There are many great pictures out there, I just found these were the best to show what I was trying to describe. Koshinage is often made different by the overall technique: The initial blend and lead, the moment the koshinage is applied, and the final cut. So, the number of possibilities out there is huge and almost limitless. With these five ideas, I saw how I could add a koshinage to any of the other basic techniques. It's a flavour of a basic like Ikkyo or Shihonage, almost a coat of paint lacquered over the actual technique underneath. I saw that pure koshinage is very rare. Kokyunage is still an Aikido technique pared down to it's most basic essence.
Comments welcome. Do you agree that most Aikido koshinage fall into these five types?
Aikiotoshi was never called a Koshinage for us, and Judo has Sukuinage which comes under Te Waza again, but I do see a form of Koshinage that rotates outward while the above all tend to rotate inward.
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