I have made several changes to my original article on Omote and Ura, and broke it down by time period and usage. I haven't written much about why I started going down this path.
I never started with the USAF. I was a CAF student for about 15 years. Sometimes Kawahara Sensei used Omote and Ura, and sometimes he just said, "another way," and sometimes he would say a technique was neither. There was a large number of basics relatively speaking.
I moved to the USA for work, and met my wife who has always been a USAF student. In 2010, the USAF published a new set of test requirements that added several new technique variations. The local instructors claimed to not know what was what, and I wasn't sure either.
I had vague ideas which ways were Omote and which were Ura. Sometimes I could not understand Why a certain variation was considered Omote and another Ura. Omote is about entering straight and in front, Ura is about turning and going behind. Tenchinage is usually defined as entering behind but moving forward and belly to belly - elements of both ideas in one basic but clearly neither one. Many techniques like Shihonage and Kotegaeshi do get distinguished in Omote and Ura now, but Nage is usually looking at Uke's back if the technique is done correctly. Jujinage (Jujigarami) is always done looking at Uke's front, it is impossible to fold elbows across each other from anywhere other than the center line. I learned by being told to do two ways or three ways of some movements and the variations were spelled out and clearly different but there was no overriding Heads or Tails principle that divided all types of movement. We were specifically told some movements were neither.
For the brief period I spent with a Ki Society offshoot, I could see which was an Irimi and which was a Tenkan variation. You can Irimi in front or behind, and Tenkan in front or behind - these are terms that describe the Nage's movement and not the relationship described by Omote or Ura. The Tenchinage Tenkan had a Tenkan at the start. For Tenkan or Irimi Tenchinage, the initial entries were different but the actual moment of the throw was identical. More than rudimentary basics were very vaguely named, probably out of necessity.
Months ago, at my wife's instigation, I was surprised with an opportunity to ask my questions of a member of the technical committee. He has over 50 years of training and teaching. He is highly respected and highly skilled. He is a solid innovator and a great teacher.
I presented my questions to him: that if Omote is in front and linear and Ura is behind and turning, then many techniques have elements of both and many techniques (Tenchinage for one) are not in either category.
It speaks highly of this man's character that he heard me out and didn't wipe the floor with me. He respected my confusion and didn't tell me, "because I said so." He actually was humble enough to admit he had never been to Japan and didn't speak Japanese.
More than the language used, he told me the goal of the increase in requirements was to encourage students to do a technique in more than one way. All of our techniques are all multifaceted with many variations. Jodan, Chudan, and Gedan are different ways to neutralize an attack with the hands. Irimi, Tenkan, and Tenshin are different basic ways to neutralize an attack with the feet; with body movement. Uchi and Soto bring both together. Timing explores our relationships temporally; use of Ma-ai and placement is an exploration of our physical anatomical relationships.
So, it's not about learning the right way or the right two ways. It's about realizing there are many different right ways.
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