Kote Gaeshi
小手返し
Literally: forearm return
Supinating wrist lock combined with a throw; in Shodokan aikido it is one of 17 core competition techniques.
Quick Facts
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Common mistakes: twisting with the fingers alone, pulling the arm inward instead of guiding it outward along an arc, and throwing into a space where the partner has nowhere to fall.
💡 Key Tip
Otoč zápěstí ven celým tělem, ne prsty. A dej partnerovi čas a prostor na přetočení — bez něj se zraní.
About
Kote gaeshi (小手返し), literally forearm turn, is a supinating wrist lock combined with a throw that stretches the extensor digitorum muscle. Because it combines elements of both a lock and a throw, it is usually placed in a mixed throw-and-pin category, unlike purely throwing techniques such as irimi nage or shiho nage. In sport Shodokan aikido, whose rules were established by Kenji Tomiki, wrist techniques including the wrist turn corresponding to kote gaeshi are among the 17 core techniques allowed in randori and in shiai competition. A throw or lock performed while keeping posture and balance counts there as ippon for 4 points, and without keeping posture as waza-ari for 2 points. Under the Aiki-LA grading syllabus, kote gaeshi is tested from 4th kyu.