Kote-gaeshi (Wrist-Out Turn)
小手返し
The wrist is turned outward over the little-finger edge, so the attacker must roll through the air. The commonest aikido answer to a knife.
Quick Facts
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Common mistakes: twisting with the fingers alone, pulling the arm toward oneself instead of leading it out on an arc, and throwing into a space where the partner has nowhere to land.
💡 Key Tip
Turn the wrist out with the whole body, not the fingers. And give the partner time and room to roll — without it he gets hurt.
About
Kote-gaeshi, the wrist-out turn, is one of the best-known throws of aikido and at the same time its typical answer to a knife attack. The defender takes the attacker's hand so that the thumb presses on the back of the hand and the fingers wrap the little-finger edge, and turns the wrist outward and down. The joint reaches the position in which it has the least mobility, and the resistance in it carries into the elbow and the shoulder. The attacker then has only two options: either he rolls over his own arm and lands on his back, or he damages his wrist. This is exactly why the breakfall that escapes kote-gaeshi is trained in aikido from the outset. A ground pin follows, in which the defender keeps the arm extended and presses it to the mat. The technique works well against a held object — the turn brings the hand into a position where the fingers cannot keep the weapon — which is why it is trained most often with the tanto.