Tenchi-nage (Heaven-and-Earth Throw)
天地投げ
One hand goes up, the other down. The attacker holds both wrists, and that is precisely why he cannot defend: his body is split between two directions.
Quick Facts
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Common mistakes: pushing both hands forward instead of dividing them up and down, forgetting the forward step, and trying to break the grip by strength.
💡 Key Tip
The hands must not travel at the same speed or on the same path. The difference between them is the whole technique.
About
Tenchi-nage, the heaven-and-earth throw, answers a grab of both wrists from the front — a situation in which the attacker has himself given up the use of his hands. The defender leads one hand up and forward, toward heaven, and at the same time the other down and back, toward earth. The attacker's body is thereby divided between two opposing directions: one shoulder is drawn up, the other pressed down, and the balance breaks along the diagonal between them. The defender then only steps forward into the gap that has opened and the attacker falls on his back. The technique is a plain demonstration of the principle aikido rests on — the strength of a held grip is not broken by counter-force but by division. For all its apparent simplicity, tenchi-nage does not work by force: if both hands travel at the same speed on the same path, the attacker keeps his balance.