Tenchinage & Sokumen Iriminage: Core Yoshinkan Throws

Among the throws every Yoshinkan student learns first, two stand apart for what they teach rather than how spectacular they look. Tenchinage (天地投げ)—the heaven-and-earth throw—and Sokumen Iriminage (側面入り身投げ)—the side-entering throw—are early syllabus items that quietly contain the entire grammar of Aikido: entering, blending, and unbalancing along opposed vectors.

1. Tenchinage: Splitting Heaven and Earth

Ten (天) is heaven; Chi (地) is earth. The name is the instruction. Against a two-handed grab (Ryote-mochi), the defender extends both seized hands in opposite vertical directions—one rising toward heaven, one sinking toward earth—at the precise moment of an angled entry.

The grab itself supplies the trap. Because Uke has committed both hands to your wrists, they cannot block, cover, or step out cleanly; their frame is welded to yours. When your arms separate vertically while your hips rotate through their line, something has to give—and it will not be your skeleton. The attacker's shoulders are forced into opposing rotations no human posture can absorb.

• The Common Error: Pushing the arms apart with shoulder strength. Done this way, a stronger partner simply resists. The separation must ride hip rotation and whole-body extension, as covered in our guide to Chushin-ryoku.
• The Timing Tell: If you feel yourself lifting the partner, you are late. Executed at the moment of contact, their own grip tension throws them before your arms finish travelling.

2. Sokumen Iriminage: The Side Entering Throw

Where Tenchinage splits vertically, Sokumen Iriminage sweeps horizontally. Against a strike such as Yokomenuchi, the defender enters deeply off the attack line—past the armpit, into the blind quadrant (Shikaku)—so the blow passes through empty air. From there, one arm bars across the attacker's far shoulder line while the whole body continues rotating; the attacker's head and torso travel around an axis they no longer control.

The throw is a pure demonstration of Irimi: the closer and more committed the entry, the less force the finish requires. Hesitate halfway in and you inherit the full problem; arrive completely and the fall is simply geometry completing itself—the same dynamic studied in our balance-breaking guide. Its seated counterpart appears in Suwari-waza practice, proving the mechanism needs legs less than people assume.

3. Why These Two Anchor the Basics

4. Where They Lead

Master these two and the rest of the throwing catalogue becomes variation rather than novelty. Shihonage adds the sword-like turn studied in our four-direction guide; Kotegaeshi relocates the disruption into the wrist; Koshi-nage swaps the lever entirely for the hips. Same grammar, new sentences—exactly as intended by the structured pedagogy described in our introduction to Yoshinkan.

Throw Your First Proper Partner in Kepong

Reading about heaven and earth is one thing; feeling a taller, stronger partner fold around your entry is another. At Shoreikan Dojo in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, Chief Instructor Tony Chung (6th Dan) introduces both throws within a beginner's first months, on a foundation of safe breakfalls. Join our Saturday morning session or start with the first-class guide.

Canonical Literature & References

• Shioda, Gozo. (1996). Total Aikido: The Master Course. Kodansha International.
• Shioda, Gozo. (1968). Dynamic Aikido. Kodansha International.
• Shioda, Gozo. (2002). Aikido Shugyo: Harmony in Confrontation. Shindokan Books.