How to Perform a Shiho Nage in Defense Against Ryote Kubi Dai in Aikido

Here is a guide on how to perform a Shiho Nage or “Four Direction Throw” in response to a Ryote Kubi Dai or “Both Wrist Clench”. The defender, known as “nage”, meets the attack from behind, is grabbed by the wrists, and twists, breaking the hold, twisting the attacker “uke’s” arm, and forces him to the ground.

Things You'll Need:
Practice Space

Attacker

Defender

Soft Mats to Cushion Falls

Ryote Kubi Dai-Shiho Nage
Step 1:
Allow your opponent to approach. He will do so quickly angled as if he were walking past you. As he walks by he will snag one of your wrists and spin around behind you, grabbing the other to complete the Ryote Kubi Dai. Make it difficult for him to try anything else by hunching forward and pulling your hands in together toward your pelvis. This will force him to widen his stance and press up against your back, which is exactly what you want him to do.

Step 2:
Press your palms apart and raise your hands sharply as if a police officer just ordered you to put your hands up at gunpoint. Arch your left hand over to the right, above your head, and cock your right arm out to the side. If you were to draw a vertical line straight down from your left hand, your right hand would touch it. Turn your body clockwise, underneath your hands, so your right shoulder is pointing at your opponent.

Step 3:
Twist your right hand around in your opponent’s grasp, locking onto your opponent’s wrist just as he is holding yours. Pull your left hand down to grab hold of that same wrist, further up the forearm, behind your right hand. Turn further so you are facing past your opponent’s left side and take a sharp step forward, driving forward with your hands, violently pulling your opponent’s arm with you, forcing his body to turn as well.

Step 4:
Duck your head and twist your opponent’s arm in an arc. It should be down near your left side. What you want to do is twist it while pulling it up over your head and down to your right side. You will probably have to shift in a quarter turn to the right as you do this.

Step 5:
Press the hand of the arm that you are twisting straight to the ground. As your opponent’s arm is twist upside down and partially behind his back, he will be unable to keep his balance and fall immediately to his back. Force your opponent to submit by keeping up the pressure while he’s on the ground. Do this by pressing the back of your opponent’s hand flat against the matt, push it inward toward his shoulder to cause stress on the joints of the arm.

How to Perform a Shiho Nage in Defense against a Shomen Uchi Strike in Aikido

Aikido is a Japanese martial art made up of a vast wealth of throws and grappling moves. It was devised by Morihei Ueshiba in the early 1900s. This was an alternative to the older martial art known as Jujitsu, which was very effective and similar in style to Aikido. The difference between the two martial arts was the mindset driving them. In Jujitsu a defender prevents his opponent from doing harm by employing joint locks and counterattacks which would cause permanent crippling damage to the attacker. Aikido is a more forgiving martial art in that any damage it does to an attacker is temporary, usually just being pressure applied to a joint causing pain to force an attacker to submit. Aikido means, “The Way of The Harmonious Spirit”, and works to redirect an attacker’s energy and momentum against himself. In this way it is effective against any opponent, regardless of any difference in size and strength between the two combatants. Here is a guide explaining how to perform a Shiho Nage or “Four Direction Throw” in response to a Shomen Uchi or “Bladed Strike” in Aikido.

Things You'll Need:
Practice Space

Attacker

Defender

Soft Mats to Cushion Falls.

Step 1:
Begin standing roughly three feet away from your opponent. The Shomen Uchi Strike can be performed with our without the presence of a knife. As the presence of a knife would present a confounding variable to these instructions despite the fact that their content would be unchanged, we will assume your opponent is unarmed. Your opponent well step forward forming his right hand into a flat blade and bringing it down in an overhand chop aimed at your head or neck.

Step 2:
Cross your arms at the wrist and catch your opponent’s descending lower forearm in the top X they form. Latch onto the exterior of your opponent’s hand with your left hand and his lower forearm with your right.

Step 3:
Roll your opponent’s arm down in an underhanded arc while turning to face to the right. Make sure to bring the arm up in front of you to chest level. This will begin to twist your opponent’s arm inward.

Step 4:
Complete the twist by raising the arm up and passing it over your head, turning to face the opposite direction as you do so. Just to recap your opponent should be in front of you off your right shoulder. Switch your grip to hold only his hand and, while it is twisted, press the inside of his wrist against the top of his right shoulder, letting his hand protrude past the back.

Step 5:
Bend at the knees and pull his hand downward to drive him backward off balance. Continue to guide the hand down and your opponent will drop to the floor on his back.

How to Perform a Dai Yonkyo in Defense Against a Shomen Uchi in Aikido

Here is a guide detailing how to perform a Dai Yonkyo in defense against a Shomen Uchi or “Bladed Strike”. Dai Yonkyo translates as “fourth set”. Aikido has a very well structured set of combat techniques. Dai Yonkyo is the fourth set of the Gokyo No Waza, or “Teachings of Techniques”. There are 8 groups of the Gokyo No Waza comprising over 40 defensive locks, throws, and holds. Each group comprises a higher difficulty level than the one prior; every martial artist must master each group in turn to advance in level. In this context Dai Yonkyo means that this technique is from the fourth group and is the set response to a Shomen Uchi for that degree of difficulty.

Things You'll Need:
Practice Space

Sparring Partner

Padded Floor Mats

Performing Shomen Uchi - Dai Yonkyo
Step 1:
Face your opponent from a distance of no greater than three feet. He will raise his right arm up into the air and lunge forward, attempting to bring the arm down in a chop. Step in to meet the charge, grabbing the wrist with your left hand and the elbow with your right hand while the arm is still high in the air.

Step 2:
Sweep the arm down in an arc passing down the midline of your opponent’s body, leading with the wrist. Bring the wrist down to your opponent’s right side and sidestep around behind him. Turn to place your back against your opponent’s back and then pull your opponent’s arm in a straight line to your right as hard as you are able. This will spin your opponent around like a top to land on his knees at your feet. This is called a tenkan and is useful in dizzying your opponent to make him more pliable for a submissive hold.

Step 3:
Force your opponent back to his feet by twisting his arm clockwise so the back of the elbow faces directly upward. Shift your grip so that your right hand holds the back of his hand and your left clenches the wrist.

Step 4:
Step backward and to your opponent’s left with your left foot. Pivot on that foot in a full 360 degree clockwise spin, taking your opponent with you. Remember to lead with your opponent’s arm and bend at the waist, forcing your opponent to turn while bent forward, eventually leaving him sprawled face down on the ground. This ends the Dai Yonkyo.

How to Perform a Dai Gokyo in Response to a Shomen Uchi in Aikido

Aikido is a Japanese martial art comprised primarily of throws and joint locks. It was devised by Morihei Ueshiba in the early 1900s as a safer alternative to Jujitsu, which utilizes throws and joint locks that damage, permanently injure, or even kill whoever has been unlucky enough to be subjected to it. Roughly translated, Aikido means, “The Way of The Harmonious Spirit”, and attempts to redirect an attacker’s energy and momentum against himself. For this to work both the attacker and defender must be acting in concert, like a pair of dancers. Typically the defender, known as “nage” is the more experienced of the pair as he/she must read an opponent’s movements and react to the attacker, known as “uke”. Here is a guide detailing how to defend against a “Shomen Uchi”, or Bladed Strike, with a Dai Gokyo, or Arm Stretch. The term Arm Stretch refers to the defender stretching the joints of his opponent’s arm. This technique is used to immobilize an attacker armed with a knife and force him/her to release the weapon.

Things You'll Need:
Practice Space

Practice Knife

Attacker

Defender

Soft Mats to Cushion Falls.

Performing Shomen Uchi-Dai Gokyo
Step 1:
Begin facing your opponent in a natural standing position. As in much of Aikido, you should be spaced at least four feet from your opponent. Your opponent will be holding the knife in a backhanded grip, meaning the blade is pointing downward from the bottom of the fist. The Shomen Uchi strike will be performed by your opponent taking two sharp steps forward while bringing the knife up and out to be held in a manner similar to many of the killers in the B horror films from the 50s. The upper arm will be out to the side horizontally, while the lower arm will be raised vertically. Upon closing the range to you your opponent will drive the knife down at the point where the neck meets the shoulders in a diagonal chopping motion. Of course if you have time to see all this it is far too late to do anything about it. You will have to act before your opponent begins to approach and before he/she brings the knife forward beyond his/her body.

Step 2:
Step forward while your opponent’s knife is still extended mostly out to the side, in the wind up position prior to the strike. Rush forward toward the outstretched arm, not the body. Stop the forward motion of the strike by meeting the arm with the flats of your hands.

Step 3:
Grab the wrist firmly in your right hand, making sure that you invert your hand upon doing so. Both your elbow and thumb should be pointed upward when taking hold of the wrist. From this position you can simply extend your arm out to your right to bring your hand right side up. By doing this you invert your opponent’s arm and force him to turn counterclockwise, somewhere off to your left.

Step 4:
Grip the arm in your left hand at the elbow and turn to your right, walking in a semicircle around your opponent to force him to come with you, extending his body. The back of your opponent’s hand should be facing the ground, the arm at full extension from the right side of the body. While walking forward take up a kneeling position and force the back of the hand as well as the length of the arm flat against the ground to bring your opponent flat on his chest.

Step 5:
Raise your opponent’s upper arm off the ground, fitting the lower arm inward so it stand vertically propping up the right side of the body. The back of the hand should be pressed flat against the ground, kinking the wrist as well as the elbow. Press down on the top of the elbow while pressing the inside of the wrist inward toward the body to exert painful pressure on these joints, causing the hand to spontaneously open. Remove the knife from the palm of the hand, throwing it away or using to finish your opponent.

How to Perform a Tenbin Nage in Response to a Yokomen Uchi Strike in Aikido

Here is a guide on how to perform a Tenbin Nage or “Elbow Throw” in response to a Yokomen Uchi or “Side of the head” strike.

Step 1: Face your opponent directly, roughly three to four feet apart. Keep your weight on the balls of your feet and your legs at shoulder width. Your opponent should approach directly with two long steps raising his right hand high and bringing it down in a diagonal strike which he would aim at the side of you neck.

Step 2: Sidestep to your right, rotating to keep your body facing your opponent. This will force your opponent to pivot and attempt to continue his side hand strike. Raise your open hands to lightly grab a hold of the attacker’s arm at the wrist and lower forearm. Guide it down to stop directly in front of you roughly below the level of your waist.

Step 3: Take firm hold of your attacker’s wrist with your right hand and pull your opponent’s arm out to your right as far as you are able. This will force him to turn his back toward you.

Step 4: Step in and slide your left arm up underneath your opponent’s right armpit. Force your shoulder into the hollow of the armpit, lifting with your legs and waist while pushing forward to raise your opponent’s weight and center of balance and push it forward.

Step 5: Lean forward at the waist and shrug your shoulders while pulling his right arm back toward your right side to throw your opponent forward into a shoulder roll. Be sure to lightly guide him forward using his right arm, but do not maintain a firm hold of it after the roll has begun to avoid accidentally harming your opponent’s wrist, elbow, or shoulder joint.

Writing Sample Employment Scams

One of the more frustrating scams a writer can come across involves the hiring process. It’s quite simple and nearly impossible to determine from a legitimate job offer.

Occasionally an online employer may anticipate a high number of job applicants. To avoid going through all the applicants’ resumes and emails the employer comes up with a sample assignment. The assignment is given to all of the applicants and whoever best completes the writing assignment gets the job.

Speaking from personal experience, writers hate this process. I send in over 2 dozen applications a week and the majority of them I never hear back from. If I had to write up a sample for every one of those applications I’d never get anything done. Simply put, this process is a time waster for the vast majority of job applicants. Only one person gets the job, the other couple thousand writers just worked a few hours for free and will be completely unable to use the material they wrote for publication elsewhere.

As frustrating as it is, if a writer is desperate enough for the money, which pretty much sums up every member of the profession, he/she will do it anyway and write the damn sample. Herein lies the capacity for someone to take advantage of you.

A good scammer will know his/her mark. The scammer will know that writers are used to being turned down and rejected, putting in applications and still attempting to find work in the face of insurmountable odds. At times I don’t know if that makes us stubborn or stupid, probably a little of both. In any case, this presents the perfect opportunity to run a foolproof and almost undetectable low-key scam.

The scammer takes on a number of automated bottom-rung writing jobs like the kind that can be found on Textbroker. He then uses Craigslist or another job forum and writes up a post looking for writers. The post includes mention of a decent paycheck, acceptable telecommuting, and loose deadlines for basic informative or copy (advertisement) writing. The post also says that a sample essay will be required prior to hiring.

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The scammer simply turns in the writer’s work as his own, making a couple bucks for his trouble from Textbroker. The writer never hears back from the employer and assumes he/she was turned down for the position like usual.

This may seem like an awful lot of work for the scammer to go through for a few bucks, but let’s think in terms of bulk. There are thousands of online freelance writers applying for jobs like the one I’ve described every day. If each one wrote an assignment that ended up paying $2 that would total several thousand dollars worth of work that the scammer got for free over the course of a couple days.

While this type of scam does not take much from the individual writer, it is still a violation of one’s trust and theft of one’s work. To make matters worse, there is absolutely nothing which can be done to detect this type of scam as it follows the exact same channels as legitimate employers.

The only way to avoid being taken in by such a scam is to refuse to apply for any job which requires you to write a sample article specified by the employer. This of course will negate any possibility for employment if the offer turned out to be genuine. Whether or not you want to take the risk of having your material stolen is entirely up to you.

Performing an Irimi Nage in Defense Against a Morote Dori in Aikido

Here is a guide on how to perform an Irimi Nage or “Opening Throw” in response to a Morote Dori. This attack has no literal equivalent translation, but is generally considered to mean “both hands grasping one wrist”. The Morote Dori is done immediately prior to a joint lock, focusing on either the shoulder or the elbow. The Irimi Nage is done as an initial defense to warn off an opponent and give him/her a chance to back down rather than continue the attack.

Things You'll Need:
Practice Space

Attacker

Defender S

oft Mats to Cushion Falls

Executing a Morote Dori-Irimi Nage
Step 1: Begin by allowing your opponent to grab your wrist with both hands. One hand should be placed tightly over the other, similar to the way a baseball bat is held. Respond to this by rolling your right arm in a clockwise circle. By doing this you force your opponent to twist his hands, and by proxy his arms, right over left.

Step 2: Step forward and around your opponent’s exposed right shoulder to face his back. Reach around and grab him back the back of the neck with your left hand. Lightly grasp his right wrist with your right hand and pull your opponent bodily to your right in a quarter circle.

Step 3: Reverse the direction of your pull as swiftly and as hard as you are able. Switch the grip of your right hand to the top of his left shoulder and throw him directly ahead of you, shoving as hard as you can upon release. Your opponent should not roll, but instead fall backward to land on his back or rump. This is the result of suddenly changing the direction in which he was being moved. By pulling him to your right, the direction he was facing, he was just regaining his balance and adjusting to the forward momentum. By switching his direction, the fact that he was adjusted to moving forward works against, magnifying the force which you imparted by shoving him backward.