How to Perform a Samurai Karate Sacrifice Throw Against a Yokumon Strike

This guide will explain how to perform a Sacrifice Throw or Satemiwase against an open handed side chop referred to as a Yokumon.
Instructions

Performing a Sacrifice Throw Against a Yokumon Strike
Step 1:
Allow your opponent to close the distance with you to striking range and attack with a Yokumon strike. This will be a horizontal chop with a palm open to the sky that comes in from the side and is aimed toward the neck.

Step 2:
Step inside of your opponent’s swing angled to the side opposite of your opponent’s strike. Swing your arm from the midline of your body upward and outward to land against the opposite side of your opponent’s check and jaw. The point of impact should be a few inches down from the elbow of your arm. Note that this strike is not meant to hit hard, though it can if facing someone actually intent on doing you harm.

Step 3:
Press that arm down and to the side, in so doing forcing your opponent’s head down and forward into a bowing position. Roll that arm around so that the inside of your elbow rather than the outside is pressed against your opponent’s neck. Clamp your arm securely around your opponent’s head to put him in a headlock.

Step 4:
Slip other arm under your opponent’s arm, the one which your opponent did not strike with, and lock elbows. Pull that arm up as high as you are able to elevate one side of your opponent’s body, both immobilizing him and forcing him off balance.

Step 5:
Sweep one of your feet against your opponent’s leg, the one closest to your body. Drop down and allow your back to straighten as you do so to safely fall to the ground, forcing your opponent into a kowtowing position to end the move. For those unfamiliar with the term, kowtowing is kneeling, bending forward, and placing both the forehead and hands against the ground in supplication. If you were facing a real attacker rather than practicing with a sparring partner, you can perform a slight variation which will be more effective in stopping an attacker. Instead of sweeping your opponent’s leg out from under him, you can anchor his leg in place by pressing the arch of your foot against his ankle or knee. This way the bone will break when you fall backward.

Tips & Warnings
Yokumons were known for being very dangerous as the chopping strike was aimed at the side of the neck and could result in spinal damage is successfully landed. The defense is called a Sacrifice throw because it requires that the defender drop to the ground alongside the attacker, sacrificing the advantage of standing with one's feet on the ground.

An interesting aspect of most sacrifice throws is how, by making only a slight alteration, a throw can run the gamut between safely dropping an opponent to the ground and killing him outright.

Most any technique in Samurai Karate has the potential to be very dangerous to both the attacker and the defender. For that reason take the utmost care when practicing this martial art, preferably under the watchful eye of a trained instructor.