Aikido TANTO DORI, knife defense, chudan tsuki KOTEGAESHI, by Stefan Stenudd

TANTODORI (短刀取り) is defense against knife attacks, also called tanken dori. Here is the aikido technique KOTEGAESHI against chudan tsuki, a strike to the torso. Defense against knife attacks is very difficult to do in a trustworthy way. It takes a lot of practice, and still there is great risk involved. There are many opinions on how to do it, and more than a few would say it’s impossible. Anyway, practicing knife defense is better than not doing it at all. Also, tantodori is part of the aikido curriculum. That includes several different knife attacks as well as a number of aikido techniques applied to them. All techniques are not equally practical. It is my impression that most aikido instructors regard kotegaeshi as one of the most effective techniques against knife attacks. In tantodori kotegaeshi, I’d say the most important thing is to gain control of the knife hand as quickly as possible, and keep that as the main focus all through to the disarming.