The popular Facebook group “Aikido” shares well-written content about the traditional martial art, and the technical notebook.
The way to do ukemi, the falling, in koshinage is the high one, often called tobikoshi, falling over the hip. It is usually related to as “hard” falling. In judo, this type of ukemi is practiced so much that it becomes very relaxed and natural.
This is not always the case in aikido. Many aikido students feel very uncomfortable with doing tobikoshi ukemi, often because they just haven’t learned it properly or practiced it enough.
There are different ways of doing tobikoshi ukemi. Some are quite soft – but they demand a special throwing technique as well. The traditional tobikoshi ukemi is quite noisy and distinct.
You land heavily on the floor, and you have to hit the tatami hard with your hand to counter some of that force. You also have to learn to fall to the floor in the right body angle, with the right angle and positions of your legs.
