Chris Hein wrote:
....Here's what I can tell is different about gokyo then Ikkyo,
1. Your hand is palm up when you are applying it as oppose to palm down.
2. You only do ura movements when doing gokyo (Don't ask me why)
3. There is a different pin.
That's it, that's all I can see that's different from Ikkyo. I think I must be missing something. I've talk with other Aikidoka about it, people who should be in the know, but they are either as mystified as myself, or they have some silly reason, that doesn't make since to me.
One of the big questions about the whole thing for me is, the basic Iwama form for Katate dori Ikkyo, is done with the hand in the same position as gokyo (palm up), but it's not called gokyo, it's called ikkyo. Making it ever more confounding, is the fact that that form (katate dori ikkyo) is really a model form for ikkyo, but other then the fact that the pin is different and there is an omote as well as ura, it might as well be gokyo.
Another problem I have is; if the pin, and the hand position make a big enough difference to make a different form (from ikkyo to gokyo), then why aren't there more forms for nikyo? I mean I can do Nikyo on my shoulder, I can do it cross handed, or I can do it same handed, yet they are all Nikkyos. There are several different pins for sankyo, and kotegaishi, but they don't get different names just because they have different pins....-Chris Hein
1. Yes. That is the diffrence.
2. There is omote as well. Aikido is ambidextrous so all techniques have omote and ura.
3. Yes, as you already noted.
The Iwama video might be a mistake. Depending on how you remove uke's hand will determine if you have ikkyo, nikkyo, or kotegaeshi.
You can do nikkyo in several different ways but they all have the ever important "Z" so they are all nikkyo. We all know how the wrist is supposed to be twised to do a sankkyo. Don't look for the differences in the pin, instead look for the commanilities within the pin. Once you see this, then you will see why the technique is still called nikkyo or sankkyo etc....