In general, kaitennage is among the techniques learnd early on in aikido training, and we tend to practice this technique in order to learn ukemi.

It is also important for the way it symbolizes the very essence of aikido, namely by helping you cultivate an ability to move into your opponent’s dead angle space no matter what his movement.

Kaitennage sometimes looks as if you’ve let the opponent grab your wrist and you are turning in response; but it only appears this way if the palm of your extended hand is facing down. Done correctly,as your wrist is taken, your body must be facing your opponent’s center and your palm facing up. Entering in this way, palm up (shown at right), puts you in unity with your opponent, creating a foundation for movement in any direction you wish. Centering your own body toward your opponent’s center puts you in such a position that you don’t receive his attack,
yet you can still reach him.

For these reasons, kaitennage is an important technique. Though it is a basic technique, you must not forget that it has this deeper meaning, a principle that can be applied throughout the rest of your aikido training.

Shoji Nishio Sensei
Yurusu Budo (pg. 32)