Tori holds his ground and makes uke move around him. This time tori redirects uke's attack. When doing irimi Ikeda sensei did not move his arm or feet, but instead twisted his hips, drawing uke around him - even if uke was pulling hard they had no choice but to be drawn forward. I spent most of the seminar exploring this approach to my technique. The third stage was a little bit of both.
Tori redirects uke and at the same time moves slightly out of the way.
Throughout the seminar, Ikeda sensei continued to focus on the importance of the initial contact between uke and tori. We learned how uke should be immobilized for an instant when contact is made. Ikeda sensei explained that the time of contact needed to do this was different for each person dependent upon their skill level. Some people would need a full second, some one half a second, and others only one quarter second. How long it took didn't matter, it was only important that it was there.