I noticed the Korin vids lately the guy Vincent lifts the gyuto off the stone. In Chiharu Sugai's chef's edge dvd. He lets up pressure on return stroke. He says easier for beginners to lift the knife. He does not lift the blade.
Many years ago I learned let up finger pad pressure on return stroke from a Japan National Sushi Chef. It looks like you are sharpening back & forth, however finger pad pressure behind the edge is ON trailing stroke & OFF return stroke. Since the blade never leaves the stone it is not total off-on. I had used other types of sharpening before I learned this tech. The positioning on the stone, handle hand controlling spine height, moving knife in a fluid motion as each section is finished. The other hand fingerpads behind the edge controls pressure & the movement of the blade up & down the stone. It is almost exactly the way Jon teaches it in his vids. Even handle in the way on one side as soon as out of the way angle the knife to the stone, flip side handle not in the way so angle to the stone all the way is the same as Jon. That is why I recomm. his vids to all
beginning freehanders.
As said there is more than one way to sharpen a knife, I will say that this tech worked so well took the guesswork out of sharpening & never had to use a dull knife since.