Another thing that is a specialty is to hit the top of the attacker's foot by kicking or stepping on it to control his balance.
The Koto Ryu stylist should be looking right between the attacker's eyebrows, so that the attacker cannot read the intentions through his eyes. The attacker will also believe that he has eye contact, which will be confusing for him in an unusual way.
Last, Koto Ryu is one of the very few Ryu that changed the grip of the sword by holding it with the left hand near the tsuka. This would totally confuse the attacker, and sometimes convince him that the Koga Ryu stylist was an amateur and an easy opponent.