I watched a Japanese chef use an interesting method to make tempura

[Arkansas Granny]

batter on tv this morning. He used the whisk in an up and down tapping motion to mix the ingredients instead of stirring in a circular motion. He explained that stirring would allow too much gluten formation in the batter and would toughen it.

Has anyone seen this before? I wonder if that method would work on muffin and pancake batters to keep them tender.