Harai Goshi

Last updated: May 31, 2026

What is harai goshi?

The word breaks into two parts: harai, meaning “sweep,” and goshi (from koshi), meaning “hip.” Put together, harai goshi is the sweeping hip throw, and the name describes exactly what happens. The thrower turns in, makes contact across the opponent’s hips, and uses a sweeping leg to take away the opponent’s base while rotating them forward over the hip.

Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, included harai goshi among the original 40 throws of the art. Today it sits in the Kodokan’s current list of 67 throws and is classified as a hip technique, or koshi-waza, alongside throws like o goshi and hane goshi. In the traditional Gokyo no waza teaching order, it belongs to the second group (Dai Nikyo), which is why most judoka meet it fairly early and need it to progress through the grading ranks.

What makes harai goshi distinct is the split of labour between hip and leg. The hip provides contact and the pivot point, but the throwing force comes mostly from the leg sweeping across the opponent’s thigh while the arms break their balance to the front. Grapplers sometimes call it a “half hip throw” for that reason: the thrower does not sink as deeply under the hips as in a pure hip toss.

How harai goshi works

Every version of harai goshi runs on three things working together: a forward off-balance (kuzushi), hip contact, and a sweeping leg. The thrower first pulls the opponent’s weight forward and up onto the balls of their feet, then turns in so the hip and back of the thigh press against the front of the opponent’s thigh. Once the opponent’s weight is committed forward, the sweeping leg carries it the rest of the way.

That sweeping action is the defining feature. Rather than lifting the opponent straight up and over, as a deeper hip throw does, harai goshi removes the supporting leg with a wide sweep while the upper body keeps rotating them down. A peer-reviewed analysis by Pucsok and colleagues, published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness in 2001, measured this directly across 28 judo competitors and found a significant difference in how much horizontal force advanced judoka generated through the support leg compared with novices, which helps explain why the throw looks effortless when an expert does it and stalls when a beginner tries.

This is also why timing matters more than size. Because the throw runs on the opponent’s forward momentum, a smaller thrower can take down a larger one by catching them as they step or push in.

Harai goshi vs uchi mata

The throw most often confused with harai goshi is uchi mata, the inner-thigh throw, and the entries do look almost identical from the outside. The difference is which leg gets attacked and how. In harai goshi, the thrower sweeps the outside of the opponent’s leg or thigh with the back of their own leg. In uchi mata, the attacking leg goes between the opponent’s legs and lifts against the inner thigh.

That single change moves the two throws into different families. Harai goshi is a hip technique (koshi-waza) because the hip drives the action and the leg sweeps. Uchi mata is classified as a foot/leg technique (ashi-waza) because the leg itself does most of the lifting. A third cousin, hane goshi (the “springing hip throw”), sits closer to harai goshi as another koshi-waza but uses a bent, springing leg to bounce the opponent up rather than sweeping them across.

Throw	Japanese meaning	Classification	What the leg does
Harai goshi	Sweeping hip throw	Koshi-waza (hip)	Sweeps the outside of the leg
Uchi mata	Inner-thigh throw	Ashi-waza (leg)	Lifts against the inner thigh
Hane goshi	Springing hip throw	Koshi-waza (hip)	Springs upward with a bent leg

The throws are taught close together because the entries overlap, and a missed uchi mata often flows straight into harai goshi when the opponent’s stance shifts. The simplest way to tell them apart in commentary: if the leg sweeps across the outside, it is harai goshi; if it lifts from between the legs, it is uchi mata.

Harai goshi in MMA and BJJ

Harai goshi started in judo but travelled well, and it shows up regularly in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts. The reason is that it does not depend on the jacket. The same hip-and-sweep mechanic works whether the thrower has a collar-and-sleeve grip in the gi, an over-under clinch in no-gi, or a body lock against the cage in MMA.

In grappling, the throw also lands the thrower in a strong position. A clean harai goshi tends to drop the opponent flat while the thrower stays standing or settles into side control, which is why coaches treat it as a takedown that leads directly into top control rather than a scramble.

Origin of harai goshi

There is a specific story behind how this throw came to exist. According to accounts of Kano’s teaching, one of his students, Shiro Saigo, kept escaping Kano’s hip throw (uki goshi) by hopping forward and pulling his trapped leg free. Kano’s answer was to sweep that escaping leg before Saigo could plant it, and that sweeping correction became the basis of harai goshi. The story is recorded in Kyuzo Mifune’s The Canon of Judo, a standard reference written by one of the art’s most respected masters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does harai goshi mean?

It means “sweeping hip throw.” Harai is Japanese for “sweep”, and goshi (koshi) means “hip.”

Is harai goshi a hip throw or a leg throw?

It is officially a hip technique, koshi-waza, in the Kodokan system, even though the visible action is a leg sweep. The hip provides the contact and pivot, while the leg does the sweeping.

What is the counter to harai goshi?

The recognised counter is harai goshi gaeshi, the “hip sweep counter,” in which the defender hooks and reaps the attacker’s supporting leg to reverse the throw.

Is harai goshi used in MMA?

Yes. It adapts to no-gi grips and the clinch, which makes it one of the judo throws that carries over into MMA and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Is harai goshi hard to learn?

The mechanics are simple to describe but depend heavily on timing, so most students can perform a basic version early yet spend years refining the off-balance and sweep.

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Sources

1. Wikipedia. “Harai goshi.” Accessed May 2026.
2. Kodokan Judo Institute, Gokyo no waza classification. Accessed May 2026.
3. Mifune, Kyuzo. The Canon of Judo (Kodansha International, 2004), via JudoInfo. Accessed May 2026.
4. Pucsok, J.M. et al. “A kinetic and kinematic analysis of the Harai-goshi judo technique.” Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness (2001), via PubMed. Accessed May 2026.
5. The Judo Way of Life. “Harai Goshi vs Uchi Mata vs Hane Goshi.” Accessed May 2026.
6. Evolve MMA. “Understanding the Harai Goshi for BJJ.” Accessed May 2026.

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