Harai Goshi

Harai Goshi is a sweeping hip throw technique where Tori’s extended leg is used as a lever in the throwing movement. In this technique, the swinging movement (trunk leg strength couple ) increases the hip’s effectiveness . Supporting his weight on the left leg, Tori sweeps Uke with a backward lateral movement of his extended right leg. During the movement, the rotation axis being the hip , Tori keeps his trunk straight in line with his right leg. He completes the sweeping throw by simultaneously turning his shoulders, with his , head turned to the left .

« Breaking of Uke’s balance»

Tori must be able, at the end of the Kuzushi, to put Uke off balance towards the front and on his right ( the weight of his body must rest on his right leg). Steps to achieve this are performed in two distinct stages :

1. At the beginning, Uke is in the migi shizentai position. With his right hand, Tori pulls strongly on Uke’s left facing. This action results in a first off-balancing action while Uke’s left leg is moved forward.  
2. When Uke ’s left leg overthrows Tori’s right foot, the latter performs the following movements in a sequence :
• He pulls Uke’s right sleeve with his left hand towards the outside and forward
• He turns his right wrist (outside rotation ) by applying pressure, as well as the forearm, on Uke’s left side of the chest. The elbow should be in contact with the ribs. This movement will allow him to strongly push Uke’s trunk while turning him towards his right
• Then finally, Tori puts his left foot in motion by moving it behind his right foot (Rotating Taisabaki) .
These actions are designed to off-balance Uke to the right .

At this stage, Tori’s legs are slightly bent, as they are at the center and forefront of Uke’s support. Tori’s favourable feet position completes the Kuzushi and allows him to easily proceed with the Tsukuri.

« Tori body placement»

Supporting himself on his left leg, Tori rotateswhile maintaining a strong left arm traction towards Uke’s right .

When Tori takes position his right arm must firmly stay in contactwith Uke’s side chest to therefore maintain the off-balancing forward.

Tori’s right leg can leave its support position on the ground when Uke’s weight is for the most part transferred to his right ( (keeping Uke on his right foot ). This position is obtained with a continuous action of pushing Tori’s forearm and always keeping contact with Uke’s chest.

Once his body is in position, Tori finds himself supporting his weight only on his left leg. His left side and the initial part of his back are in permanent contact with Uke’s upper body. His right leg takes position, it is well-stretched, slightly outside, and its back part (back tie, knee’s popliteal fossa, calf) is against the front part of Uke ’s right leg .

« The throw»
To proceed with the throw, Tori must perform three actions :

1. He extends his support leg , while keeping the sole of his left foot in contact with the ground.
2. He whirls his body from right to left by turning his shoulders , also with an accompanying movement of the head from right to left.  
3. He sweeps Uke ’s body with the back lateral motion of his extended right leg .  

Tori’ s “sweeping” action is performed from Uke ’s right to his left .