01 / AT A GLANCE
Hane-goshi: the defining action
Hane-goshi combines the action of the hip and a bent attacking leg to spring uke into the throw. The leg assists a connected hip action; a sideways knee swing against a distant opponent does not reproduce the mechanism.
Name and scope: Hane-goshi (跳腰), commonly rendered as spring hip throw, belongs to Koshi-waza. Searches for “hane goshi” and the hyphenated spelling refer to the same official technique here. An informal nickname should be checked against the actual action before being treated as a separate technique.
Position convention: Tori attacks to the right with left-hand sleeve control and a right-side upper-body grip. The left leg supports tori while the right hip and bent right leg work together against uke’s connected lower body. Tori means the person performing the technique and uke the receiving partner. When reviewing a mirrored camera image, identify each person’s own sides first. Reverse the whole relationship for a left-sided lesson rather than changing one limb while preserving incompatible directions elsewhere.
The intended reader can already practise under supervision and wants to connect demonstration, diagnosis and decision-making. For hane-goshi, the central question is: make the hip and bent leg act together from a stable support. Beginners can study the shape with a coach; applying it against variable resistance requires the additional recognition and control work below. The article does not assign a universal belt level or promise that one body type will succeed automatically.
02 / WATCH THE TECHNIQUE
Official demonstration and a second viewing reference
Open this video on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
Open this video on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
Follow the attacking knee shape, the location of the left support and the timing of the hip rise. Compare those features before copying speed or the size of the final rotation.
Official reference: Kodokan. Second demonstration: Efficient Judo. Open the publisher links if either embedded player is unavailable.
A practical viewing question is: “Does my right hip lift with the leg, or does my leg leave a hip position that never connected?” Compare that question across the official and second reference. Differences in speed, partner stance or grip route may explain different appearances. Do not combine isolated details from incompatible versions into one repetition. No timestamps or claims about unseen scoring sequences are supplied here.
03 / WHEN TO USE IT
Recognise an opening and recognise its absence
A usable starting relationship
Uke’s trunk comes forward and the bodies can close along tori’s right side. Tori can stand on the left support without leaning so far forward that the attacking leg becomes the only thing holding the entry together.
A sleeve grip can bring uke’s arm forward without bringing the right side of the torso close enough for the spring. Before turning, check whether uke’s shoulder and pelvis can approach tori’s right side together. The right arm should maintain the chosen upper-body connection while the left hand guides the sleeve. If the shoulder is close but the pelvis stays distant, the bent attacking leg is likely to meet an unsupported gap.
When the same shape is not an opening
Uke’s hips are distant or the sleeve-side shoulder remains behind the heels. Trying to spring the leg from that distance usually produces leg contact without a transferable load.
A stiff-arm opponent may leave space for tori to rotate but prevent the body contact needed for hane-goshi. Entering that empty space repeatedly can produce a neat leg shape with no load. First use movement to change the arm angle, then check whether the trunk follows. If the stiff arm remains effective, recover the entry instead of trying to lift the knee higher against a partner whose centre has not approached.
Movement to invite or read
Begin with uke taking one forward step into a close side relationship. Vary the depth of that step so that tori learns whether the hip can fit before adding any spring. In an opposite-lead or unfamiliar grip arrangement, have the coach map the relevant limbs again. The fixed convention in this article provides a reference for comparison; it does not guarantee that the same approach distance survives every stance.
04 / HOW IT WORKS
Connect the grips, support and finishing action
Hands and upper-body connection
The sleeve hand leads the front corner while the right upper-body connection keeps uke close to the right side. Both hands continue the turn as the hip and leg rise; they should not stop at the moment the leg begins moving.
Feet, hips and available support
Turn onto a stable left support and fit the right hip close to uke. Keep the attacking right leg bent for the demonstrated springing relationship rather than straightening it into a long sweeping lever.
Complete the action under control
The right hip and bent right leg spring in coordination with the torso turn. Uke travels across the connected body as tori guides the sleeve and maintains an available landing corridor. A large airborne jump by tori is not the learning objective.
Study the relationship beneath the visible shape
The bent attacking leg is easy to imitate and easy to misunderstand. Its visible shape does not explain how uke becomes connected to the hip. Begin by examining the right side of tori’s trunk and the location of uke’s pelvis. If those surfaces separate as soon as the leg rises, the spring is acting on a body that is no longer attached to the intended platform. In a low-speed rehearsal, keep the right leg quiet until the side contact is established. Then add only a small coordinated rise. The partner should feel the hip and leg participating in one movement rather than two separate bumps.
The left support deserves equal attention. A support foot placed too far away forces tori to lean toward uke, while a position that blocks the turn can make the knee twist under load. There is no benefit in preserving an exact foot mark if the partners’ stance has changed. Use the demonstrated relationship as the reference and let the coach adjust the fit. The observable requirement is that the support permits a controlled turn and spring without a compensating hop before the action begins.
05 / KEY POINTS
Four cues with observable checks
Keep the defining mechanism visible
Make the hip and bent leg act together from a stable support. Ask the observer to describe that action before commenting on power. If a repetition succeeds through a different mechanism, record what actually happened. A fall or escape can be useful without proving that the intended hane-goshi relationship improved.
Verify the position before adding commitment
At the entry pause, an observer should see close side contact and a bent attacking leg before the spring begins, with tori able to stay upright on the supporting foot. Use this as a brief checkpoint in cooperative practice, then remove the pause as coordination improves. The checkpoint is not a recommendation to freeze during a live exchange; it is a way to identify the relationship that must survive movement.
Preserve the correct stopping decision
Use a coach-arranged unavailable position to check your decision before adding resistance to hane-goshi. The precise release or reception boundary is described in the defence section below. Otherwise, a partner who always supplies the ideal opening can teach commitment without teaching selection. A correct reset belongs in the practice record alongside a controlled completion.
Make the result lead to a next position
The spring can create a faster rotation than the entry suggests. Tori should keep upper-body guidance through the landing, then establish an independent base instead of collapsing onto uke with the attacking leg still entangled. The observer should describe the actual ending, not the intended ending. That description determines whether the next task belongs to finishing, stabilising on top or recovering underneath.
06 / PROBLEMS & ADJUSTMENTS
Diagnose the earliest cause before changing force
The right leg moves strongly, but uke stays on the floor and the upper bodies separate.
The hands may have stopped drawing uke forward as soon as the turn began. Tori may be attempting a leg spring before the hip has established useful contact. These are competing explanations to investigate, not a diagnosis made from the result alone. The next repetition should reveal which relationship fails first.
Test: Perform the entry first with no leg action and check upper-body connection. Then add a very small bent-leg lift without finishing. Compare whether contact improves or opens as the leg moves. Adjustment: Reduce the leg amplitude and delay its action until the hip and shoulder line are connected. Keep the other conditions as similar as practical for the comparison. An improvement in the relevant connection is more informative than one accidental completion after several unrelated changes.
Left support pivots abruptly after weight commits
If the left support pivots abruptly after weight is committed, return to a slower entry and inspect its placement. Repeatedly hopping to repair a poor support position conceals the original problem and makes the landing harder to control. For hane-goshi, partner feedback should identify where the action was felt and when it changed. Combine that report with the observer’s view; an outside camera and an inside contact sensation provide different pieces of evidence.
Isolate hip fit, left-foot balance and spring
To investigate a failed spring, compare three restrained versions. First, fit the hip with both feet available and no leg lift. Second, balance on the left support while keeping upper-body contact. Third, add the small bent-leg action. The earliest version that loses connection identifies the next practice task. Failure in the first version concerns entry and hands. Failure in the second concerns support and body alignment. Failure only in the third concerns coordination of the spring. This sequence avoids blaming the attacking leg for every incomplete throw.
Ask uke for descriptive feedback rather than a judgement of power. Useful reports include feeling the shoulder pulled away from the hip, feeling the right side rise as a unit, or feeling the entry stall before the leg moves. A report that the throw felt strong is less precise. Combine the partner’s sensation with the observer’s view, because neither alone reveals every contact in a close hip technique.
07 / SETUPS & COMBINATIONS
Make the next action depend on a response
First route: starting position, response and continuation
Use ko-uchi-gari to invite uke to withdraw the attacked foot. If the recovery brings uke forward and close to the right-side hip relationship, turn for hane-goshi. If uke remains square and distant, regain the stance rather than trying to reach the leg across the gap.
For the ko-uchi-to-hane drill, uke first gives an ordinary foot withdrawal, then chooses a forward recovery or a circling recovery. Tori uses the forward response only if the right hip can connect. The observer records whether the attacking leg remained bent and whether the left support stayed organised. If tori springs for both responses, reduce the pace and require recognition of the pelvis direction before allowing a finish.
Second route: recovery or change of direction
An attempted hane-goshi may cause uke to step around and restore an upright stance. If that recovery exposes an inner leg after tori has returned to facing posture, o-uchi-gari becomes a separate continuation. Stop if tori is still balancing on one foot or the sleeve has detached.
When changing to o-uchi-gari, first observe where uke’s circling recovery places the feet. Tori cannot safely redirect the raised right leg into an inner reap while still leaning across the original left support. Restore a facing stance and check the new inner-leg target. If that target is unavailable, the failed hane-goshi has supplied information about distance, not a guaranteed combination. Keep the reset as part of the rehearsed sequence.
08 / DEFENCES & COUNTERS
Separate prevention, recovery and a counter opportunity
Uke can prevent close hip contact through earlier distance and angle changes. Once lifted, trying to clamp the attacking leg or twist the knee under load is not an appropriate beginner defence.
Stop boundary: Tori should return the attacking foot to the mat when the hip has missed, the left support is unstable or uke has moved beyond the available landing space. The receiving partner must retain an agreed ukemi response when the original attack has succeeded. Do not replace reception with a desperate straight-arm post or a joint-twisting rescue.
Uke can test early prevention by circling away from the right hip before the spring starts. Tori should put the attacking foot down and turn to face. In a separate cooperative repetition, allow the hip to connect and receive the throw normally. Mixing an early circle with a late knee clamp teaches a hazardous response to two different stages. The defender’s choice should depend on whether the springing load has already begun.
09 / GROUND TRANSITIONS
Read the position after the main action
If the sleeve remains controlled and uke lands on the back, a side hold may be available. If uke rolls through, follow only as far as chest contact and stable knees allow; otherwise face the opponent and reconstruct the top position.
After uke lands, tori’s right leg may still be extended or caught beside the lower body. Recover a base before reaching across for the far shoulder. If the sleeve is retained but uke turns away, follow the shoulder with the torso rather than stretching the arm behind the back. A stable side hold requires new chest and hip positioning; the springing contact that produced the throw should not remain the only connection.
A completed throw and an established hold are separate outcomes. A controlled landing can still require leg clearance or shoulder repositioning before useful top control exists. Compare the actual hane-goshi ending with the planned one, and practise the common arrival independently if it repeatedly becomes the weak part of the sequence.
10 / PRACTICE PROGRESSION
Progress from a clear shape to a real choice
Stage one: make the reference repeatable
Use the stated hane-goshi convention with a cooperative partner. Begin slowly enough to identify the grip and support roles, and stop before completing an action that has lost its defining connection. Progress when both partners and the observer can describe the same relationship without guessing. Repetition count alone does not establish readiness.
Stage two: introduce the movement cue
Revisit the specific moving relationship described under “When to use it” for hane-goshi. First keep its direction predictable, then vary its timing while preserving the same grips and side convention. Keep resistance modest while the cue changes. If the reference shape disappears on every moving attempt, reduce the step or escape amplitude and preserve the correct direction rather than forcing a finish.
Stage three: require a decision
Uke alternates between a connected forward step and a step that circles outside the hip. Tori chooses hane-goshi only for the connected response and resets for the circle. A useful round includes a correct continuation and a correct decision not to continue. Record both. When these choices remain clear, increase unpredictability before increasing force, with the coach deciding what the pair can control.
Stage four: constrain the exchange, then broaden it
A movement progression can begin with a short forward step into the right-side relationship, followed by a step that circles outside it. Tori names the response before entering. After the distinction is reliable, remove the spoken naming and preserve the same choice. The goal is to recognise whether a springing hip fit exists, not to force the same leg shape after every step. Add light resistance to the upper-body connection only after tori can decline the circling response without losing posture.
In a later constrained randori round, allow hane-goshi and one rearward recovery attack, with resets after a missed hip fit. This discourages repeated hopping entries that never reconnect the trunk. Review whether the second attack began from a restored stance. A combination becomes useful when the first reaction creates a new opening; it is not improved merely by adding another technique name to a disconnected entry.
11 / COMPETITION EXAMPLE
A named official replay selection to study
Verified selection: Nikoloz SHERAZADISHVILI vs Said Emi ZHAMBEKOV — The Hague Grand Prix 2018. The IJF technique library page includes this contest in its Hane-goshi technique-tagged replay data. The listing verifies the named pairing, event and technique tag. The listing credits the tagged action to Nikoloz Sherazadishvili. It does not by itself establish the final score, a precise timestamp or a complete tactical account.
Use the selection to investigate one question: “Does my right hip lift with the leg, or does my leg leave a hip position that never connected?” Before the tagged action, identify the grips and movement that made the situation possible. During the action, compare the defining connection with the official demonstration. Afterward, identify recovery and position. If the player or angle does not show one of those phases, leave that part of the observation blank rather than inferring it from the tag.
A useful competition note for hane-goshi separates three things: what the official listing states, what you can actually see in playback and what you propose to test in practice. This article confirms the first and supplies prompts for the other two. It does not present an unviewed sequence as a frame-by-frame analysis, nor treat historical footage as certification under current event rules.
12 / VARIATIONS & COMPARISONS
Keep neighbouring techniques and variants distinct
Harai-goshi uses a sweeping leg action rather than the characteristic bent-leg spring. Uchi-mata attacks through a different inner-thigh relationship. Hane-goshi-gaeshi is a counter to this throw, not a backward version of the same attack.
In harai-goshi, the attacking leg sweeps through the connected hip action; in hane-goshi, study the bent-leg spring. Uchi-mata uses an inner-thigh relationship that should be identified separately. The counter guide helps locate the exposed supporting leg, but it does not mean every failed spring should be answered by a support-leg hook. Timing and retained balance decide whether that counter exists.
13 / YOUR NEXT PRACTICE
One task, one observation and one next decision
Task: Separate ten slow entries into hip contact, stable support and a small bent-leg spring; finish only the entries that preserve all three.
Record: Count complete connected entries rather than counting every leg swing as a repetition. Use the practice record template or the practice tools described in Judo AI. Include the starting stance, partner response and the single adjustment tested, so the observation remains interpretable at the next session.
Illustrative example — not measured user data: An illustrative set produced six stable entries but only three coordinated springs. Reducing leg height allowed five of the next six entries to preserve hip contact. This is a training record, not an expected success rate.
Coach question: “Does my right hip lift with the leg, or does my leg leave a hip position that never connected?” Bring one clear success and one clear failure if recording is permitted. For hane-goshi, choose the next drill from the earliest difference between them. Keep an adjustment that improves the intended connection across several comparable attempts; revise it when the predicted change does not appear. The purpose of the record is a better next decision, not a decorative count of repetitions.
14 / SOURCES & REVIEW
Sources, authorship and review
Kodokan official technique names establish the name and category. The IJF Hane-goshi definition and video library and linked Kodokan demonstration are the primary technical references. The second video above is credited separately. The official replay listing in section 11 verifies the named contest and technique tag, not an unviewed score or every coaching proposal here.
By Judo AI · Editorial review: October 9, 2026. Definitions, source identity, article consistency and links have been checked. Practice tasks and diagnostic questions are editorial proposals to discuss with your coach, not a validated training protocol. Named technical-coach approval is still pending. Video identities were verified; complete playback and every contest detail have not been independently analysed.
Rules and scope: this is a supervised judo study guide, not a current refereeing manual. Historical footage does not establish current rule permissions. Ask your coach to check the applicable age group and event rules before using grip variations or submissions in shiai; this draft does not certify their legality. Stop a practice action when your partner taps, asks to stop or reports pain.