Glossary /// Alias
half hip throw
Also known as Uki Goshi — the canonical term used on this site.
Descriptive — the Kodokan one-half-of-hip classification
Half hip throw is the descriptive English name for uki goshi, taken from the Kodokan’s classification of it as the one-half-of-hip throw.
Etymology. The counting convention pairs it against o goshi, the two-halves throw. Calling it the half hip states the mechanical difference directly: half the hip contact, and none of the carrying. Coaches reach for this name when explaining the choice between the two rather than when naming the throw in isolation.
Mechanics. Because the opponent is never loaded, the throw cannot rely on hip height the way the full version does. What produces it instead is the angle of the pull around the pivot, which makes the half hip a timing technique where the full hip is a depth technique. Its highest-percentage application is as a counter to forward pressure: an opponent already driving forward supplies the rotation, and the half hip inserts a pivot into a movement that is happening anyway.
Cross-reference. The full-load version is o goshi; an o goshi entered against a hips-back defence becomes this throw if the attacker reads the shortfall in time. Full mechanical coverage on Uki Goshi.