How to Do the Hakari Dance: A Step-by-Step Tutorial
Learn the Hakari dance with a creator video, a clear stance and hip-movement breakdown, raised-arm tips, and a simple eight-count practice routine to follow.
To do the Hakari dance, stand with your feet apart, keep a slight bend in your knees, raise both fists, and move your hips with the beat. Learn the lower-body movement first, then add the raised-arm pose. You do not need elaborate footwork or alternating arm punches to get the recognizable shape.
The version below follows RJ's demonstration of the Jujutsu Kaisen dance. His tutorial compares a forward-and-back variation with a more side-to-side version, so copying two different clips can give you two slightly different results. Pick one movement pattern while you learn it.
Watch the Creator's Tutorial
Start With the Stance
Set your feet apart and let your knees bend slightly. Keep your feet planted while you find the rhythm. The goal is a stable base, not the deepest squat you can manage.
In RJ's tutorial, the stance starts around 0:20. Notice the contrast between standing completely upright and settling into a small bend. A rigid, upright pose makes the rest of the dance look much less fluid.
Leave your arms down for this first pass. It is easier to spot what your hips are doing when you are not trying to coordinate everything at once.
Learn the Hip Movement Before Adding Arms
The lower-body breakdown begins around 0:37. Start with a small forward-and-back movement through your hips, letting your knees move with it. Keep the motion controlled instead of turning it into a large backward lean.
RJ contrasts that forward-and-back emphasis with a more side-to-side version around 1:00. For the second version, move your hips toward one side, return through the middle, and move toward the other. Your feet can stay in place.
These are variations, not extra steps that must all happen on the same beat. If a clip you are copying looks different, check which direction the dancer emphasizes before trying to match its speed.
Raise Both Fists and Keep the Body Moving
The arm explanation begins around 1:06, with the raised-fist position demonstrated around 1:25. Lift both fists and keep your elbows bent. Let that upper-body pose travel with the movement underneath it.
Both arms stay raised in this version. Do not replace the movement with alternating high punches; that changes the silhouette and pulls attention away from the hips. Your hands do not need to perform a separate routine.
Once the pose feels familiar, bring back the small hip motion you practiced earlier. Think of the stance, hips, and raised arms as one repeated shape rather than three separate tricks.
Put It Together With a Slow Eight-Count
This is a beginner practice count for the side-to-side variation, not a claim that every Hakari edit uses identical choreography or timing.
| Count | Movement | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Move your hips to the right | Both fists raised |
| 2 | Come back through the middle | Keep the same pose |
| 3 | Move your hips to the left | Both fists raised |
| 4 | Come back through the middle | Keep the same pose |
| 5-8 | Repeat the same sequence | Let your upper body follow the rhythm |
Try a few repetitions without music, then match the count to the clip you are using. You can slow the embedded video using its playback-speed setting. Start from the movement breakdown rather than repeatedly guessing from the opening demonstration.
Why Your Version Might Look Different
Your knees are locked. Return to the small bend from the stance section and let the movement pass through your lower body.
Your squat is taking over the dance. You are trying to repeat a hip movement, not travel up and down through a deep squat on every count.
Your arms are doing all the work. Practice once with your hands down, then restore the raised-fist pose without adding a second arm sequence.
You are copying several versions at once. A forward-and-back version and a side-to-side version will not look identical. Match the tutorial's chosen variation before adding your own flourishes.
Do You Need a Specific Song or Costume?
Neither is needed to learn the movement. Practice to a steady count first; an edit's soundtrack can come later. The recognizable part is the planted stance, repeated hip motion, and both fists in the air, not a particular outfit.
RJ credits NinjaristicNinja's Hakari animation in his video description. That identifies the inspiration for this tutorial; it is not proof that one upload originated every version of the dance. For this walkthrough, the reference is the visible demonstration above, rather than an invented frame-by-frame reading of a manga panel.