New- IJF Judo rules January 2018

Basic Judo Referee Signals

                                                                        

Ippon (full point): Opponent is thrown on the back with force, or held under control on the mat for 25 seconds.

                                                               

Waza-ari (near ippon): Throw is not completely successful, or opponent is held under control for at least 20 seconds.

                                                                    

Yuko (almost waza-ari): Throw is partially successful, or opponent is held under control for 15 to 20 seconds.

                                                                    

Osaekomi (mat hold begins): Opponent is held under control on his or her back and the time starts.

                                                                            

Matte (stop): Match is stopped temporarily and the time clock pauses.

Medical treatment, illness, and injury

                                  

                   The official International Judo Federation (IJF) rules related to the provision of medical treatment and to the proper handling of situations involving illness or injury are relatively long and involved, since the exact nature and cause of an injury may themselves affect the awarding of the match, and since receiving some types of medical treatment, but not others, automatically ends the match. The latter fact makes it necessary for medical attendants at judo matches to have some understanding of this rather complex aspect of the rules of judo. The medical team is not allowed to enter the fighting area without permission from the mat judge, and if a contestant receives medical treatment he automatically forfeits the match. Nosebleeds, for example can not be treated by the medical team, the contestant must fix it himself with materials provided by the medical team, proper procedure is stuffing cotton balls up the nostrils, while applying tape around the head. If a contestant is rendered unconscious without a choking technique, and is unable to wake up, the medical team has to take immediate action and they can't wait for the contestant's consent, he forfeits the match automatically. A contestant can ignore any injuries he has, and keep fighting. This requires that it is not of any discomfort to the opponent, e.g. bleeding over an opponent can cause penalties. If the bleeding is tried to be stopped three times, with no effect, the match is forfeited.

Objective

In Judo competition the objective is to score an ippon (one full point). Once such a score is obtained the competition ends. Anippon can be scored by one of the following methods:

• Executing a skillful throwing technique which results in one contestant being thrown largely on the back with considerable force or speed.
• Maintaining a pin for 25 seconds.
• One contestant cannot continue and gives up.
• One contestant is disqualified for violating the rules (hansoku-make).
• Applying an effective armbar or an effective stranglehold (this does not usually apply for children).
• Earning two waza-ari (half point). A waza-ari can be earned by: 1) a throwing technique that is not quite an ippon (for example the opponent lands only partly on the back, or with less force than required for ippon); 2) holding one contestant in a pin for 20 seconds; or 3) when the opponent violates the rules (shido) three times.

If the time runs out with neither contestant scoring an ippon, then the referee will award the win to the contestant who has the next highest score. For example, a contestant with one waza-ari would win against an opponent who scored 4 yuko.

Age

Judo competitions typically have some safety-related rules related to age: chokes are prohibited under a certain age , and arm bars are prohibited under a certain age .

The duration of matches is also dependent on the age of the competitors. Match length is typically three minutes for children, five minutes for teenagers and young adults, and three minutes for 'masters' (adults thirty years of age or older).

Grips

Rules related to grips are primarily motivated by the desire to avoid stalling, to avoid providing undue advantage, or to reduce the chance of injury.

·         Deliberately avoiding gripping is not permitted.

·         In a standing position, it is not permitted to take any grip other than a "normal" grip for more than three to five seconds without attacking. A "normal" grip is one where the right hand grips some part of the left hand side of the opponent's jacket (and the left hand grips some part of the right hand side of the opponent's jacket.) A non-normal grip may involve grabbing the belt, or the trousers, or the wrong side of the jacket. (A non-"standard" grip is one that does not involve the traditional sleeve/collar grip. There are no time-limits related to non-"standard" grips as long as they are not non-"normal".)

·         A "pistol grip" on the opponent's sleeve is not permitted. It is not permitted to insert the fingers inside the opponent's sleeve opening or trousers opening at any time. You are permitted to insert your fingers inside your own gi openings.

·         Biting the opponent's gi is prohibited, as it grants another gripping point.

·         Since 2010, it is not permitted to grab the legs or trousers, initially, during tachi-waza. As of the 9th of February 2013 it is no longer permissible to touch the legs of the opponent whatsoever during tachi-waza. Furthermore is no longer permissible to break an opponent's grip with two hands.

 

Penalties

Two types of penalties may be awarded. A shido (指導) is awarded for minor rule infringements. A shido can also be awarded for a prolonged period of non-aggression. Each time a contestant is awarded a shido, the other contestant gets points according to how many shidos the opponent has, as if he had scored them himself. For the first shido a warning is given to the offending party (this replaces the previous practice of awarding a Koka), after that the opponent will yuko, waza-ari and ippon respectively for each shido attained (if the opponent has a waza-ari, and receives another from the opponent's shidos, he wins the match). After four shidos are given, the victory is given to the opponent, this is an indirect hansoku-make, and does not result in expulsion from the tournament. The penalty of hansoku make (反則負け) is awarded for major rule infringements, or for accumulating four shidos. If hansoku make is awarded for a major rule infringement, it results not just in loss of the match, but in expulsion from the tournament. 

 

hansoku-make