Judo rules

This article describes the rules of judo. The main sections of the article describe the rules that apply to any situation in which judo is practiced, and those rules which apply only in judo competitions. Separate sections describe the history of the rules of judo, provide links to other sources of information on judo rules, and list the references for this article.

In practice and competition

Safety

* Intentionally injuring an opponent is not permitted.
* Punching, kicking, and other strikes are not allowed.
* Touching the opponent's face is not allowed.
* Attacking joints other than the elbow is not allowed. [IJF Rules, Section 27.b.25]
* "Head dives" are not permitted. [IJF Rules, Section 27.b.32]
* The technique known as kawazu gake is not permitted. [IJF Rules, Section 27.b.24]
* The technique known as kani basami is not permitted.
* Wearing any hard or metallic object during competition is not permitted. The penalty for violating this rule is "hansoku make" (see Penalties, below). [IJF Rules, Section 27.b.34)]

Etiquette

* Contestants must bow before stepping onto the mat.
* Contestants must bow to each other before and after practice or competition.

In competition only

* Stalling is not permitted.
* Adopting a defensive posture is not permitted.
* It is required to bow to the competition area.
* False attacks are not permitted. They are considered attempts to circumvent the prohibition against noncombativity.

Scoring

* Awarding of ippon 'one full point'
* Awarding of waza-ari
* Awarding of yuko
* Awarding of koka
* Awarding of score for penalties called on the opponent

Penalties

Two types of penalties may be awarded. A "shido" is awarded for minor rule infringements. The penalty of "hansoku make" 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. [See Angus (2006) pp. 15-18 for a detailed explanation of judo penalties.]

Competition area

The competition area must be padded with tatami. The minimum allowable size is 14 x 14 meters. The match takes place in an 8 x 8 meter to 10 x 10 meter zone within this larger area. The surrounding space acts as a safety zone. When two competition areas are side by side, there must be at least a 3 meter safety zone between them. [IJF Referee Rules, Section 1, "Competition Area"]

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. [IJF rules, Section 27.a.1]
* 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. [IJF rules, Section 27.a.10] (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. [IJF rules, Section 27.a.12]
* 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.

Age

Judo competitions typically have some safety-related rules related to age: chokes are prohibited under a certain age (typically 13 [ [http://www.judoinfo.com/chokes.htm] Principles of Judo Choking Techniques] ), and arm bars are prohibited under a certain age (typically 16.)

The duration of matches is also dependent on the age of the competitiors. 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.)

Gi

Rules related to the gi are primarily related either to safety or to preventing contestants from wearing gis that prevent their opponent from being able to get a grip on them.

* The sleeves of the jacket are not allowed to be too short: they must extend down to no more than 5 cm above the wrists with the arms extended in front of the body. [IJF Rules, Section 3.d]
* The legs of the trousers are not allowed to be too short: they must extend down to no more than 5 cm above the ankle. [IJF Rules, Section 3.e]

Medical treatment, illness, and injury

The official 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.

History

* Effect of Russian gripping strategies on the grip-related rules. [see Angus, p. 29]
* The technique known as kani basami was banned in 1980 after Yasuhiro Yamashita suffered a broken leg while being thrown with it.
* Motivation for banning of head-dives.

Footnotes

Sources

* The IJF rules are the official published reference for the rules of judo competition (see External Links, below). However, rules can be changed by committee decision between official releases of the published rules, and these are not published on the IJF site.
* Mastering judo by Masao Takahashi et al., explains a number of aspects of the rules. General rules of competition, etiquette, and the penalty system are covered in Chapter 2. ISBN 0-7360-5099-X.
* The first chapter of Competitive judo: winning training and techniques, by Ron Angus, is devoted to explaining a number of aspects of the rules. ISBN 0-7360-5744-7.

External links

* [http://www.intjudo.eu/?Menu=Static_Page&Action=List&m_static_id=42&lang_id=2&mid=7&main=12 IJF (International Judo Federation) Rules and Referee Guide]