Scoring waza ari / Scoring yuko / Scoring koka

The referee annouces waza ari when in his opinion the applied technique corresponds to the following criteria :

(a) when a contestant, with control, throws the other contestant, but the technique is partially lacking in one of the three elements necessary for ippon (largely on the back, force, speed)

(b) when a contestant holds with osaekomi waza the other contestant who is unable to get away for 20 seconds or more, but less than 25 seconds.

The referee annouces yuko

(a) when a contestant, with control, throws the other contestant but the technique is partially lacking in two of the other three elements necessary for ippon

(b) when a contestant holds with osaekomi waza the other contestant who is unable to get away for 15 seconds or more but less than 20 seconds.

The referee annouces koka

(a) when in his opinion a contestant, with control, throws the other contestant onto one shoulder, or the thigh(s), or buttocks with speed and force.

(b) when a contestant holds with osaekomi waza the other contestant who is unable to get away for 10 seconds or more but less than 15 seconds.

Scoring ippon

When ippon is scored, the fight is over. The referee annouces ippon when in his opinion an applied technique corresponds to the following criteria :

(a) when a contestant, in a controlled movement, throws the other contestant largely on his back with considerable force and speed

(b) when a contestant holds with osaekomi waza (grappling technique) the other contestant who is unable to get away for 25 seconds after the announcement of osaekomi

(c) when a contestant gives up by tapping twice or more with his hand or foot or says maitta generally as a result of a, shime waza (strangling technique) or kansetsu waza (armlock technique)

(d) when a contestant is incapacitated by a shime waza or kansetsu waza

Should one contestant gain a second waza ari in the contest the referee annouces waza ari awasete ippon

The referee annouces sogo gachi (compound win) when one contestant has gained a waza ari and his opponent subsequently receives a penalty of keikoku

Penalties

There are four levels of penalties in judo :

- shido or note

- chui or caution

- keikoku or warning

- hansoku make or disqualification

Penalties are not cumulative. Each penalty must be awarded at its own value. Whenever a contestant has already been penalised, any succeeding penalties for that contestant must always be awarded, at least, in the next higher value than his existing penalty.

Attacking Judo

In order to promote attacking judo, competition rules started by reducing time of contests. Twenty minute finals with prolongation time were not rare in the thirties. Contest time was later reduced to ten minutes then to five minutes of real time. But, it was only in 1976, that the referee call of matte stopped the time clock automatically. Before that time, he had to call jikan to stop the clock.

To-day, a penalty is attached to a step outside the mat. Similarly, defensive behavior or grips, false attacks i.e. actions that clearly do not intend to throw the opponent, passive attitude in the danger zone (generally more than five seconds) are no longer permitted. They are named negative judo and penalised. Now, scoreboards display who is in the lead of the fight, thus judo rules are designed to prevent non combativity and promote offensive attitudes.

Traditions and Techniques

Judo rules aim at preserving traditions and technical specificity. For that purpose a bowing guide was issued according to which each contestant is required to bow onto and off the competition area and contest area at the start and end of each contest. After bowing onto the contest area the contestants move forward to their respective marks and must bow simultaneously towards each other and take a step forward.

However, judo fighters are allowed to express their creativity but between the guidelines of judo techniques. Pick ups and leg grabbing are good examples. They are considered as waza but the result of their action must be immediate. Some « unorthodox » techniques are applied. They are recognised as legal throws provided they are designed according to judo principles of kuzushi, tsukuri, kake and performed with real control. Among coaches and judo players, these new waza are currently called after the name of the champion who "invented" them.

(BOCOG)