The objective is to cleanly throw, to pin, or to master the opponent, the latter being done by applying pressure to arm joints or to the neck to cause the opponent to yield
Uniform Requirements
Competitors in Judo events are required to wear traditional blue or white judo or jiu jitsu gi. Student karate gis are not permitted in these events at any age level. The gi top sleeves are to come to the wrist when the hands are extended forward and the pant legs are to reach the ankle when standing upright. Uniforms are to be clean and free of stains or markings other than patches and name embroidery. Shoes or foot coverings are not permitted. Mouthpieces are recommended and permitted but not required. No other gear is permitted to be worn. Jewelry, with the exception of wedding bands, is not permitted.
Time Limit
Competitors that are 12 & under will have matches of 3 mins competitors 13 yrs & up will have 4 min matches.
Scoring
There are different types of scores in judo, listed below in order from highest-scoring to lowest-scoring.
Ippon- A full throw in which a contestant throws his opponent to the mat with “considerable force and speed” so the opponent lands “largely on his back.” An ippon is also awarded when a contestant immobilizes his opponent with a grappling hold-down for 20 seconds, or when an opponent taps out. An ippon immediately ends the match. Equivalent to a knockout in boxing or a pin in wrestling. Referee’s hand signal: arm straight up.
2. Waza-ari: A throw which shows power and superiority but isn’t clear enough to be an ippon, either because the opponent didn’t land “largely on his back” or because the throw lacked speed or force. Waza-ari is also awarded for immobilizing an opponent for 15 seconds or more, but less than 20 seconds. Earning two waza-aris in a match is equivalent to an ippon and will immediately end the match. Referee’s hand signal: arm out at shoulder level from the side.
Penalties
There are two levels of penalties in judo, listed below from most severe to least severe.
1. Hansoku-make: Grave infringement. Calls for immediate disqualification of the offending judoka. Can be assessed for fouls such as intentionally trying to injure the opponent, unsportsmanlike conduct or for repeated violations of the rules. The negative equivalent of an ippon.
2. Shido: Slight infringement. Assessed for any rules violation that does not merit immediate disqualification. Some examples are: non-combativity (player does not attack enough), intentionally stepping out of bounds, playing too defensively, putting a hand directly on the opponent’s face. The first three shidos are warnings. If a competitor receives a fourth shido in one match, those shidos become a hansoku-make, which immediately ends the match.
Winner Determination
- Scoring an ippon
- Scoring two waza-aris
- Opponent receives a hansoku-make penalty for a serious rule violation
- Opponent receives four shido penalties for minor rule violations
- Opponent withdraws due to injury
If the match goes the distance, the winner is decided on the basis of which judoka has accumulated the highest quality score. Whichever judoka has more waza-aris will win.
Tie Breaker: If the point totals and number of penalties are the same, then a winner is decided by “golden score,” which is essentially sudden-death overtime. The clocks are reset, and the first person to score is the winner. A player can also win if the opponent is given a shido during the golden score period. There is no time limit.