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Home of judoJapan decided to initiate a small revolution to finally reaffirm its leadership. Banned by the International Judo Federation (IJF), leg attacks previously authorized will be rehabilitated by the Japanese Judo Federation (AJJF) during the next Zen Nihonen, the legendary national championship in all categories which will take place in April 2025.
Concretely, according to the revelations of the magazine L’Esprit du judo, relayed this Thursday by L’Equipe, a judoka will then be ” authorized to attack or defend in the legs of his opponent under two conditions: that a kumikata (guard hold) has been placed beforehand, and that the attack is made with one hand, the other must remain placed on the judogi opponent ».
Not good news for the colossi
A return to basics, in short, while the international rules of judo were turned upside down in 2007 with the arrival of the Romanian Marius Vizer at the head of the IJF. “ The Japanese federation is conducting a pilot experiment, ignoring the doxa that reigns in the international federation, welcomes Patrick Roux’s former national coach to L’Equipe. If we take stock of the last Olympic Games in Paris, beyond the performance and the emotions, judo has become incomprehensible in terms of refereeing. »
For Teddy Riner, if the Japanese wind were to become a storm, generating a new revolution in international judo, the prospect is not necessarily the most encouraging. While Japan has lost its luster in the premier category, the Guadeloupean colossus could see the emergence of new challengers likely to destabilize it. Competitors with a lower center of gravity capable of making the most of this possible return of leg attacks.
Standing at 2m04, Teddy Riner suffered two of his most bitter setbacks against significantly smaller opponents: in 2020 against the Japanese Kokoro Kageura (1m79) during the Paris Grand Slam when he remained on 154 consecutive victories; in 2021 during the Tokyo Olympics against the Russian Tamerlan Bashaev (1m75).
