With the Tokyo Grand Slam as the last event of the season, a cycle has closed and a new one has opened that will lead to the Los Angeles 2028 Games. All proposals to improve judo were combined and presented at the technical meeting of the IJF that was held after the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam 2024. They were evaluated and discussed in depth by a group of experts before being approved by the IJF Executive Committee. The opinion of the media was also sought in order to answer as many questions as possible.
The changes to the IJF Sports and Refereeing Rules (SOR), summarized below, will be officially presented during the technical meeting organized in Istanbul, Turkey in the coming days. Delegates from all national federations will be present.
The purpose of these modifications that will affect competitive judo during the next Olympic cycle is to put the decision of each fight in the hands of the athletes.
The new rules will be implemented for the first time internationally during the Paris Grand Slam 2025. This version will be used until the World Senior Championships to be held in Budapest (June 13-20, 2025) and will then be reviewed after the event.
In the coming weeks, an important phase will begin to explain the rules and their application, taking into account that the values of sport and its educational dimension will continue to be at the center of present and future developments.
The technical changes to the arbitration rules are as follows:
• Addition of a third yuko score, in ne-waza it will be given at 5 seconds.
• The use of the head for throwing and defending is allowed except in cadet events where it will be penalized with shido.
• All jacket and below the belt grips are permitted up to the level of the top of the inner thigh, but shido will be given if the jacket or below the belt grip is used up to the level of the top of the thigh. inner thighs negatively.
• Hooking the legs with the hand or arm, grabbing the legs, grabbing the pants and touching the leg from the upper inner thigh downwards is prohibited and will be penalized with shido.
• The kumi-kata will be given 30 seconds to perform an attack.
• The bear hug in tachi-waza is allowed except with the hands or with the hands and arms intertwined forming a circle, which will be penalized with shido.
• When you involuntarily leave the competition area in tachi-waza and ne-waza, “Mate!” will be declared.
• The kansetsu-waza applied when performing throws with a high risk of injury (where the uke cannot escape) will be penalized with hansoku-make. For kansetsu-waza applied with techniques with lower risk of injury (where the uke has the possibility of escape) performed with two hands on one arm, it will be “Mate!” and “Shido!”
• Positive activity in newaza will be taken into consideration.
• Reverse seoi-nage is allowed except in cadet events where it will be penalized with shido.
FUENTE: IJF
PHOTOS: IJF
