Judo presents the new rules / IJF.org
With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and more recently with the Tokyo Grand Slam, the last event of the season, a cycle has ended and a new one has opened which will lead to the Los Angeles 2028 Games. As at the end of each period of development, the International Judo Federation has launched an extensive consultation to determine the changes that should or could be made to international judo in order to meet the expectations of modernity and evolution linked to any sporting activity.
On June 16, 2024, all national federations were invited to send proposals on the rules of judo. This window closed at the end of September. All proposals were combined and presented at the IJF Technical Meeting held after the Abu Dhabi 2024 Grand Slam. They were thoroughly evaluated and discussed by a group of experts before being approved by the IFJ Executive Committee. The opinion of the media was also sought in order to be able to answer as many questions as possible.
The changes to the IJF Sporting and Refereeing Rules (SOR), summarized below, will be officially presented at the technical meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, in the coming days. Delegates from all national federations will be present.
The aim of these changes which will impact competitive judo during the next Olympic cycle is to put the decision of each competition in the hands of the athletes.
The new rules will be implemented for the first time at the international level during the Paris 2025 Grand Slam. This version will be used until the Senior World Championships which will take place in Budapest (June 13-20, 2025) and will then be reviewed after the event.
The technical changes to the arbitration rules are as follows:
- Added a third yuko score, in ne-waza it will be given at 5 seconds.
- Use of the head to throw and defend authorized except in cadet events where it will be penalized by shido.
- All jacket holds and below-the-belt holds up to the level of the top of the inner thighs are permitted but shido will be given if you use the jacket hold or under-the-belt hold to the level of the top of the inner thighs. the inside of the thighs, taken negatively.
- Hanging the legs with the hand or arm, grabbing the leg, grabbing the pants and touching the leg from the top of the inner thigh to the bottom is prohibited and will be penalized with shido.
- Kumi-kata will have 30 seconds to attack.
- Hugting a bear in tachi-waza is authorized except with hands or hands and arms joined, forming a circle which will be penalized with shido.
- Involuntarily leaving the competition area in tachi-waza and ne-waza will receive a “Mate!” »
- Kansetsu-waza applied when executing throws, with high injury risks (where uke cannot escape), will be penalized by hansoku-make. For kansetsu-waza applied with techniques, with lower risk of injury (where uke has the possibility of escape), performed with both hands on one arm, it will be “Mate! and “Shido!”
- A positive activity in ne-waza will be taken into consideration.
- Reverse seoi-nage is authorized except in cadet events where it will be penalized by shido.
In the coming weeks, an important phase will begin to explain the rules and their application, knowing that the values of sport and its educational dimension will remain at the center of present and future developments.
