Firstly, RIP Helio.

Now to business. I haven't seen a thread on this so here we go.

The two Judo coaches at our club attended a coaching seminar on Sunday and have just forwarded on the info to us. The seminar was addressing some radical changes in Judo competition rules that will have a big effect on training and tactics.
The changes are worldwide and not just restricted to the BJA, they are apparantly intended to discourage the stategy of low scoring high defensive Judo which is becoming more and more common in high level competition.

Though there are numerous changes my memory is pretty sketchy and this is all 2nd hand information. If any other Judoka who are more "in the know" can add then please do so.

The two biggest changes I know about are:

1: Koka is being removed.

Probably the biggest and most controvesial change in Judo competition since the introduction of the blue gi 10 years ago, the lowest scoring point "Koka" is being taken out entirely. Yuko is now the minimal score possible. I'm not sure if this will affect pins, but i'm almost sure it will.
No more quick leg trips or Ko-uchi's to rack up some easy points then play defensive, they won't count. This also leads to the next big change:

2: Jigotai will now result in a Shido.

Assuming the ultra-defensive stance of Jigotai will now get you a penalty. Many clubs already frown upon Jigotai playstyles and encourage stand up traditional Judo, but now this will be a requirement. If a player deliberately tucks their head in and back up their legs then they will be penalized for negative Judo.
Although a defensive stance is still acceptable, deliberately going to deep jigotai is not anymore.

These changes are obviously trying to promote the classical high risk Ippon Judo and do away with the Koka/Shido tactics that plagued the last Olympics.

Any thoughts? Is this a good thing for the spirit of Judo, or just more rule changes to make the sport more spectator friendly?

Apologies if this thread has already come up, I couldn't find anything on it.

The rule changes and how they will be interpreted in the US can be found here: http://judoinfo.com/pdf/JudoRules-2009.pdf

I like some of the rule changes, but don't like some of the others. I'm glad to see koka gone, but hope this doesn't lead to a lowering of standards for scoring yuko. If all goes according to plan the quality of throwing attempts should go up. I don't really like the penalization for just grabbing the pant leg or actually using a purposefully failed throw to enter into newaza. They both seem like valid tactics to me.

It seems like some of these rule changes are attempts to fix the symptoms, not the actual problem. The whole idea that Judo should be viewer friendly seems flawed to me, and Judo would be better off going back to older rule sets that allow for more time to actually work for good throws and newaza.

I don't really like the penalization for just grabbing the pant leg

*reviews competition footage*

Preach it, brother.

Judo going Professional - No BS Martial Arts (http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=78236)

No pants grabbing during tachiwaza, no koka, more time for newaza. Sounds like better judo to me. No jigotai...sounds like they're attempting to corral cats into a certain style of judo, which is doomed from the start.

I was at the Winter Nationals in December and these new rules were the buzz. But other than the elimination of the koka everything went along fairly normally. Once things were under way I don't think anyone really noticed them.

And shame on you pants grabbers! Perform your ankle-picks the way the Samurai intended! By cupping the back of the ankle! :biblethum

I don't know about banning jigotai entirely - I think maybe if you do it to the point of stalling, it should be penelized as stalling, just like backing up or avoiding grips - but - what needs to go is the tuck-head-grab-collar-legs-out turtle on the ground. As long as you're rewarded for giving up back mount, there's a problem in judo.

I like the loss of koka. I want to do judo, not an eskimo shin-kicking contest.

what needs to go is the tuck-head-grab-collar-legs-out turtle on the ground. As long as you're rewarded for giving up back mount, there's a problem in judo. So true, even if I am guilty of doing it from time to time.

I'm starting to dislike judo more and more every year. I wish someone would take the best of submission grappling rules and the best parts of judo and create some kind of gi based grappling with a focus on throwing that also allows submissions (chokes and armbars) with a reasonable amount of time on the ground.

I like the loss of the koka, but it seems to me that all the want to do is penalize people for trying to work their strong points and use tactics that are not from the 18th century. This trend will eventually make judo useless as a martial art.

Doesn't NAGA gi rules already do what Fiction Pimp just said. Throws only count if you land in a dominate position. Subs are encouraged and you can even do some leg locks that Strict BJJ forbids.

So true, even if I am guilty of doing it from time to time.
I'm both happy (at my within-the-rules improvement) and sad (at my training-to-the-test) about my improved turtling and chest-diving out of falls in my second judo tournament (see my competition footage).

SAMBO does a good job of focusing on throws while keeping groundwork. Their point system incorporates submission, throws to neutral positions, throws to dominant positions, and perfect throws (where I remain standing). The SAMBO ruleset is really ideal for a lot of things.

The problem with most BJJ/Sub rules from my perspective as a guy who likes to throw people is that throws are deemphasized too much. The ones I'm familiar with had sweep into position and throw into position score equally. My dream ruleset would still have the concept of an ippon throw. It would just use somewhat different/stricter criteria.

Also, my dream rules penalize butt flopping with public flogging.

Doesn't NAGA gi rules already do what Fiction Pimp just said. Throws only count if you land in a dominate position. Subs are encouraged and you can even do some leg locks that Strict BJJ forbids.From a Judo perspective the problem with NAGA rules is that all takedowns are worth only 2 points, but in reality not all takedowns and throws are created equal.

I recently visited a judo school to watch a class (not participate, was feeling sick) to consider whether or not it was a school I might have interest in.

During newaza training, the instructor reminded everyone that their was a new rule change when you had someone in a pin. If I remember correctly, he said that you could no longer keep your head down while you had a pin (chin tucked into chest, looking at your partners body, I guess), and that it had to be up, that is, no longer looking at the guy you are pinning, but past him, like the wall behind him.


Being a judo newb, I'm not sure what effect this is supposed to have on the game, but does this make it harder to get pins, or did I just hear him incorrectly about the whole thing? Does this have something to do with jigotai, or whatever that is? I was wondering what the effect of this rule will have on the newaza aspect of judo, and also on the overall game.

Just curious if judo is heading down the wrong path by adding rules in order to serve a misconception that judo should be and stay like it was in the late 1800's, as mentioned above, or if it is just doing its best to distinguish itself from other grappling arts, and is just changing the rules to make it more modern?

I think if it does go back to how it was in the "18th century", it will eventually lose much of its application and respect, and will slowly become one of they many TMAs where there are kata and one-steps aplenty, without the pressure-testing of randori.

I hope this is not the case.

This is why I think Sambo is the way to go, and why I have no interest. Not in judo asits done now.

I think removing Koka sucks. I fought in a Judo tourney about a month ago and the refs spent about an hour going over the new rules. To add - at least at this tournament - uniform restrictions are being enforced with an iron fist. They made me cut my belt because it was too long.

During newaza training, the instructor reminded everyone that their was a new rule change when you had someone in a pin. If I remember correctly, he said that you could no longer keep your head down while you had a pin (chin tucked into chest, looking at your partners body, I guess), and that it had to be up, that is, no longer looking at the guy you are pinning, but past him, like the wall behind him.What? I can't find that anywhere. I think that instructor must have must have misinterpreted the rule changes somehow with incredibly bizarre logic.