the three parts of judo

1. Competition

What is the point of a judo bout/contest? Today we practise judo predominantly as a sport. In all contests the referee uses Japanese calls to control the competitors. To win a judo bout immediately, a player must do one of the following to achieve an ippon:

· hold (or pin) their opponent on their back for 25 seconds
· throw their opponent with impetus so the whole of their opponent’s back is in contact with the mat
· apply an arm bar or strangle to force their opponent to submit.

For hold-downs less than 25 seconds or throws that only land your opponent on their backside, for instance, smaller scores are awarded and the bout continues. These smaller scores are:

Waza-ari - almost an ippon throw but lacking impetus, or a hold-down from 15-24 seconds
Yuko - almost a waza-ari, opponent thrown onto their side, or a hold-down from 10-15 seconds
Koka - almost a yuko, opponent thrown onto their buttocks or hip, or opponent twists out of your throw onto their stomach, or a hold-down up to 10 seconds

Two waza-ari scores end the fight, and the call is 'waza-ari awasete ippon, soremade' - near point, two near points make one point, that is all. However, the lower points are not cumulative - that is, points do not add up to some total which would end the fight. This ensures a fight can only be won immediately in the most skilful and spectacular way.

Penalties are also given during a bout, and range in severity from a mere mention of your infringement (shido, of the same value as a koka score) to chui (of yuko value), keikoku (waza-ari) and finally loss by disqualification (hansokumake). Penalties are given for a variety of reasons, including passivity, stepping outside the mat area, or endangering oneself or one’s opponent (e.g. diving into the mat head first whilst trying a throw, kicking your opponent’s arm or hand with your knee or foot to make them release a grip, lifting someone off their back to drive them back into the mat, sweeping your opponent's supporting leg from the inside when they are trying a throw, falling backwards onto someone clinging to your back).

Penalties are cumulative, but in a more serious sense: that is, if having received one penalty for a minor offence, committing a similar offence will earn you the next highest level of penalty, and so on until you are disqualified. Since each penalty correlates with a score as explained above, each penalty you receive translates into a score of equal value for your opponent. It is a very poor or inexperienced competition player (or one who has an opponent who is tactically brilliant) who loses in this manner.

If there is no ippon score, a bout will go on until time runs out, in which case the player with the higher score will win (yusei gache). If there is no score, or equal score, the bout continues under 'golden score' rules, where the first player to score a point wins immediately.

During training you will no doubt become familiar with these aims, especially when your opponent is as equally as enthusiastic about achieving them as you are. First-timers may not get the opportunity to compete until second semester, so don’t get preoccupied with contest format and rules. We will address these when the time comes.

2. Randori

Free practice during training is called randori. It is not a contest, but rather an opportunity for you and your partner to improve your movements. You must try and avoid having stiff arms and crouching too much. It is the perfect opportunity to develop new throws, throws from your less favoured side, and to practise good habits, such as being able to enter groundwork and hold-downs from both sides.

If you are much stronger or more skilled than your partner, then you should in some way disadvantage yourself to balance the practice and challenge yourself.

3. Kata

Kata consists of a number of formal sets of stylised techniques. In kata there is an attacker and a defender who cooperate such that the defender gives the attacker the perfect opportunity for the particular technique. The attacker learns to feel the precise moment to execute the technique, and learns also the value of each of the essential components of the movement. Training in kata allows the player a greater insight into the art of judo, and improves the player's ability to take advantage of chances as they appear in randori and competition.