Judo rules, for watching
Start with how a match works. Then the rules you see every few minutes, then the ones that change results.
Settling an argument? Search all 22 rules
- What is an ippon in judo?
- What is the difference between waza-ari and yuko?
- How long do you have to hold someone down in judo?
- Can you choke someone in judo?
- How do you win a judo match?
- What is golden score in judo?
- How long is a judo match?
- What do the referee's words mean in judo?
- When does a judo fight go to the ground?
- What happens when judo fighters go off the mat?
- Is there video review in judo?
- What is a shido in judo?
- What is passivity in judo?
- Can you grab the legs in judo?
- What gets you disqualified in judo?
- What happens when a judo player is injured during a contest?
- What are the weight classes in judo?
- Why are there two bronze medals in judo?
- How does the judo mixed team event work?
- Why does one judo player wear white and the other blue?
- How big is a judo mat?
- What is a judo coach allowed to do during a contest?
Where these rules come from
| Tag | Document |
|---|---|
| J plus article number | International Judo Federation Sport and Organisation Rules (SOR), version of 24 July 2026: the IJF Refereeing Rules (Appendix D), Articles 1 to 21, read in full. A number in brackets after an article is the numbered point inside it |
| SOR plus section number | The same document: Sections 2.1 to 2.7 (formats, weight categories, contest times, competition systems, low numbers, mixed teams), 6.1 to 6.3 (weigh-in), 7.1 to 7.3 (coaches, contest review), 8.6 and 8.7 (field of play), and Appendix C1.1 (judogi control), read in full |
| R | "Why the rule exists", or a point reasoned from the rule, not stated in it |
| C | Common usage or general knowledge, not a rule |
All checked on 14 October 2026. Not covered: the rest of the IJF Judogi Rules (Appendix C1.2 onwards: sizes in detail, labels, advertising, back numbers), the Kodokan list of techniques, the medical and anti-doping handbook (Appendix E), ranking and qualification, the seeding rules, veterans and kata competitions, and the pictures in Articles 10, 14, 15, 17 and 18, which the text extraction does not carry. The rules lean on those pictures for landings and grips, so the pages on waza-ari and yuko and on gripping should be checked against the PDF before publishing.
Not covered: the rest of the IJF Judogi Rules (Appendix C1.2 onwards: sizes in detail, labels, advertising, back numbers), the Kodokan list of techniques, the medical and anti-doping handbook (Appendix E), ranking and qualification, the seeding rules, veterans and kata competitions, and the pictures in Articles 10, 14, 15, 17 and 18, which the text extraction does not carry.