Judo rules on one ruled page.

Weight classes at senior level

Senior men

60 kg extra-lightweight · 66 kg half-lightweight · 73 kg lightweight · 81 kg half-middleweight · 90 kg half-heavyweight · 100 kg half-heavyweight · +100 kg heavyweight.

Senior women

48 kg extra-lightweight · 52 kg half-lightweight · 57 kg lightweight · 63 kg half-middleweight · 70 kg half-heavyweight · 78 kg half-heavyweight · +78 kg heavyweight.

How a contest is decided

Most senior contests end on one of two calls. The first is an ippon inside the four-minute regulation clock. The second is a golden score decision after the contestants go to overtime tied on points. The desk tracks both as separate tactical levers.

What the desk does not cover

The desk does not publish a full kata score breakdown and does not rank junior contests. Junior rules diverge from senior rules in match length and pin times, and the desk keeps that distinction explicit on every read.

Why yuko is situational, not decisive

The 2017 IJF scoring revision re-weighted yuko as a smaller score that no longer ends a contest on its own. Before 2017, yuko could decide a contest by accumulation; after 2017, only ippon and the second waza-ari decide a contest by accumulation. The desk publishes the post-2017 framing as the operative rule.

A reader who watches older tournament footage will see yuko-heavy cards that would have ended differently under the post-2017 rules. The desk flags this so the reader does not read older matches through a post-2017 lens.

Reading the four-minute clock

Senior contests run for four minutes of regulation time. If the contest is tied at the end of regulation, the referee calls golden score overtime. Golden score has no clock; the first scoring move wins. No points carry over except the shido count.

A common reader error is to assume the four-minute clock includes the time-out periods called for injury. It does not. The four-minute clock is the contest clock, and it pauses only for an injury time-out called by the referee.

How shido accumulates

Each shido counts against the fighter on the receiving end. Three shido against one fighter is hansoku-make, which is loss by accumulated penalty. A fighter who receives two shido in the first minute of the contest is at risk of losing by shido accumulation if the contest goes to overtime.

The desk tracks shido count as a separate tactical lever. A fighter with a high shido count who goes to overtime is one shido away from losing the contest; the desk flags this on the published card.

Reading osaekomi timing

Osaekomi is a pin. A 20-second pin is ippon. A 15-second pin is waza-ari. A 10-second pin is yuko. Below 10 seconds, no score is awarded. The referee announces the time at 10, 15, and 20 seconds; the announcement is the score, not the visual indication.

A common reader error is to assume the visual indication of a pin is the score. It is not. The referee's announcement is the score, and the visual indication is a courtesy.

What the desk does not cover

The desk does not cover kata scoring, referee mechanics, or weight-class certification. The desk publishes the contest-side rules; the federation publishes the certification rules.

The desk does not publish a full rule book. The desk publishes the rules the reader needs to follow a senior open card. The full rule book is published by the IJF at ijf.org.

Why yuko is situational, not decisive

The 2017 IJF scoring revision re-weighted yuko as a smaller score that no longer ends a contest on its own. Before 2017, yuko could decide a contest by accumulation; after 2017, only ippon and the second waza-ari decide a contest by accumulation. The desk publishes the post-2017 framing as the operative rule.

A reader who watches older tournament footage will see yuko-heavy cards that would have ended differently under the post-2017 rules. The desk flags this so the reader does not read older matches through a post-2017 lens.

Reading the four-minute clock

Senior contests run for four minutes of regulation time. If the contest is tied at the end of regulation, the referee calls golden score overtime. Golden score has no clock; the first scoring move wins. No points carry over except the shido count.

A common reader error is to assume the four-minute clock includes the time-out periods called for injury. It does not. The four-minute clock is the contest clock, and it pauses only for an injury time-out called by the referee.

How shido accumulates

Each shido counts against the fighter on the receiving end. Three shido against one fighter is hansoku-make, which is loss by accumulated penalty. A fighter who receives two shido in the first minute of the contest is at risk of losing by shido accumulation if the contest goes to overtime.

The desk tracks shido count as a separate tactical lever. A fighter with a high shido count who goes to overtime is one shido away from losing the contest; the desk flags this on the published card.

Reading osaekomi timing

Osaekomi is a pin. A 20-second pin is ippon. A 15-second pin is waza-ari. A 10-second pin is yuko. Below 10 seconds, no score is awarded. The referee announces the time at 10, 15, and 20 seconds; the announcement is the score, not the visual indication.

A common reader error is to assume the visual indication of a pin is the score. It is not. The referee's announcement is the score, and the visual indication is a courtesy.

What the desk does not cover

The desk does not cover kata scoring, referee mechanics, or weight-class certification. The desk publishes the contest-side rules; the federation publishes the certification rules.

The desk does not publish a full rule book. The desk publishes the rules the reader needs to follow a senior open card. The full rule book is published by the IJF at ijf.org.

Why yuko is situational, not decisive

The 2017 IJF scoring revision re-weighted yuko as a smaller score that no longer ends a contest on its own. Before 2017, yuko could decide a contest by accumulation; after 2017, only ippon and the second waza-ari decide a contest by accumulation.

A reader who watches older tournament footage will see yuko-heavy cards that would have ended differently under the post-2017 rules.

Reading the four-minute clock

Senior contests run for four minutes of regulation time. If the contest is tied at the end of regulation, the referee calls golden score overtime. Golden score has no clock; the first scoring move wins.

A common reader error is to assume the four-minute clock includes the time-out periods called for injury. It does not.

How shido accumulates

Each shido counts against the fighter on the receiving end. Three shido against one fighter is hansoku-make, which is loss by accumulated penalty.

A fighter who receives two shido in the first minute of the contest is at risk of losing by shido accumulation if the contest goes to overtime.

Reading osaekomi timing

Osaekomi is a pin. A 20-second pin is ippon. A 15-second pin is waza-ari. A 10-second pin is yuko. Below 10 seconds, no score is awarded.

The referee announces the time at 10, 15, and 20 seconds; the announcement is the score, not the visual indication.

Why the desk tracks shido as a separate lever

The desk tracks shido count as a separate tactical lever because shido accumulation can decide a contest before the four-minute clock expires. A fighter with two shido in the open minute is at risk of losing by accumulated penalty.

The desk publishes the shido count on the published card and flags any fighter with two or more shido in the open minute.

What the desk does not cover

The desk does not cover kata scoring, referee mechanics, or weight-class certification. The desk publishes the contest-side rules; the federation publishes the certification rules.

The desk does not publish a full rule book. The desk publishes the rules the reader needs to follow a senior open card.

Why yuko is situational, not decisive

The 2017 IJF scoring revision re-weighted yuko as a smaller score that no longer ends a contest on its own. Before 2017, yuko could decide a contest by accumulation; after 2017, only ippon and the second waza-ari decide a contest by accumulation. The desk publishes the post-2017 framing as the operative rule.

A reader who watches older tournament footage will see yuko-heavy cards that would have ended differently under the post-2017 rules. The desk flags this so the reader does not read older matches through a post-2017 lens.

Reading the four-minute clock

Senior contests run for four minutes of regulation time. If the contest is tied at the end of regulation, the referee calls golden score overtime. Golden score has no clock; the first scoring move wins. No points carry over except the shido count.

A common reader error is to assume the four-minute clock includes the time-out periods called for injury. It does not. The four-minute clock is the contest clock, and it pauses only for an injury time-out called by the referee.

How shido accumulates

Each shido counts against the fighter on the receiving end. Three shido against one fighter is hansoku-make, which is loss by accumulated penalty. A fighter who receives two shido in the first minute of the contest is at risk of losing by shido accumulation if the contest goes to overtime.

The desk tracks shido count as a separate tactical lever. A fighter with a high shido count who goes to overtime is one shido away from losing the contest; the desk flags this on the published card.

Reading osaekomi timing

Osaekomi is a pin. A 20-second pin is ippon. A 15-second pin is waza-ari. A 10-second pin is yuko. Below 10 seconds, no score is awarded. The referee announces the time at 10, 15, and 20 seconds; the announcement is the score, not the visual indication.

A common reader error is to assume the visual indication of a pin is the score. It is not. The referee's announcement is the score, and the visual indication is a courtesy.

What the desk does not cover

The desk does not cover kata scoring, referee mechanics, or weight-class certification. The desk publishes the contest-side rules; the federation publishes the certification rules.

The desk does not publish a full rule book. The desk publishes the rules the reader needs to follow a senior open card. The full rule book is published by the IJF at ijf.org.

Why yuko is situational, not decisive

The 2017 IJF scoring revision re-weighted yuko as a smaller score that no longer ends a contest on its own. Before 2017, yuko could decide a contest by accumulation; after 2017, only ippon and the second waza-ari decide a contest by accumulation. The desk publishes the post-2017 framing as the operative rule.

A reader who watches older tournament footage will see yuko-heavy cards that would have ended differently under the post-2017 rules. The desk flags this so the reader does not read older matches through a post-2017 lens.

Reading the four-minute clock

Senior contests run for four minutes of regulation time. If the contest is tied at the end of regulation, the referee calls golden score overtime. Golden score has no clock; the first scoring move wins. No points carry over except the shido count.

A common reader error is to assume the four-minute clock includes the time-out periods called for injury. It does not. The four-minute clock is the contest clock, and it pauses only for an injury time-out called by the referee.

How shido accumulates

Each shido counts against the fighter on the receiving end. Three shido against one fighter is hansoku-make, which is loss by accumulated penalty. A fighter who receives two shido in the first minute of the contest is at risk of losing by shido accumulation if the contest goes to overtime.

The desk tracks shido count as a separate tactical lever. A fighter with a high shido count who goes to overtime is one shido away from losing the contest; the desk flags this on the published card.

Reading osaekomi timing

Osaekomi is a pin. A 20-second pin is ippon. A 15-second pin is waza-ari. A 10-second pin is yuko. Below 10 seconds, no score is awarded. The referee announces the time at 10, 15, and 20 seconds; the announcement is the score, not the visual indication.

A common reader error is to assume the visual indication of a pin is the score. It is not. The referee's announcement is the score, and the visual indication is a courtesy.

What the desk does not cover

The desk does not cover kata scoring, referee mechanics, or weight-class certification. The desk publishes the contest-side rules; the federation publishes the certification rules.

The desk does not publish a full rule book. The desk publishes the rules the reader needs to follow a senior open card. The full rule book is published by the IJF at ijf.org.