| Though judo began its life and continues to serve a | | | | required to bow when entering the arena of |
| dual life as a practiced and venerable martial art, free | | | | competition. Scoring is played out in a system of |
| of competition and entirely for the betterment of | | | | Ippon, waza-ari, yuko, and koka, which means a point |
| self, it cannot be ignored that the sporting aspect of | | | | system of 10, 7, 5, and 3 down the line. The Ippon is |
| judo has become quite popular. Of course, this is not | | | | the greatest of goals in the arena of competition and |
| new, either. Even Dr. Jigoro Kano, the founder of | | | | is awarded for perfect technique in a throw or |
| judo, encouraged judo competitions and was in fact | | | | submission hold. |
| a big supporter of the Olympic games, where judo | | | | Rules about the competition area include the fact |
| soon earned a place. Here is a brief overview of | | | | that the floor must be padded with tatami, and there |
| some of the rules of competitive judo. | | | | are size restrictions that must be followed exactly. |
| There are some basic rules that apply to the sport | | | | This includes the minimum allowable size of 14 meters |
| of judo, whether within the confines of competition | | | | by 14 meters for the area, and an 8 by 8 by 10 |
| or a friendly sparring match in the dojo. These rules | | | | meter area within the larger area for the actual |
| are inflexible and apply to all true judo competition. | | | | competition. The rest of the area must be there as a |
| Injuring an opponent on purpose is never permitted. | | | | safety zone for the competitors. |
| No strikes are allowed within the setting of a judo | | | | There are also rules governing the proper size and |
| competition, either. Though judo in practice makes | | | | length of the judogi, or uniform, that the competitors |
| use of striking and the study thereof, it is not a part | | | | wear within the competition. These rules are in place |
| of competition. There must be no contact with the | | | | for safety reasons, and for the fact that so much of |
| opponent's face, and there shall be no joint attacks, | | | | judo competition is based around throwing and |
| other than the elbow. There are other rules that | | | | grappling with the use of the gi for leverage. There |
| govern most judo competition in general, but these | | | | are strict size regulations preventing either the |
| give you an idea of the basics. | | | | sleeves or the pants from being too short, thus |
| Now on to rules that are in place only in the event of | | | | preventing an opponent from being able to grab |
| a true judo competition. These rules need not | | | | them in the competition. |
| necessarily apply to dojo sparring, but almost | | | | This is but a brief overview of some of the rules of |
| certainly apply to tournament play, and definitely | | | | competitive judo. Each tournament and individual |
| within the confines of the Olympics. These would | | | | competition may have its own unique rules and |
| include the prohibition of stalling tactics, and the | | | | regulations, particularly as they apply to age, weight |
| disallowance of a defensive posture. It is also | | | | division, and the allowable holds thereof. |