Nail them!!!  That seems to be the new mantra of a large group of ‘A’ referees and their acolytes, who care more about punishing players than they do seeing Judo survive as a sport. Two San Diego County national referees, one of whom is my student, tell me that’s the atmosphere they work in, at least in California.

In talking with referees who espouse the ‘nail them’ and ‘punish them’ creed, there are three main thoughts that come out clearly. One is that the players and coaches should know better; two is that time is wasted when rules are not adhered to and gis have to be changed; and three is that it’s not fair if the gi isn’t legal, and illegal gis prevent Judo from being performed, blah, blah, blah.  All of this is fine if we are talking about the Olympics, or major national and international tournaments. It’s not fine if we are talking about grassroots development tournaments. This is what “nail them” referees don’t understand. Their pigheaded insistence on enforcing strict IJF rules at the grassroots level hurts Judo.

Sure, excessively small gis can pose a problem especially if it gives one player an advantage. But what if both players have the same fit? Small gis are worn all the time in dojos and they don’t prevent Judo from being performed. Most of the sleeves of my junior players are not legal since they might be an inch short. The gi is perfectly fine and my kids have no problem doing Judo in them. And why is it a crime if 6-year old Johnny’s pants are a half inch too short? You can’t grab the darn thing anyhow? Where’s the common sense?

Yes, time is wasted when players have to change gis. So what? What’s more important; making sure we keep players coming to tournaments or cutting the day short so referees, and the rest of us as well, can go home early? If you really want to minimize wasted time in tournaments, stop calling matte for no reason. There is far more wasted time on unnecessary calls of matte than there is for gi change stoppages. And less time would be wasted if referees off the mat were more proactive in gi control, instead of lying in wait to “nail” the players.

Regarding the statement that players and coaches should know better, at face value that makes sense. Unfortunately, rules change so quickly that there is no way to be totally sure of what’s legal and what’s not. Within the span of two recent national tournaments in the U.S. that occurred just three weeks apart, either the rules were changed or we received a new set of interpretations from a different group of referees. For example, in Irvine, California we were told that only matte should be called for the now illegal bear hug. Two weeks later, in Altanta, Georgia we were informed matte is called the first time, but shido is awarded the second time around. So, which version is correct?

Not only is the bear hug illegal, but so is a double belt grab, used ostensively to lift the opponent up before sending him crashing onto the mat. Good grief, that’s Greco-Roman wrestling! Can’t have that in Judo. One arm over and one arm under the shoulder may be legal, depending on the intent! But wait. Maybe the bear hug isn’t illegal if you are not trying to break your opponent’s spine. Oh, heck, it still looks like wrestling, so it’s probably not a good idea to try this. Get that? How the hell are coaches supposed to run programs with rulings like this? Why should we coaches send our players to tournaments so “punish them” referees can nail our players?

OK, enough of my whining. Let’s hear what an American national referee has to say about her colleagues and the referee culture. If only more of you referees would pipe up, we might return some common sense to our sport.

I just wanted to put in writing something that concerns me, and advocate on behalf of athletes.

This year, many new rules were rolled out.  I attended a tournament as a (returning national) referee.  The tournament welcomed novices.

From what I have since gathered, our area, region, and probably the country are in sore need of referees.  As always, new people taking up judo would be welcome as well.

Why, then, is gi control, even in an atmosphere of new rules, *local* tournament, and novices welcome, used as a ‘gotcha’??  There were lower-ranked judoka, and some folks who clearly came to compete whose first martial art was jiu jitsu, a sister art of judo.  When it was clear that some did not have properly-fitting gis, I inquired about who was doing gi control.  There was a passive/aggressive disgusted response about how folks ought to know better.  Well, maybe they don’t, but they *showed up*!  Why not honor that and take people at face value? Tell them the problem with the gi, encourage them to make friends with other players, and swap out until they find a legal gi….and then Get On With The Fight?!  Or is the idea to keep the judo tournament to a certain privileged few, a certain tribe, a certain etiquette and training ritual?

My fellow referees made the comment:  “Don’t do anything! Just let ’em walk up, and we’ll nail ’em!”  Huh?  I started to ask each judoka to please go over the fancy plastic thingy and help themselves in measuring their gis.  I was overruled and outranked by the presiding referees, but my disgust with that whole scene didn’t end there.

Two heavy-weights faced each other on the tape.  The refs paused the start of the fight to look at the gi measurements.  Well, these two guys had very ample torsos.  Their gis were legal in every measurement except that the lapels did not reach far enough around to overlap the required number of inches.  These two guys were equal in their gi fit in every way.  In my view, it was the epitome of a ‘fair fight’.  You won’t believe what happened next:  the refs decided that both players would receive hansoku make, disqualifying them from the match for ill-fitting gis.  A disgusting display of abuse of power, in my humble opinion.  But no, these refs could not leave it at that: two players having the courage to enter a dojo *to begin with*, to put on a gi and plan to go to a tournament, to step on the mat and face whatever opponent got there on that day, and then going home humiliated at not having the opportunity to even participate.  No, that was not enough.  As the next guys stepped on the mat, the tournament went on, and the refs, on the sidelines, engaged in what can only be described as playground bullying and a filthy display of immaturity and lack of decorum.  The refs gossiped, loudly, about the ‘fat guys’.  They laughed, they bellowed, they screeched their bullying comments Within Ear Shot of the two (non) players!  This joking, guffawing and laughing, throwing their heads back, wiping tears, slapping their thighs, was all Very Obviously in ridicule of the ‘fat guys’, who Dared to walk onto the mat.

I am obviously still spitting mad about this whole show.  I want to know about the morals and ethics of this organization.  What is the recourse, and how to move forward?  Judo is bleeding, and these refs are, literally, chasing new people off the mat??

In my role as an athletes’ rep, I am asking for guidance in how to address this matter.  Is judo, and more particularly, judo officiating, in such need of leadership at the highest levels that we need to workshop Bullying by the Refs?  Apparently.

I would like to report on more positive aspects, and the gains made, but I don’t see how athletes can improve and gain experience if they are not even allowed onto the mat!  I am willing to have a sit-down with yudanshakais and referee chairs, other refs, etc. In my role as athletes’ rep, it may be possible take a grievance like this and use it as a teaching tool up the ranks, but I am not that optimistic.  See, the problem that day was not only with the individual refs who acted exceedingly poorly, it was their abuse of power in the tournament milieu and among fellow refs.  It was/is a fundamental problem with how they answer the question:  Why do you want to be a judo referee?  The license-to-abuse-power people ought to be weeded out, or at least kept in check with due diligence, at the very first levels of refereeing, but that is not happening due to a lack of leadership on the mutual welfare and benefit philosophy that ought to drive judo activities at all levels.

In order to prevent what occurred that day, as a yudanshakai, I believe we can think about the role of athletes’ rep and how they can be empowered to make a difference.  I felt I was as confrontational on that day as possible, but my colleagues did not have a head’s up about what to look out for, how to address a problem such as out-of-control hansoku makes, and what redress to ask for.  Thinking out loud, perhaps athletes’ reps get together with tournament organizers/directors and lay some ground rules for referees and open the dialogue?  Refs are not irreplaceable, and perhaps, others will want to join a less corrupt organization of referees if that day comes.

Along with the above quoted national referee, there are a few ‘A’ referees who do get it. Gary Berliner is one of them. Referees are told to decline to do gi checks, which puts the onus on players to get it right. At the USA Judo Junior Olympics this past weekend, Berliner, who was the head referee, encouraged referees who are off the mat to be kind to tell players to change gis when it’s apparent the gi isn’t legal. Furthermore, he indicated for the sake of common sense that at times referees must close their eyes and allow a match to proceed. If only this were the rule rather than the exception.