Category Archives: Judo Rules

Why is that illegal?

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My colleague Steve Scott, recently wrote in his newsletter, “As an interesting sidelight to how history repeats itself, a variety of these techniques are used in various forms of submission grappling and mixed martial arts, although they continue to be illegal in judo competition.”  He was talking about various forms of shime waza or constricting techniques, not necessarily neck chokes.  Not very long ago, one of my readers commented, “Please correct me if I’m wrong; wrestling, Brazilian jiujitsu, and competitive sambo will allow all Judo throws of the Kodokan in competition.  With the IJF rules, Judo does not.  This is a disgrace.”  I couldn’t agree more.

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Move over IJF!

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As more people become disenchanted with IJF, and now EJU, the word “mafia” is starting to be associated more often with these organizations.  Coaches and players are feeling the brunt of the economic demands imposed by IJF and EJU.  We in the United States also got a taste of this “stay in the hotel we designate or else we’ll charge you a ridiculous sum of money to compete in our event” mafia mentality.  Here’s what Kent Gustavsson, a courageous coach from Sweden, has to say on the subject.  He posted his comments on EJU’s website.

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Judo gets no respect!?

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One of my favorite comedians was Rodney Dangerfield.   His classical catchphrase was “I don’t get no respect.”  The first half of his autobiography’s title is It’s Not Easy Bein’ Me: A Lifetime of No Respect.  If Judo were a person and could scream at the top of his lungs, I’m sure he’d be yelling “It’s not easy bein’ me. I get no respect.”  Since Judo is not a person, we judoplayers must step up to the plate and do the screaming.

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More IJF and Modern Kata

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The IJF has struck once more.  To placate the Japanese who have complained that their fighters are not seen often enough in a white gi- a crime for sure!- the top seeds will now wear white and be listed on top of each match, thus making sure they remain in white as long as they win.  Scoreboards and match sheets will have to be changed to reflect the change.  At present, I don’t know if that also means that white is now to the right of the referee or whether the placement of white and blue on the mat remains unchanged.  As always, while the IJF claims that this flip-flop is only for major IJF events, will national organization also make the change to stay “current?”  How much will this needless change cost the Judo community?

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2011 Senior National Championships

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I just returned from Orlando, Florida, where USA Judo held its Senior and Masters National Championships.  Even though a Europe-based player of mine paid my way, and my daughter was competing, I was very reluctant to go.  Traveling by air is no longer fun.  After you have survived the inconveniences of travel and the stupidity of TSA, you then have to put up with the latest round of machinations from USA Judo and the referees.

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