As the Olympic Games have such a range of different sports, including some that aren’t usually widely televised, you might find yourself watching a sport you don’t fully understand.
While you can sometimes start to pick up the rules as you watch, having some background knowledge beforehand is often useful.
To help you out, we’ve broken down some key questions on judo and how the sport works in the Olympic Games.
How will Olympic Judo work at Paris 2024?
Judo may be a relatively recent addition to the Olympic calendar but its furious physicality has had far-reaching global influence.
Team GB has never won an Olympic judo gold but has collected eight silvers and 12 bronze medals since 1972 with the team’s most recent Olympic medal coming in 2021 thanks to Chelsie Giles’ Tokyo bronze.
Where does judo derive from?
Judo is a traditional Japanese martial art that derives from jiu-jitsu. It was taught in its modern format as recently as 1882 by Jigaro Kano, a Japanese educationalist and philosopher.
With origins in the hand-to-hand combat technique of ancient samurai warriors, Kano’s Judo combined the discipline with philosophical and educational principles.
What are the main principles of judo?
Judo’s philosophy revolves around two primary principles, “Seiryoku-Zenyo” meaning the good use of energy and “Jita-Kyoei” meaning welfare and benefit.
The objective of competitive judo is to throw an opponent, immobilise them with a pin, or force an opponent to submit with a joint lock or an arm choke.
How do opponents win?
Within an Olympic match, an ippon is awarded when an athlete throws their opponent to the mat or on their back with speed, strength and control as well as being awarded through submission or by pinning an opponent to the ground for 20 seconds.
A waza-ari is awarded for a throw that is not clear enough to be an ippon or if the opponent did not primarily land on their back.
An ippon immediately ends the match while two waza-ari in one match are equivalent to one ippon.
What are the different weight classes?
The weight classes in judo qualification events for Paris 2024 were as follows:
Men’s weight classes: -60kg, -66kg, -73kg, -81kg, -90kg, -100kg and +100kg
Women’s weight classes: -48kg, -52kg, -57kg, -63kg, -70kg, -78kg and +78kg
Mixed team event weight classes: -57kg women, -70kg women, +70kg women, -73kg men, -90kg men and +90kg men
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What do judokas wear?
Judokas wear a judogi to compete in matches. A judogi is similar to a karategi, used, in karate and both share common origins.
A judogi comprises of three parts that are usually cut from different fabrics: a heavy jacket (uwagi), lighter canvas pants (shitabaki or zubon), and a cotton belt (obi).
How long is a judo match?
Matches last four minutes followed by overtime in the event of a tied score.
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