The Japanese judo federation All Japan Judo Federation has announced in October that in the competitions under it, leg grabbing will be allowed in the future with certain restrictions. This is a significant upheaval in the rules of the sport.
Later, the International Judo Federation IJF has also announced that it will publish some new rules in January 2025. Finally, after this release, the speculation about new rules for the sport started to intensify.
So far, the IJF hasn’t said anything official, but the strongest tatami rumors talk about three rule changes. The most significant reform regarding the rules would possibly concern that in the future some kind of leg grabbing would be allowed.
Touching the feet was banned in judo two years before the London Olympics in 2012. At that time, the reason was said to be the desire to preserve the sport’s own identity and distinguish itself from wrestling and other martial arts.
In competitive judo, the last 14 years have gone by without grabbing the legs. At the same time, judo’s focus is on upper body grips and at the same time emphasizing throwing techniques.
Some critics have said that this has limited the strategic diversity of judo. Grabbing the legs is seen as a return to the origins of the sport, which restores the tradition of judo and enables a wider tactical range for the competitor in fights.
Saha turned the irritation to his advantage
Luukas Saha reached a shocking bronze surprise at the Judo World Championships in Abu Dhabi in May. Competing in the under-66-kilogram category, Saha brought Finland the second World Championship medal in the adult judo series and the first since 1981.
– When I first heard about the rule change rumors, in a certain way it annoyed me. When I put myself at the absolute top of the world with these current rules, then there will be new things to focus on.
Saha believes in the rule rumours, or at least that the judo rules will be changed after the Olympics. According to him, there has been so much criticism of the rules “in the air” that it would be strange if they were not renewed or even tested.
– Now I’m pretty neutral about grabbing the legs, it has its pros and cons. It’s the same for everyone else, so it doesn’t hurt anything as a thought. I even think it might be useful for me.
With the new rules, for example, to become a world champion
Saha says that at the age of 26, he is an “older guard fighter” in his own league and fought at a young age, when he was allowed to hold his leg. He believes that those movements are still in the spinal cord, if you start digging for them.
– It’s been more difficult for me to take on those with a handle. With a foothold, I can kind of block their style more easily, and the game is more open. I can open with a kick and continue from there with hands to legs, says the top judoka who lives in Tampere.
In Saha’s opinion, strong grapplers have had good rules until now, because they have been able to dominate with grapples.
– If the grippers have a good grip, there is not much left to do at that point. In the end games, it was quite rare that I got a handle when it was being developed.
The representative of the Riihimäki judo club says that there is no stress about it. He takes what comes.
– I trust my own judo and my ability to adapt to changes. I’ve always done different techniques in a really versatile way, and I haven’t had just one thing that I would have applied to matches. With these rules I got myself to the top of the world, so why not with slightly different rules for the world championship.
Other violations of the judo rules are rumored to concern that stepping out of the match area would no longer result in shido for the judokai.e. a warning and in the future a light touch of the head to the tatami does not bring automatic hansoku-makei.e. disking.
A few examples of the latter were seen at the Paris Olympics, when a competitor who made a spectacular judo throw even lost a prize medal to a controversial verdict that divided opinion. These two possible rule changes would not greatly affect the performance of two top Finnish judokas.
Puumalainen: I would be excited for the sport
2023 European Heavyweight Champion Martti Puumalainen considers grabbing the legs to be a welcome reform for judo, if it becomes a reality.
– That would be a worse thing for tall and big men in judo. For judokas like me who do lower throws, that would be a good change. I think that would be an advantage for me. At least that’s how I feel about it, says the petite Finn to his series.
– For judo, I would be excited, because for me, denying a grip on the legs has been a bit against the nature of the martial art. In the years 2010-12, the legs were still partially closed, recalled “Marasonni”.
Puumalainen says that he found one video clip where he throws with a te-guruma, which is prohibited in the current rules, and one old picture where he tries the same throw, grabbing the opponent’s leg.
– They are familiar to some extent, but it would be something new to learn, which is just a nice thing.
– Judo must be played with as free rules as possible, but they must be safe, so that you can play a full match without a big fear of being crushed, says the fighter representing Meido-Kan from Helsinki.
Active judo for glory
Puumalainen says that he only hopes that the rules of the sport always basically favor the one who takes the risk, i.e. attacks.
– If it were to be added to the rules that you can throw from the feet mostly with counter throws, and not terribly otherwise, then that would be a negative thing in my opinion. It would not then favor active judo.
Another year’s Budapest Masters winner would not want judo to throw himself directly at the feet and throw the opponent off the feet with two hands, in the style of freestyle wrestling.
– Then it wouldn’t be real judo either. There are smart people out there deciding the matter. I hope they understand the realities of the sport.
After the Paris Olympics, the sports federations were allowed to send proposals to judo decision makers. An international top judge also listened to Finland’s opinions on the evolution of the sport Brother-Matti Karinkantawho has refereed the Olympic Games in Tokyo and Paris.
As a child and teenager, Puumalainen has trained a little in judo techniques, where he could also use leg holds.
– I would guess that it would take three or four months for all the top judokas before the group started to get used to those new rules. I think that in general it would be an advantage for the Finnish judo gang to allow grabbing the legs, Puumalainen says.