Judo

There are three referees at a judo match. One on the mat, two next to it. The referee on the mat leads the match and judges the throws. The other two will only signal if they do not agree with a decision. A majority vote counts if there is a discussion within the referee team.

If an Ippon, a full point, is scored straight away, it means the end of a match. The five minutes of a match don’t need to be ended then. But of course this doesn’t always occur. There are different ways in judo to try to score a point. If a throw is executed nicely and constrained it is also worth an Ippon. If the throw isn’t perfect or the opponent doesn’t land fully on his back, the throw is awarded half a point: a waza-ari. It is also possible that a judoka scores because his opponent surrenders or is appointed penalties. If a judoka is stuck in a hold, he can notify with two taps on the mat that he wants to give up.