After years of pleading from Judokas and grappling fans, the All Japan Judo Federation(AJF) has reinstated leg grabs for the All Japan Judo Championships.
Read the full details on this decision by the AJF and Kodokan below. ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️
AJF Reinstates Leg Grabs
On October 10th, 2024, the All Japan Judo Federation(AJF) announced they were reinstating leg grabs for the All Japan Championships. This news was initially broken by https://ejudo.info/, the leading source for news on Japanese Judo.
Below is a rough translation of the announcement into English.
“On the 10th, the All Japan Judo Federation announced that the All Japan Judo Championships, an open-weight competition to determine the best judo player in Japan, will allow the so-called “ashidori” (foot-stepping) technique from a grappling position. This was decided by the tournament executive committee, which also included the Kodokan.
As agreed-upon item within the tournament refereeing regulations, in addition to the flag judgment adopted in the 2024 tournament, the following article has been added: “When in a standing position and grappling with an opponent, grabbing (touching) below the opponent’s belt for the purposes of attack or defense is not considered a foul (warning). However, when not grappling with an opponent, directly attacking below the opponent’s belt is considered a foul (warning).”
The tournament executive committee has been searching for rules suitable for weight-unlimited competitions and has been discussing the revival of the “footstep” rule in recent years. This has finally been approved. The same rule will also be introduced in the women’s championship (Empress Cup).”
Judokas & Grappling Fans Rejoice
For years, many Judokas and grappling fans have been critical of various judo federations’ banning of leg-grabbing techniques. Many believed that this rule change put shorter grapplers at a disadvantage against taller grapplers, especially in the open-weight class.
The exclusion of leg grabs has also limited the number of techniques permitted within competitions. This rule has hindered the growth of Judo while BJJ has been growing rapidly.
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.
