“And here we are, we will be entitled to a golden score.” The little sentence turns in a loop on the tatami mats of the Tokyo Olympics, because the judokas are struggling to decide between themselves in regulation time. Clarisse ConditionsIt’sgnIt’sWe can attest to this: he had to wait for the start of this extension to inflict a waza-ari decisive to his opponent and win the Olympic title. For its part, the Bronze medalist Luka Mkheidze (-60kg) lost in the semifinals after 9’22 against Taiwanese Yung Wei Yang, before defeating South Korean Won Jin Kim in 7’15. The case of the two French people is not exceptional. In the first three days of competition, 69 of 189 bouts ended in golden score, according to franceinfo calculations, more than a third (37%) oppositions.
“The men’s competition was a bit disappointing today [dimanche] with a lot of golden score decisions “, noted former German Olympic champion Udo Quellmalz on the website of the international judo federation (English content). “It was unusual to have so many long fights. Most of the fighters seemed suspicious.”. However, this is not the first time that a major competition has been filled with extended games. “There have been a lot of them for about ten years”, underlines Fabien Canu, former DTN and world champion in judo. Contacted by franceinfo, he mentions “an avalanche” of cases at the London Olympics in 2012. Involved, according to him: “a problem of arbitration, rules and direction of combat”.
Koka zero, yuko zero: the two lowest benefit levels were removed in 2008 (before London) and 2017 (before Tokyo) respectively. Judokas therefore have two options to win: a waza-ari (immobilization of 10 seconds or fall on the back) or an ippon (immobilization of 20 seconds or fall on the back after a throw which combines strength, speed and control) . The idea is to encourage maximum risk taking, but the counterparty is a possible loss in aggressiveness. In fact, fighters are sometimes reluctant to launch more affordable attacks, which will no longer be rewarded. It is prudent to wait, before finding the ideal opening synonymous with victory.
“We should value these attacks that make you fall on the edge, shoulders or buttocks. The ippon and the waza-ari are not enough.”
Fabien Canu, former DTN and world champion in judoto franceinfo
“There is less risk taking during regulation time, more management”, confirms Fabien Canu for whom in the end “the fighters tend to play the clock”. In his eyes, the removal of the yuko even tends to devalue the waza-ari, which now sometimes comes as a reward for medium attacks. “When I see what is sometimes accepted as waza-ari, a simple counter with low risk taking, I tell myself that it would take at least three levels “, thus pleads the old French DTN. “The waza-ari has become a catch-all”, also believes Christophe Gagliano, director of the men’s judo team, for whom the discipline runs the risk of “technically impoverish”.
An aggravating factor, the fights have gone from five to four minutes for the men, which further limits the room for maneuver. Fabien Canu also evokes the penalties sanctioned with a yellow card (shido), in particular for non-combativeness. A judoka is eliminated in the third. Here again, the regulations have evolved over time. “Previously, a single penalty could make the difference at the end of regulation time “, in case of a tie. Logically, with this sword of Damocles, informed judokas were more engaged in the allotted time. “Arbitration is a balance between attack and defense. If we went back to these two very simple things, there would be less than golden scores.”
In Tokyo, several fights ended after three shidos in the golden score, on faults of the opponent. A somewhat sad scenario, which frustrates fans of the discipline. Finally, the introduction of an extension without time limit, in 2013, tends to perpetuate the meetings between exhausted judokas. The rule also compromises subsequent encounters. “When you fight ten minutes in the semi-final, and there is behind the final, that is bound to have an impact”, regrets Fabien Canu. “There too, we do not promote the show, with judokas who can arrive exhausted.”
Over time, the fighting has become more physical and tactical. Above all, the element of surprise tends to disappear. “The international circuit is quite dense. It has become homogenized with globalization”, explains Christophe Gagliano to franceinfo. “The athletes meet quite often during the year, there have been training camps [Olympics training camps, OTC]… They know each other by heart. ” Not to mention the increased use of video. “The table is not that huge and the judokas know the strengths and weaknesses of their future opponents.” Four minutes can’t always tell the difference, and “it is played on the mental and energetic aspect”.
Of course, the rules of judo may seem obscure to laymen and the golden score has its charm, especially because of the tension it generates. But the multiplication of these additional periods also triggers jokes on social networks: “Once, an Olympic final was not at golden score : legend or reality? “, amuses an internet user. “But if not, why does judo not start directly in golden score’ ?'”, laughs the humorous account Fédé de la lose.
In the end, specialists wonder about the future of the discipline. “The media coverage of judo leads to a logic of simplification. But the sporting logic would rather consist in enhancing the technical value”, summarizes Christophe Gagliano. “In our sport, we have to distinguish the ability to make projections or to control the opponent, by working on the ground”, adds the director of the French men’s team. In his opinion, it is therefore necessary to give a little complexity to the discipline, variety in the advantages. In short, underlines Fabien Canu, “go back to something more classic and to more stringent arbitrage values ”.
