A waza-ari is almost an ippon but more than a yuko

Press, 30 July 1980, Page 34

A waza-ari is almost an ippon but more than a yuko

NZPA Moscow When is a koka not a koka? When three of them make a yuko. Sounds confusing doesn’t it. Well in fact it is — very confusing — but that is how gold medals are won in judo. The complicated scoring procedure is as traditionally Japanese as the sport itself and for the uninitiated, trying to follow a match unaided can lead to moments of deep despair. Just as you think you have grasped the significance of kokas and yukos somebody scores a wazaari and its back to square one. Explaining the scoring is even more difficult than trying to follow it . but basically it consists of: Kokas — these are almost a yuko; Yukos — almost a waza-ari; Waza-aris — yes, you guessed it. They are almost ippons. And what is an ippon? An ippon is a full point, the fastest and easiest way to win a match. Scoring an ippon in judo seems to be the equivalent of a knock-out in boxing or a pin in wrestling — it brings the bout to an abrupt halt. Kokas, yukos, waza-aris and ippons. Simple enough isn’t it? Well that’s not the half of it.

Just to add a bit of spice to the spectator’s life the judo scoring system has a few other little refinements. There are also:

Waza-ari awasete ippons — a win by addition of two waza-ari; Hansoku make — disqualification. What constitutes a disqualification is difficult to assess. One combatant in Moscow bloodied his opponent’s nose with a straight left

that would have done credit to Sugar Ray Robinson but that wasn’t hansoku make material; Koka by shido — this is a koka due to hote but what a hote consists of is not explained in the layman’s guidebook. Still it must be good to rate a mention. There are also waza-ari by keikoku and yuko by chui, which are awarded for a warning and caution respectively. Other obscure terms are used for wins by default, wins by withdrawal and draws, but the real coup de grace is the yusei-gachi, or win by decision. Understanding the yuseigachi is the judo fan’s equivalent of passing a university masters degree with honours.

Unlike a points decision in boxing, which is awarded after the specified rounds have been fought, it seems a yusei-gachi can be awarded at the referee’s discretion. If there is a time limit to a judo bout, what it is remains a mystery. Six judo bouts were fought in Moscow yesterday. A decision by ippon took only 16 seconds while another ippon bout went for four minutes and 24 seconds. This is readily acceptable because knockouts in boxing come at varying times. Of the other four bouts one was decided by wazaari in five minutes, one by koka in seven minutes and another bv yuko, also in seven minutes.

It begins to look like a pattern until up bobs another anomaly. The yusei-gachi decision was awarded in five minutes.

Yes indeed, there are moments of deep despair at a judo match. This has been one of them.