Changes in the structure of men’s match outcomes following the 2025 International Judo Federation Rule changes

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Slide_Functional_2026

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Slide_Men_The_EFF

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Details: Category: 2026, Volume 22; 30 October 2026; Hits: 33

Sylwester Gaweł¹, Arkadiusz Stanula², Łukasz Rydzik², Tadeusz Ambroży², Paweł Adam Piepiora³, Marta Niewczas⁴

¹ Polish Judo Federation, Warszawa, Poland
² University of Physical Education in Kraków, Kraków, Poland
³ Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
⁴ University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland

Author for correspondence: Paweł Adam Piepiora, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, 51-612 Wrocław, Poland; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sylwester Gaweł: Not applicable

Arkadiusz Stanula: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1759-6456

Łukasz Rydzik: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7956-7488

Tadeusz Ambroży: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7361-9478

Paweł Adam Piepiora: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6525-3936

Marta Niewczas: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2687-3243

Abstract

Background and Study Aim: In 2025, the International Judo Federation (IJF) introduced amendments to the competition rules. The main points of discussion concerned the reintroduction of the yuko score and modifications to the interpretation of selected technical situations and penalties. Therefore, the cognitive aim of this study was knowledge about the structure of men’s contest outcomes at the 2024 and 2025 World Judo Championships, held respectively before and after the implementation of the IJF rules introduced for 2025.

Material and Methods: A source-material analysis was conducted. Data from 683 matches contested at the 2024 World Judo Championships in Abu Dhabi (n = 368) and the 2025 World Judo Championships in Budapest (n = 315), across all seven men’s weight categories, were retrospectively analysed. The method of match termination, the category of the decisive outcome leading to victory, and the contribution of scoring technical actions performed in vertical posture (tachi waza) and horizontal posture (ne waza) were assessed. Associations were analysed using the chi-square test, and effect size was quantified using Cramér’s V.

Results: The proportion of matches decided by technical actions increased from 74.7% to 87.0%, whereas the proportion of matches decided by penalties decreased from 22.8% to 12.4% (χ²(2) = 16.91; p<0.001; V = 0.16). The distribution of victory categories changed significantly (χ²(4) = 111.39; p<0.001; V = 0.40). In 2025, yuko accounted for 22.2% of victories, accompanied by a decrease in the proportion of intermediate-score outcomes and penalty-based victories. The change in the relative contribution of tachi-waza and ne-waza actions did not reach statistical significance after continuity correction (p = 0.057).

Conclusions: The new rules were primarily associated with changes in the scoring structure of match outcomes and a lower proportion of victories decided by penalties, without a clear shift in the relative contribution of tachi-waza versus ne waza) actions.

Keywords: combat sports, ippon, golden score, shido, waza-ari, World Judo Championships, yuko

APA

Gaweł, S., Stanula, A., Rydzik, Ł., Ambroży, T., Piepiora, P. A., & Niewczas, M. (2026). Changes in the structure of men’s match outcomes following the 2025 International Judo Federation Rule changes. Arch Budo Journal of Innovation and Agonology, 22.

Chicago
Gaweł, Sylwester, Arkadiusz Stanula, Łukasz Rydzik, Tadeusz Ambroży, Paweł Adam Piepiora, and Marta Niewczas. 2026. “Changes in the Structure of Men’s Match Outcomes Following the 2025 International Judo Federation Rule Changes.” Arch Budo Journal of Innovation and Agonology 22.

Harvard
Gaweł, S., Stanula, A., Rydzik, Ł., Ambroży, T., Piepiora, P. A. and Niewczas, M. (2026). Changes in the structure of men’s match outcomes following the 2025 International Judo Federation Rule changes. Arch Budo Journal of Innovation and Agonology, 22.

MLA
Gaweł, Sylwester, et al. “Changes in the Structure of Men’s Match Outcomes Following the 2025 International Judo Federation Rule Changes.” Arch Budo Journal of Innovation and Agonology, vol. 22, 2026.

Vancouver
Gaweł S, Stanula A, Rydzik Ł, Ambroży T, Piepiora PA, Niewczas M. Changes in the structure of men’s match outcomes following the 2025 International Judo Federation Rule changes. Arch Budo J Inn Agon. 2026;22.

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The specific mission of the Archives of Budo 2023 is to strive for a breakthrough in public perception of a broad class of combat sports and martial arts as specific means of innovative agonology.