Among those leading the praise after the Grand Prix event was Neil Adams, Britain's two-time Olympic silver medallist, an advisor for the new rules introduced by the International Judo Federation (IJF).

"The good thing about this competition is that the referees, fighters and coaches have found a balance which is really important," he said.

"The new rules needed time to settle down and now their implementation is a lot more polished this weekend.

"Golden score is now exciting and not as prominent as it was in the Olympic Games.

"The big thing for me is that there's a lot more standing techniques and ippons and the judo looks the way we think judo should look.

"The real plus is that when it comes to developing youngsters, they will now come through with positive kumikata [a good grip] and use their body as opposed to their hands to defend.

"They will need a firm base of fundamental technique which has to come from a coach education which is a paramount importance."


The new rules, introduced at the opening IJF Grand Prix of the season in Paris last month and also used at the second event in Düsseldorf, are already being adopted by the leading countries as they begin to focus on preparations for Rio 2016.

The changes include ending the time limit on the golden score, which means a match does not end until one of the contestants scores or gets a penalty, and issuing gudiance that the ippon score - the most famous throw in judo - should only be given to throws that result in "real impact".

"The new rules make for better judo and we're seeing more techniques and judoka continuing to transition into ne-waza [ground work]," said Daniel Lascau, the IJF Sports Director. 

"I'm surprised how positive the attitude has been from athletes and coaches and with the video support for fights we're closer to a realistic appreciation of the performance on the mat.

"I can see a lot of technical directors from different federations who are here to watch and analyse these new rules which we will review after the testing period finishes with the [2013] World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"Good feedback will be offered and arguments and adjustments will determine the way forward in the Olympic qualification period for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with the aim being to show positive judo which is easy to understand."

The number of referees on the mat has also been reduced from three to one, with other officials sitting at the table with a video, in an effort to help make the sport more attractive to televison.

"There is now only one referee on the tatami but they are closely supported by the CARE [video refereeing] system and table officials, including two other referees," said Jan Snijders, the IJF Refereeing Director.


"In the past we had three referees and occasionally they would disagree on a score so this change is certainly more spectator friendly.

"Everyone is working together and the judo has been a lot more positive as everyone adapts to the new ways of the sport."

Russian head coach Ezio Gamba, who worked alongside Adams to deliver the inaugural rules seminar in Malaga, in January, claimed judo is already benefitting from the changes.

"I think the picture is good," he said.

"There have only been a few mistakes from the athletes and they were instinctive which is normal.

"The referees now understand the rules better and it's harder for them as they are not on the tatami every single day like our athletes.

"I've witnessed the progress of the interpretation of the rules with each event and I hope it continues in this direction."

France's Gevrise Emane, the London 2012 bronze medallist, who won the -63 kilogram gold medal in Samsun, backed the adapted rules.

"The athletes have had to adapt because there a lot of changes," he said.

"We have to adapt in a way that we're always be on the attack which makes things different but in a positive way."


Adams, who was commentating for the IJF in Samsun, also had another to be pleased in another of his roles, as British Judo's Director of Elite Coaching, after watching Bristol's Sally Conway claim the gold medal in the -70kg category. 

The 26-year-old, who is based in Edinburgh, was making her first international appearance since London 2012 and took the biggest win of her senior career.

Conway started her day with victory by ippon over Margarita Gurtsieva of Russia, before dispatching Germany's Iijana Marzok in just over one minute.

That victory set up a semi-final with former junior world champion Bernadette Graf and two minutes in, Conway held down the Austrian to book a place in the final against Asma Niang.

Conway started well and again caught her Moroccan opponent with some excellent ground-work to hold her down and win gold.

"I'm really pleased with my performance, as this is my first competition back since the Olympics," sha said.

"It feels good to be back."

Photos: © IJF Team by Tamas Zahonyi and Nicolas Messner

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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