Watching Your Child’s First Judo Competition: A Parent’s Guide

You’ve driven across town to a sports hall. Your child disappears into a sea of white judogi. Ten minutes later a referee has his arm in the air, the crowd claps, and your child is shaking hands with another kid. You’re still not sure who won, or why, or whether your child is happy or sad.

That’s completely normal. Judo competitions look chaotic from the side until someone explains the basics. I’ve spent over thirty years on judo mats, as a competitor, a coach, and now teaching kids through Koka Kids. Here’s what you need to know. 

What happens before your child fights

Arrive early, because competition days run on logistics. Your child may need to weigh in, register, and get changed. There will be a draw or a schedule, pinned to a wall or shown on a screen. Find your child’s mat and the name of their first opponent. Then settle in. A judo competition is mostly waiting, with short bursts of judo in between.

How a match starts and stops

The two children bow to each other and stand on their marks. The referee says “hajime” and the match begins. When the referee says “mate”, the action stops. You’ll hear these two words all day. Hajime is Japanese for begin. Mate means stop. Once you know them, you can follow any match on any mat. You’ll hear both words throughout our free 85 Japanese Words guide.

The scores: ippon and waza-ari

Ippon is the full point. It ends the match there and then. In a kids’ competition it usually comes from a clean throw, one where the opponent lands largely on their back with enough speed and force. Or from a hold down that lasts 20 seconds. When the referee raises one arm straight up, that’s an ippon. The match is over. Here’s what an ippon is, with the three ways a match can end.

Waza-ari is the next score down from an Ippon. It means the throw was good, but not quite perfect. Or the hold down lasted between 15 and 19 seconds. When the referee extends one arm out to the side, that’s a waza-ari. Under current rules, two waza-ari make an ippon, so a second one ends the match. Here’s what a waza-ari is, and how you might be confused by it.

Ippons can be scored using any throw. You can watch every throw in our animated judo throws guide.

Penalties: shido

Sometimes a child loses without being thrown at all. They lose on penalties. A shido is a warning, usually for being too defensive, stalling, or not attacking. One or two can happen in a normal match and it’s nothing to worry about. Three shido mean hansoku-make, disqualification. That’s rare at kids’ level. Here’s shido and hansoku-make in plain English.

How long a judo match lasts

A kids’ judo match is short, typically two to three minutes depending on the age group. Your child’s coach will know the exact time for their age. Here’s how long a judo match lasts, by age group.

If the score is level when time runs out, the match doesn’t end. It goes to golden score, which is sudden death. The first score of any kind wins. It sounds tense, and for the kids it is, but that’s a good thing. The match gets decided by judo. Here’s golden score, and why the match carried on after zero.

What your job is on the side

Your job is to stay calm and stay where you’re supposed to be. This is what I’ve learned from my coach and also watching parents.

Cheer, but don’t coach. Your child can’t hear useful advice over the noise, and instructions shouted from the side usually make them more nervous, not less. Let their coach do the coaching. Your job is to be there, then to be waiting afterwards with a hug, a drink, and perhaps something to eat.

Don’t criticise the referee. It changes nothing and it teaches your child the wrong lesson. Judo is built on respect, for your opponent, for the referee, for the sport. That respect starts with how the adults behave, not with how the kids do.

What comes next

The most important thing to know is that the result doesn’t matter in the long-term. What matters is that your child walked onto a mat in front of everyone, faced another child, and tried. That takes real courage. The rest is practice.

What you say in the car afterwards matters more than any medal. Here’s what to say after a match, win or lose.

If they loved it, you’ll be enjoying life as a judo parent and visiting a different competition venue soon, and next time you’ll know your hajime from your mate. To keep your kids learning, choose the right judo book, or grab our free guide to find the one that fits your child.