ABSTRACT
This chapter explains why to optimally prepare judoka it is important to determine the physiological requirements of the sport through the analysis of the time–motion characteristics of matches and overall competition demands. The IJF rules for the 2020 Olympic cycle set the duration of judo matches to four minutes for both males and females. Issues related to Golden Score, match duration and activity blocks are discussed. If the technical scores are even at the end of the regular time (regardless of penalties), then the match will immediately continue into Golden Score (unlimited extra time). The Golden Score rule combined with the fact that an ippon score ends the match means that match duration can vary from over 10 minutes to only seconds. The average match duration, however, is approximately three minutes. Each match consists of about 11 blocks of activity lasting between 20 to 30 seconds each, followed by approximately 10 seconds of rest. The activity blocks consist of groundwork or standing activity, which can be divided into preparation, gripping and attack/defence. The maximum number of matches within a competition depends on the competition system, but IJF World Tour Events usually have five to seven matches. The inclusion of team events means that some judoka will compete on two consecutive days in the same competition.
