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Page 2 of 3 Although strangles and armlocks may seem dangerous, the players are trained to know when they are in danger and will submit by tapping either the mat, or the opponent, twice, before any damage is done. The referees are extremely alert when one player attempts to apply a choke or an armlock. If the referee thinks the technique is about to cause serious injury, he can stop the match and declare a winner. There is a long list of things not allowed. Mainly, players are expected to play fair and continuously attack. They are penalized for things like intentionally going out of bounds, refusing to attack (stalling), being too defensive, making rude comments or gestures and performing dangerous acts (like not giving the opponent a chance to submit). The rules are rarely broken except in the tactical areas, such as stepping out or stalling. Penalties in judo are severe; a repeat of any transgression results always in the next higher penalty, the lower one being removed. Three referees officiate in a contest. Two sit at opposite corners and the third moves around the mat to observe the players. The center referee also controls the bout and signals the results. Each decision is agreed upon by at least two of the three referees. Although an ippon is the objective, there are partial points scored. In each bout, however, it is the highest quality score that wins. A score is signaled by the referee's arm; the higher the arm signal, the higher the score. For example, an arm straight up signals an ippon. How can you tell a technique's score?
Watch the center referee's hand signal and listen to the call. The higher the signaling arm, the higher the score. The scores, in order from highest to lowest quality are:
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