refers to a style of
Kodokan judo with particular emphasis on ground
grappling techniques such as
pinning hold (
osaekomi-waza),
joint locks (
kansetsu-waza) and
chokeholds (
shime-waza), referred to as
newaza in
Japanese martial arts.
History
Technical limitations of protective floor matting in the early 20th century lead to the emphasis of
newaza at this level to limit injuries incurred on inexperienced judoka from . In 1925,
Jigoro Kano introduced new rules limiting the amount of time the judoka could stay on the ground. It was stipulated that techniques had to start from
tachiwaza (standing stance) and if you pulled your opponent down more than three times he was declared the winner. However, schools continued to hold tournaments with former rules and the style compatible with this ruleset became popularly known as
Kosen judo. Kosen judo, as a distinct style, flourished in the
Kyoto region until around 1940. The style and the peculiar ruleset is still studied for tournaments of (former)
imperial universities practising them.
Rules
The rules of a Kosen Judo match were the same set of rules of pre–World War
Judo, which, in contrast with current Judo rules, allowed direct transition to
newaza (ground grappling) without the mandatory skillful application of a movement to unbalance the adversary first. This allowed for scenarios where one less...
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