Yuko in judo is a middle score that sits below waza-ari. Its path has been odd. The IJF dropped it in 2017, then brought it back in 2025 with a definition that does not quite match the old one. Its little brother, koka, went much earlier, at the end of 2008. Koka never returned.
To make sense of these changes, look at what the IJF wants each Olympic cycle: matches the public can follow, and judoka who go for big throws.
From four scores to three, two, then three again
For decades the scoreboard had four levels. Here is how it changed.
| Period | Scores in use |
|---|---|
| Until the end of 2008 | Ippon, waza-ari, yuko, koka |
| 2009 to 2016 | Ippon, waza-ari, yuko |
| 2017 to 2024 | Ippon, waza-ari |
| Since 2025 | Ippon, waza-ari, yuko |
Hold-down times followed. In the koka era, an ippon on the ground took 25 seconds. That was cut in stages to the current 20 seconds for ippon and 10 for waza-ari. The new yuko comes between 5 and 9 seconds.
Koka: one score too many
Koka rewarded a landing on the buttocks or thigh, or a short hold-down. It had two problems. First, spectators did not understand it. A judoka could lead with three koka against one yuko and still lose, because scores were compared from the top down. Second, it encouraged small-action judo. Players tried to put the opponent on their backside to get ahead, then managed the clock.
The IJF removed it at the end of 2008. Few people missed it. For referees it meant one less call to make in situations that were often confusing.
Yuko dropped in 2017
Eight years later, the same logic applied. The IJF wanted only two scores. Yuko was absorbed into waza-ari, which pushed waza-ari downwards: a clean landing on the side was enough.
The same year, waza-ari stopped adding up to ippon, an experiment reversed in 2018. That story is told in our page on waza-ari.
Effects showed quickly. More waza-ari, more side-landing judo, and matches decided by a score many purists found too generous.
Why yuko came back in 2025
The IJF reintroduced yuko from the 2025 Paris Grand Slam, with a trial period up to that year's World Championships and an adjustment in January 2026. The new definitions show the aim. Waza-ari gets its value back, because a plain side landing no longer earns it. Incomplete actions get their own step on the ladder.
Under the new definition, yuko rewards:
- a landing on the side or nearly on the side, with the shoulders roughly perpendicular to the mat;
- a landing on the upper back or the back of the neck;
- a landing on at least one buttock, with or without hands or elbows touching the mat;
- a hold-down of 5 to 9 seconds.
It is not given if uke lands first on the belly or on both knees. It is also not given if uke lands sitting with the upper body clearly bent towards the knees.
One big difference from the old yuko: landing on one buttock, which used to be koka, now scores yuko. In a sense, the new yuko has inherited part of the old koka.
How the referee decides between yuko and waza-ari
The main criterion is the angle of the shoulders at impact. Shoulders roughly perpendicular to the mat: yuko. Shoulders clearly rolled past that angle onto the back: waza-ari. For a sitting landing, the referee checks that the upper body is not folded towards the knees, in which case there is no score.
In reality these calls happen in a second. The video judges correct them fairly often, especially on rolling landings. The criteria for the top score are in our page on ippon.
What changes on the mat
The return of yuko has shortened many matches. A small ko-soto-gari (small outer reap) that sits the opponent down is now enough to lead, and to win if nothing else happens. Foot sweeps like de-ashi-barai (advanced foot sweep) have regained a tactical value they had lost.
On the downside, some players score a yuko and then try to hold on. The referee can punish that with a passivity shido, but the temptation is there. To see how yuko fits with the other scores, read our guide to judo rules. For late-match tactics, see the page on golden score.
Our view
The new yuko looks like a good change to us. It restores a hierarchy between a real throw and a fall on the side, something the 2017 rules had wiped out. Our advice to competitors who grew up without yuko: work on your falls again. Landing sitting or on your side seemed free for years. Now it gives away a score. A clean forward ukemi, or turning onto your front so the opponent gets nothing, is a competition skill again. The basics are in our page on ukemi.