Prohibited Judo TechniquesThe full list, the penalties and why each one is banned

01 / QUICK ANSWER

What are the prohibited techniques in judo?

People often mean more than those four when they ask about “banned techniques”. In practice there are four layers, and the penalty differs for each:

1. The four forbidden Kodokan techniques — disqualification in any IJF contest.
2. Leg-grab throws — legitimate Kodokan techniques, but taking the legs with the hands or arms in tachi-waza is penalised with shido.
3. Dangerous actions — for example a head dive, a joint lock on anything other than the elbow, or an action that endangers the neck or spine. Most are direct hansoku-make.
4. Age-group rules — extra restrictions for cadets and much stricter national rules for children.

The sections below take each layer in turn. The wording follows the IJF Sport and Organisation Rules dated 14 August 2026. Rules change and national federations add their own clauses, so always check the rulebook of the event you enter.

02 / THE FORBIDDEN FOUR

The four forbidden Kodokan techniques

All four are still in the Kodokan’s official list of 100 techniques. They are kept as named techniques so that judoka, coaches and referees can recognise them, not so that they can be practised in randori or used in contests. The IJF technique pages label kawazu-gake, do-jime and ashi-garami “Forbidden technique”, and the do-jime page adds that it is prohibited in both shiai and randori.

What the penalty means. A hansoku-make under Article 18.2.2 is the most serious kind: the opponent wins by ippon, the athlete cannot continue in the competition, and the referee must consult the IJF referee supervisors before giving it. It is not the same as losing on three shido.

Look-alikes that are legal. The rule on kawazu-gake states that o-soto-gari, o-uchi-gari and uchi-mata in which the leg is entwined with the opponent’s leg are permitted and scored. Turning during the throw does not make a real kawazu-gake legal. Likewise, sankaku-jime is a legal strangle of the neck and arm, while squeezing only the trunk is do-jime. Ude-hishigi-ashi-gatame is a legal elbow lock that uses the leg; ashi-garami attacks the knee.

Each name links to a separate study guide that explains how to recognise the shape, how the ban developed and which legal techniques to use instead. Those guides deliberately do not teach how to apply the forbidden techniques.

03 / LEG GRABS

Leg-grab throws: Kodokan techniques penalised in competition

Morote-gari and kuchiki-taoshi are often listed as “banned techniques”, but their status is different from the forbidden four. They remain official Kodokan techniques. What the IJF rules penalise is the action of taking the legs with the hands or arms during tachi-waza.

Because the penalty is shido rather than hansoku-make, a single leg grab does not end the contest, but three shido do. Article 10 allows gripping under the belt in the end phase of a throwing technique, for example a soto-makikomi that continues into ushiro-kesa-gatame or ura-gatame. If the throw is interrupted, the grip counts as a ne-waza action.

Outside IJF competition, these techniques are taught as part of the Kodokan syllabus, and some events or dojos may use different rules. Ask your instructor before practising them in randori.

04 / OTHER HANSOKU-MAKE ACTS

Dangerous actions that lead to hansoku-make

Some of the most important bans are not named techniques at all. They are ways of finishing or entering a technique that put the opponent’s neck, spine or joints at risk. Article 18.2 lists them in two groups.

Hansoku-make for a dangerous technique (the athlete can continue in the event)

• Head dive (18.2.1 pt 1): diving head first onto the tatami, bending forward and downward, while performing or attempting uchi-mata, harai-goshi, seoi-nage, tai-otoshi, kata-guruma, tsuri-goshi or similar throws.

Hansoku-make against the spirit of judo (the athlete cannot continue)

• Kawazu-gake, kani-basami, do-jime (pts 1–3) and kansetsu-waza on any joint other than the elbow, such as ashi-garami (pt 4).
• Kansetsu-waza on the shoulder as a variation of te-gatame (pt 5b).
• Kansetsu-waza or shime-waza in tachi-waza without a judo throw, or with a throw that carries a higher risk of injury, when uke cannot escape (pt 5a). Lower-risk versions are shido (18.1.2 pt 29).
• Reaping the standing leg from behind: uke, when behind tori, cannot reap tori’s standing leg or legs from the inside (pt 6).
• Any action that may endanger the neck or spinal vertebrae (pt 7a), including high-risk kata-sankaku throws in tachi-waza (pt 7b), kata-sankaku in ne-waza blocking the opponent’s body with both legs (pt 7c) and ushiro-sankaku with pressure on the neck or spine (pt 7d).
• Falling backwards on purpose when the opponent is clinging to your back and either athlete controls the other’s movement (pt 8).
• Lifting the opponent and driving them into the tatami without a judo technique (pt 9).
• Conduct items: disregarding the referee, derogatory remarks or gestures, wearing a hard or metallic object, and any other act against the spirit of judo (pts 10–13).

Related shido for technique use

Several technique-related actions are penalised with shido rather than hansoku-make: entangling the opponent’s leg without an immediate attack (pt 30); a bear hug with clasped hands in tachi-waza when tori has no stable grip first (pt 25); overstretching the opponent’s leg in osaekomi-waza, shime-waza or kansetsu-waza (pt 24); strangling with the belt, the bottom of the jacket or only the fingers (pt 23); and using the legs to assist a strangle around the head without the opponent’s arm inside (pt 26).

05 / CADETS AND CHILDREN

Extra restrictions for cadets and children

Youth rules add bans that do not apply to adults. They differ by country and by event, so treat the examples below as the common pattern, not a universal rule.

IJF cadet events (Article 18.1.4)

• Using the head to throw as tori: shido.
• Using the head to defend as uke: shido for uke, and tori can still score.
• “Reverse” seoi-nage, in which tori turns away gripping the same lapel with both hands and drops without control so that uke may land on the neck: no score, and shido for tori.

Japan: youth contest rules (junior high school and younger)

The Nippon Budokan and the All Japan Judo Federation run youth contests under the IJF rules plus extra safety clauses. Under the current text:

• Shido for using shime-waza or kansetsu-waza; for dropping onto both knees at once to throw with seoi-nage and similar techniques (for elementary pupils, even one knee); for forced makikomi; for o-soto-gari, harai-goshi or koshi-guruma with the arm wrapped around the opponent’s neck; for ura-nage by elementary pupils; for “reverse seoi-nage”-type throws; and for throwing while holding both sleeves.
• Hansoku-make for deliberately locking a joint or strangling the neck in attack or defence.

Other countries

Many federations restrict shime-waza and kansetsu-waza by age. In Great Britain, for example, the British Judo Association’s amendments effective 6 July 2026 do not allow them in categories exclusively for athletes under 16, with hansoku-make as the penalty. Check your own federation’s rules and the event’s information sheet.

06 / IN THE DOJO

How to use this list in the dojo

The point of a prohibited list is safety first, then fair competition. A few habits keep it practical:

• Know the shapes, not the entries. Coaches and referees need to recognise kawazu-gake or kani-basami quickly. Nobody needs to drill them. The official Kodokan demonstrations are the safest way to see them once.
• Correct accidental shapes early. A failed o-soto-gari that turns into a leg wrap, or a closed guard that squeezes the ribs, is a habit to fix in uchi-komi and randori, not in a contest.
• Be clear with cross-trainers. Athletes from other grappling sports may know scissor takedowns, leg locks or leg grabs as normal moves. State the judo rules at the start.
• Check the event rules. Veterans, kata, university, school and club events can have their own clauses. The organiser’s rules decide.

If you keep a training log, note any penalty or near-miss together with the situation that caused it. That makes it easier to replace the habit with a legal technique. Our free practice record template has space for this.

07 / FAQ

Frequently asked questions