Kosen Judo

Kosen Judo was a refinement of Kodokan Judo that was developed and flourished at the Koto senmon gakko technical colleges in Japan in the first half of the twentieth century. Kosen Judo's competition rules allowed for greater emphasis of ne-waza (ground techniques) than in mainstream judo and it is sometimes regarded as a distinct style of judo. Today, the term Kosen Judo is frequently used to refer to the competition ruleset associated with it that allows for extended ne-waza. Such competition rules are still used in the shichitei judo and nanatei judo competitions held annually between the seven former Imperial Universities.

Kosen is an abbreviation of Koto senmon gakko, literally 'Higher Speciality School', and refers to the Colleges of Technology in Japan that cater for students from age 15 to 20. The Kosen schools started holding inter-collegiate judo competitions from 1914. The rules of a Kosen judo match were mainly Dai Nippon Butokukai and Kodokan rules prior to 1925 changes. However, the differed in that they asserted the right of competitors to enter groundwork however they wished and to remain in it as long as they wanted. The rules allowed for a more tactical style of newaza to develop and the style was developed under the influence of judokas like Tsunetane Oda and Hajime Isogai.

Unlike mainstream Kodokan competition rules, Kosen rules allowed hikikomi (pulling-in), enabling competitors to transition to ne-waza by dragging their opponent down without using a recognised nage-waza (analogous to pulling-guard). This was exploited by some teams that matched their less skilled students against the more skilled students of the rival teams, aiming at a draw in ne-waza. To achieve victory under the judo rules of the time the judoka had to score ippon as there were no intermediate scores, or a draw was declared at the referee's discretion.
The changes made to the mainstream Kodokan competition rules made in 1925 were largely a reaction to Kosen competition's emphasis on ne-waza. As opposed to earlier ruleset, transition to groundwork was limited by much stricter rules and by 1929, yusei-gachi rule was introduced to end draws in matches. However, Kosen schools continued to hold interscholastic tournaments with former rules.

Differently to modern Judo rules leglocks were allowed. Leglocks started being prohibited by Kodokan rules in 1914 in shiai and randori as well. By 1925 all joint-locks except elbow locks were totally prohibited together with neck cranks. Kosen rules being the Kodokan rules derivative did not allow leglocks absolutely.

Kosen judo, as a distinct style focusing training towards the Kosen ruleset, flourished in the Kyoto region until around 1940. The style and the peculiar ruleset is still studied for "Seven Imperials Judo" (shichitei judo / nanatei judo) tournaments of (former) Imperial Universities and is taught especially in Kyoto.

There has been a resurgence in interest in Kosen Judo in recent years due to its similarities with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

[jay]

I'ma bjj purple belt who just recently started judo ... I remember starting judo simply because I got tired of pulling guard and pluss my takedowns sucked ... Any how I looked up some places and ended up finding a really good school.. i actually didn't really know much about judo I didn't even know there was different styles Fast forward I go for my first day, and I remember saying to myself, " wait, ..wtf this is jiu jitsu" ... So, , , oblivious to the ground work that was being done I asked my sensei why were the students rolling ... He said this is kosen judo and he went on to explain to me everything ... I stood there in shock of what was going on because I was seeing everything from moves & techniques that resembled bjj ...not gonna lie I figured when I rolled I would butcher these guys because there ground game wouldn't be up to par like mine because of my bjj back ground .... Well, I got my ass handed to me!, I remember thinking no way so I rolled a few more times I did decent with one guy but the other guys gave me hell with constant pressure, strong ass gorilla grips, and aggressiveness & a pace I wasn't used to ...not knocking on my self but I've won Naga tournaments, grapplers quest tournament and also a bunch of other local tournaments and have rolled with pretty solid bjj guys ... But these guys from my kosen school bring a different game, and some of my buddies from bjj showed up to our judo school and after rolling with the guys some of my bjj friends joined the club and the other ones still drop in here and there for like open mat ... However they developed a whole new respect for kosen judo after they experienced it, I've adapted now and and now I know what to look out for etc & my instructor is a 4th degree (Dan) black belt and he's pretty bad ass and he's down to earth ... Now I love judo just as much as bjj ... I'm glad to be doing TBH I'm my most honest opinion it's really kinda all the same shit with different mindsets and approaches ...

[quickstep]

Awesome! Alot of ppl wouldn't be aware that judo has these types of rules and training. Glad to have found it. It's been an interesting last couple days of youtube martial arts for me: from jujutsu, to bjj, to vale tudo, to luta livre, to greco-roman/freestyle wrestling, and finally back to kudokan/kosen judo... Phew. Can you tell that I'm looking to get into a grappling/ground martial art lol? Leaning towards judo but I really wish that I had this sort of judo instruction in my town.

[chueri]

BJJ came directly from Kodokan Judo. At this time, all Judo had a lot of ne-waza. Mitsue Maeda (Jigoro Kano´s student) came to Brazil and taught Jigoro Kano Jiu-Jitsu to Carlos Gracie and many others guys that become black belts too. Carlos taught Jigoro Kano Jiu-Jitsu to his 4 brothers. Hélio Gracie (the best fighter) used to fight Jigoro Kano Jiu-Jitsu too. In 1950, the term "Judo" become popular in Brazil. Many Brazillian-Japonese abandoned the term "Jiu-Jitsu" and iniciated to use the term "Judo". Gracie Family decided to be "independent" from Internacional Judo Federation because they prefer practice "ne-waza" instead takedowns.

[Mitchx]

More fun to watch than bjj comps where it's all in the guard and I like the aggression

[HomelessNinjaKennedy]

Freaking cool. So much better than Olympic Judo.
Also, I love the music in this video 👍

[ArpMadore]

SRT is very effective at International Judo competitions
Japanese women frequently use this Kosen technique

[lioravni]

This stuff is awesome. For some reason, I like the way the japanese move over the russians and brazilians, and anywhere else where people do grappling. The japanese are so strong in their legs, and would always like to be on their feet or in a control position, they stand even when in someone's guard.

[luismancilla]

el judo kodokan y el judo kosen, , # 1 en el mundo y, aun antes del jiujitsu brazileño, la variedades de judo son muy fuertes y efectivas.

[nevermore.]

これは、フロアファイトに焦点を当てた柔道スタイルです。 ブラジルでは、JI JITSUと名付けられました。 ロシアのサンボもオリンピック柔道よりも汎用性が高い。

[eduardothiagomonteiro]

There is many technics considered of modern BJJ: Delariva guard, one legged x, etc...

[leandrobelchior]

Queria mesmo e ver umas lutas do pessoal de alto nível do kosen vs o pessoal de alto nível do bjj

[BernardoTorres-we]

The captions disappeared way to fast and they contained basic information and very interesting one as well .

[plantsncaterpillars]

I’ve never seen a BJJ guy able to submit a Kosen rules judoka. Or throw one for that matter.

[robertacho]

I <3 the vid. I really would like to learn Judo under those Rules . what's the song name by the way ?
Greetings from Germany

[bruceparker]

It's interesting that even with kosen judo, there are still bjj schools in Japan. That speaks volumes.

[markd]

3:33 that would've been a nice crucifix / jigoku jime if he succeeded.

[TheBeijingAikikai]

Kosen is just an abbreviation of Koto senmon gakko ... it's not a refinement of kodokan judo. It's just easier to teach people newaza quicker than tachiwaza.  Kids are only in school a short time. Different rules were preserved in the univ tournaments. It's all Judo folks and YES that's where BJJ and Sambo and Kawaishi JJ and Russian Judo, etc. etc. all came from.  Read Aikido in Japan and The Way Less Traveled.  Detailed history of Japanese moving to Brazil and taking their arts with them.

[ZenSlider]

These are mostly regular judo matches, not specifically kosen rules.

[kenshirox]

Sera q os Gracies ainda insistem em dizer q criaram td? Q td veio de um passe de magica?Q Hélio "inventou" as tais n desmerecendo o Bjj, mas e muita cara de pau os caras ainda falarem q criaram td e por cima a "arte marcial imbatível" O.o??

[modasp]

Agora sim, vejo o jiu Jitsu foi criado no japao.