Waza-ari is the second-highest score in judo — effectively a half-point — awarded for a throw that is almost ippon but lacks one of the elements (e.g. less force, or the opponent lands more on the side than fully on the back), or for a pin (osae-komi) held for 10 to under 20 seconds. Two waza-ari scored by the same judoka combine into ippon, ending the match (‘waza-ari awasete ippon’). When no ippon is scored, the contest is decided on the highest score, where a single waza-ari outranks any number of lesser advantages. It is the key intermediate score in judo.
Key points
- A half-point score
- Throw that is almost-ippon, or 10-20s pin
- Two waza-ari = ippon (match over)
- Decides contests when no ippon is scored