From August 9th through the 15th, 386 men and women from virtually every country you have ever heard of will compete in fourteen divisions at the University of Science and Technology Beijing Gymnasium for the most prestigious title in one of the world’s most widely practiced sports: judo. And it will almost certainly be really, really awesome. Japan is coming off perhaps its best showing since it introduced to the Olympics in 1964 at the Tokyo Games: in Athens, Japan took home eight gold and three silver medals. This year, however, things are comparatively wide open — at least if you listen to the Japanese press, who have virtually no faith in the men’s side of their team. There is an uncommon amount of turnover on the Japanese squad as the old guard fades away and newcomers try to live up to the enormous pressure of representing the sport’s founding nation.

Let’s take a look at some of the big stories to watch for over the next week. But let’s begin with what you can expect out of Olympic judo if this is your first exposure to the sport at its highest level.

The Game

If you’re coming to judo from the perspective of an MMA fan, you know basically what to expect from judo competitors: dramatic hip throws or koshi waza, precision-timed sweeps and trips or ashi waza, the explosive pickups and classic shoulder throws of te waza (literally “hand techniques”), and slippery sacrifice techniques or sutemi waza.

In addition to the throws and takedowns that make the Joe Rogans (and lesser men) among us exclaim “JUDO THROW!”, you can expect to see ground techniques or ne waza with an emphasis on top position, as pinning (osaekomi) is one of the three ways to end a judo match on the ground, along with chokes/strangulations (shime waza) and joint locks (kansetsu waza). It’s worth noting that while, technically, the only joint in play in a judo match is the elbow, in practice that is not at all the case: the ude garami, which many know better by the name “Kimura” in tribute to the pre-Olympic judo great who famously defeated a game but overmatched Helio Gracie with the hold, is classified by many if not all other grappling arts that use it as a shoulder lock. Not so judo. Similarly, the sankaku garami, or omoplata, is a legal technique in judo despite in actual application forcing as much if not more pressure to the shoulder than to the elbow. Does this make sense? Not really, no. But just go with it. It’s going to be great.

Another important point about ground fighting in judo competition is that it must be seen to be continuous by the referee or the competitors will be restarted on their feet. Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki, perhaps the foremost living judo ne waza exponent, has written that the judo ne waza practitioner has two opponents: their fellow competitor on the mat in front of them, and the referee, who is looking to restart the match standing at the first real sign of interrupted technique. The attacker, whether on top or on bottom, must clearly demonstrate near-constant progress towards a scoring technique on the ground if they wish to stay there. And ground fighting in judo is largely discretionary: if one competitor attempts a forward throw, fails, and falls to his knees, turtled, it is entirely possible that his opponent will walk away rather than engage on the ground if that is his strategic preference. Unlike in sport jujitsu, there is no score given for taking the back, so fighters confident they can defend themselves long enough to merit a restart standing give up the back regularly.

Scoring in judo can seem complicated to the uninitiated, but the fundamental point is that judo scoring rewards the quality of attack over the quantity of attack. A match-ending score of ippon, the KO of judo, results from a pin that lasts twenty-five seconds, a choke or armlock that produces a submission or incapacitation, or a throw that places uke (the “receiver” of the technique) largely on his back with power, speed and control. A pin that lasts less than that, or a throw that lacks one or more of those criteria, will be awarded a lesser score — a waza-ari, yuko, or koka (in descending value). One yuko outscores an infinite number of kokas; one waza-ari outscores an infinite number of yukos and kokas; and two waza-ari have the same effect as an ippon — they are judo’s only cumulative score.

This is perhaps all a bit muddled, but the point is that if you see what looks like a particularly awesome throw, the match will likely end with that throw. Ippon can and often does occur late in the match, and it is an instant victory regardless of all previous scoring in the bout, so nobody is ever really out of a judo match until the five-minute limit expires.

The Players

I have just this moment been made aware that the International Judo Federation has posted the Olympic draws, and I can barely contain myself. Here they are! OK, focus, focus . . .

(i) The Women

As is fitting with all things judo, let’s begin by talking about the Japanese team, particularly the Japanese women. The star of the Japanese women’s team, and indeed of the Japanese team, full stop, is Ryoko Tani (née Tamura). Along with carrying the distinction of being the incomparable Shonie Carter’s favourite judoka (”You know who I really like, this little Japanese girl, she has these little pig tails sticking up”), Tani is one of the sport’s greatest all-time competitors, displaying a wider range of technique at the sport’s highest level than perhaps anyone has shown before. An eight-time world champion at 48 kg, Tani is looking for her third consecutive Olympic gold to go along with her silvers in 1992 and 1996. This would be Tani’s first gold since becoming a mother, which is the twist the Japanese press have given this story. Her toughest competition looks to come from her fellow 2007 World Championship medalists — the Cuban Yanet Bermoit, France’s Frédérique Jossinet, and the Romanian Alina Dumitru — and China’s Gao Feng, who won this year’s prestigious Turnoi de Paris. At this late stage of her career, it’s difficult to call “Yawara-chan” the definitive favourite, but she’s certainly the sentimental favourite for many.

Ayumi Tanimoto (63 kg), Masae Ueno (70 kg) and Maki Tsukada (over 78 kg) join Tani as gold medalists from the Athens games looking to repeat. Tanimoto, though, looks to be in tough against 2008 Turnoi de Paris and European champion Lucie Decosse, who is, I think, likely to add Olympic gold to her 2005 World Championship. Masae Uno faces stiff competition from Gévrise Emane (FRA), Edith Bosch (NED), Anaisis Hernandez (CUB) as well as the American Ronda Rousey. Rousey, the daughter of a world champion, has a slick juji gatame, a silver medal from the Rio worlds, and the only real American chance of making the podium. Tsukuda can probably hope for no better than silver, as defending World and Turnoi de Paris champion Wen Tong is the woman to beat in front of her home crowd. The Chinese also look strong in the 78 kg division with Liu Xia and 52 kg with Dongmei Xian, where Japan counters with the 18-year-old Misato Nakamura. In the women’s 57 kg, watch for North Korea’s Sun Hui Kye along with Japan’s Aiko Sato and Spain’s 36-year-old Isabel Fernández, a World and Olympic Champion almost certainly making her last appearance.

(ii) The Men

Poor Keiji Suzuki. Despite winning gold in Athens (over 100 kg), and both the Osaka (open) and Cairo (100 kg) World Championships, the Japanese press has absolutely no confidence in his bid to take the 100 kg gold in Beijing. Losing in the second round and finishing out of the medals at the Rio worlds didn’t help his cause, that’s for sure, and Luciano Correa (BRA), Dániel Hadfi (HUN), and Peter Cousins (GBA), all podium finishers in Rio, probably have to be ranked above him here. At 29, Suzuki could be nearing the end of his stellar career.

The 90 kg division will, in short, be insane, and features easily the best first-round match of any of these draws: five time and defending European Champion, Sydney Olympic gold medalist, and absolute technician Mark Huizinga (NED) takes on 2004 European gold medalist, defending Olympic champion, and absolute beast Ilias Iliadis. Iliadis took the victory in their last match at the 2007 worlds in the overtime “golden score” period, and this match could be every bit as close. Defending 90 kg world champion Irakli Tsirekidze (GEO) has a bye into the second round, which could well prove significant. The Italian Meloni and the Russian Perhsin should be factors here, and the Japanese send Hiroshi Izumi, a silver medalist in Athens. Men’s 90 kg is stacked.

The 60 kg division is wide open with three-time Olympic champion Tadahiro Nomura succumbing to injury and retirement. I was disappointed to see that Canadian dark horse Frazer Will drew the worst possible match, facing defending world champion Ruben Houkes (NED) in the first round. Add British ne waza specialist Craig Fallon to the list of contenders here, alongside world medalists Nestor Khergiani (GEO), Ludwig Paischer (AUT) and Min-Ho Choi (KOR). The Japanese send newcomer Hiroaki Hiraoka, who enters competition with a left knee injury.

Japan’s Masato Uchishiba defends his Athens gold in the 66 kg division, but faces a serious contender in João Derly, a Brazilian who won the worlds on home soil last year. Korea seems likely to continue its recent dominance of the 73 kg division as Ki Chun Wang takes over from the great Lee Won Hee, barely missing a beat. Tiago Camillo is the favourite to win at 81 kg, his only real competition likely to come from Guillaume Elmont (NED), Euan Burton (GBR), and Anthony Rodridguez (FRA) — provided that he gets passed tough first-round draw Takashi Ono.

But the main event of the men’s draw is the over 100 kg division, where the young Frenchman Teddy Riner, fresh off his stunning wins at the 2007 European and World Championships, is the favourite to add Olympic gold to his resume at the age of 19. Will two-time All Japan champion Satoshi Ishii be able to unseat him? Will venerable Russian warhorse Tamerlan Tmenov finally get the big win that has eluded him for so long (provided he gets past the dangerous Denis van der Geest in the first round)? Or will Riner dispatch with them as if they were so many French pranksters? Who can say?

What we can say, with absolute confidence, is that this is going to rule.

How to watch? TV coverage can be hard to come by, but NBC, CBC, and the BBC are all streaming judo online in the coming days. And there is, of course, Youtube, which should fill in a lot of gaps. Best of luck tracking all this down.

Olympic judo comes but every four years, friends, so let us savor it.