Kosen judo (高專柔道 Kōsen jūdō) refers to a set of competition rules of Kodokan judo[1] with particular emphasis on ground grappling techniques such as pinning holds (osaekomi-waza), joint locks (kansetsu-waza) and chokeholds (shime-waza), referred to as newaza in Japanese martial arts.
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Kosen (高専 kōsen) schools started holding their own judo competitions from 1914.[2] The rules of a Kosen judo match were mainly Dai Nippon Butokukai and Kodokan rules prior to 1925 changes. They allowed direct transition to newaza, enabling scenarios where one less skilled judoka could drag down the other into newaza (a tactic modernly known as pulling-guard), and 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 newaza.[3] 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.[3]
1925 changes were largely a reaction to Kosen competition's emphasis on newaza. 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.[2] However, Kosen schools continued to hold interscholastic competition (高專大会 kōsen taikai) tournaments with former rules.
Kosen judo, as a distinct style, flourished in the Kyoto region until around 1940.[1] The style and the peculiar ruleset is still studied for "seven imperials judo" (七帝柔道 shichitei jūdō / nanatei jūdō) tournaments of (former) imperial universities[4] and is taught especially in Kyoto.[5]