The men's open category competition in judo at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was held on 11 August at the California State University.

[1] In his only appearance at the Olympics, four-time world champion Yasuhiro Yamashita tore a right calf muscle in the preliminary match against Arthur Schnabel.

This put Yamashita at a huge disadvantage since he executed his throws by pivoting on his right leg.

He played the final match against Mohamed Ali Rashwan of Egypt.

The match witnessed a remarkable fair play act from Rashwan who did not aim for Yamashita's right leg.