Fighting Rules

Section 1: Fighting Rules

Section 1A: Equipment/All Fighting Divisions

All Fighters must be dressed in a proper uniform of their school or team. Fighters must wear their proper belt indicating their experience level.

Fighters must wear the following safety equipment when point sparring: mouthpiece, headgear, hand pads, foot pads and.Males must also wear groin protection. Face Shields are Mandatory for all 17 & under colored belts & 11 & Under Black Belts, Face Shields are Optional for 12 & Up Black Belts & All Adults. Chest Protectors are optional for all divisions.

Although WAKO Approved Fighting Gear is recommended, minimum standards are vinyl foam dipped type gear, (i.e. macho, century, etc.) Enclosed Gloves are allowed. Equipment must be in good condition, cannot be taped or torn. No training shoes, sneakers, Cloth Gear, boxing gloves, or gloves with individually articulated fingers or other unapproved equipment is not allowed. Any competitor without proper equipment will not be allowed to point spar. USA SPORT KARATE reserves the right to disallow any equipment deemed unsafe.

Section 1B: Ring Procedure and Protocol/ Officials/ Center Referee/Point Sparring

There will be 3 Officials in each ring, (1) Center Referee & (2) Corner Judges. Matches shall proceed in following manner until first through fourth place is determined.

The Center Referee will go over the Bullet Points with the fighters & their coaches
The Center Referee will make sure the bracket was shuffled
The first 2 fighters are called out and placed according to the screen
Verify you have the correct fighters on the correct sides
Verify the Scorekeeper & referees are ready
Ask Fighters to Bow, Get Ready and yell Fight
When you see a point, violation, time out, etc, yell Stop
Yell Call and everyone should already have their call out
If there are 2 or more Point Confirmation, look at scorekeeper and call the # of points and point to the awarded fighter. If a Violation, ie exit, make the violation indication on the side of the fighter and award the point to the opposing fighter.
Continue in this manner until time runs out, 10 point spread, 3 penalty points or a DQ
In the event of a tie at the end of regulation time, the next point wins the match.

Section 1C: Ring Procedure and Protocol/ Officials/Corner Referee/Point Sparring

There shall be (2) Corner Referees in each ring.. The Corner Referees line up on each corner opposite the Center Referee. When the match starts the Corner Referees SHOULD move around the ring to stay properly positioned to see the match. When a Corner Referee sees a point or penalty they yell “CALL”. When the Center referee stops the match, The Corner Referees then use the proper hand signal to indicate a point, penalty or no call. The match continues in this manner until the places are determined. If there is a question during the match, the Corner Referee may request a private conference with the center referee by using the proper hand signal.

Section 1D: scoring /point fighting/definition of a point

A point shall be defined as a controlled legal technique, executed to a legal target area, Making Light contact. Punches must show extension and minimum of 3 inch retraction.

1 points – All Punches, KICKS to Body

2 points – Jumping KICK to the body (must be in the air on contact) or KICK to Head

3 points – Jump Kick to Head

The majority of Judges are needed to score a point. Double Elimination matches will be 90 seconds, Single Elimination may be 2 minutes, the most points wins. In the event there is a 10 point spread, the match will be over. In the event of a tie after time runs out and there are no warnings, the next person to score wins the match,

Section 1E: Open Rank Point Fighting

Open Rank Point fighting rules and penalties are the same as Original Point Fighting with the following exceptions. It will be single elimination and there will be no rank divisions, only age divisions.

Section 1F: scoring /Light Contact

Matches will be a minimum of (1) 90 second round. Depending on the event, there may be 2 rounds of determined time. At the end of the match the winner will be determined by the number of good points calculated by each official.

Section 1G: fighting rules/legal target areas/light contact allowed

Light Contact to be defined as a legal technique, touching on a legal target area for contact, where the technique hits with a minimum of force. Light Contact should not rock the person in an excessive manner as to cause harm or bodily damage to the person. If the head or other body part moves in an extreme manner due to the force of the technique, the technique would be considered unsafe and illegal. That would result in a contact warning or disqualification. The word allowed is defined, as light contact is necessary to Score a point. Light face shield contact is allowed.

The Head: Defined as all parts of the head

The Back: Defined as the area on either side of the spine above the waist and below the neck

Section 1H: fighting rules/legal target areas/moderate contact allowed

Moderate contact is defined as a legal technique, touching on a legal target area for contact, where the technique is allowed to hit with enough force that could generate some movement of the body in the direction of the technique. Techniques that generate enough force to physically cause damage to the person would be ruled excessive & could result in a contact warning or disqualification. The word allowed is defined, as moderate contact is permissible but not necessary to score a point

Front Upper Torso: defined as the area from the Shoulders to the Waist, not including the arms.

Side Upper Torso: defined as the side of the upper torso, from the armpit to the waist

Section 1I: fighting rules/illegal target areas

Illegal target areas are defined as areas that no points can be scored and that penalties would result from directing an illegal or legal technique towards this area. Contact does not have to be made to incur a penalty if a technique is directed at an illegal area.

Upper Torso: Spine, Top of Shoulders, Neck

Lower Torso: defines as the complete area from the waist down

Section 1J: fighting rules/legal techniques

Legal techniques are defined as techniques that can score a point when directed at a legal target area. They must also be executed with focus and start and finish on balance.

Closed Hand Techniques: Vertical Punch, Reverse Punch, Side Punch, Lunge Punch, Back Fist, Hammer Fist, Jab

Open Hand Techniques: Inner Knife, Outer Knife, Ridge Hand

Kicking Techniques: Roundhouse, Front, Side, Hook, Inner Crescent, Outer Crescent, Axe, and Back. Grabbing is allowed if followed within 2 seconds by a legal technique. Hand & Leg Techniques may be done with a spin so long as the person attacking is looking at their opponent. Leg Techniques may also be done with a jump, skip or double fake.

Section 1K: fighting rules/illegal techniques

Illegal techniques are defined as techniques that are not allowed to be used whether they are directed to a legal target. The use of an illegal technique results in a Contact Warning, (see penalties/contact warning) Fingertip Strikes, Palm Heel, Scratch, Elbows, Knees, Leg Sweeps or Checks, Takedowns, Throws, Chokes, Arm Locks, Leg Locks, Spinning back fast. Blind Techniques: defined as any technique executed while not looking at the opponent

Section 1L: fighting rules/non techniques

Non-techniques are defined as techniques that do not count as a point or penalty, but are directed at a legal target area. Slaps with the front or back of the hand to any part of the body, Bops with a closed fist palm down, any technique where either fighter’s hand is touching the ground, etc.

1M: General Fighting Rule

Any person bowing out completely in the 1st Round of any fighting division is automatically disqualified and no place is awarded.

Section 1N: Warnings and Penalties/Point & Continuous Fighting

Exit Warning: An exit warning is defined as stepping out of bounds to either escape from an opponent, or to avoid fighting without any physical contact made to force the person out of the ring. Any physical means used to force an opponent out of bounds does not result in a warning or penalty.

Contact Warning: This category encompasses the following infractions; Heavy Face or Head Contact, excessive contact to any legal target area, contact to any non target area, low punches or kicks, blind techniques, throws or takedowns, illegal hand or leg techniques. In addition, Continuous Sparring Pushing will be treated as contact Warning.

1st time = a point will be awarded to opponent

2nd time= a point will be awarded to opponent

3rd time= Disqualification

The Center Referee reserves the right to escalate all penalties.

Ready to Fight: Fighters must be completely ready to fight when they are called into the ring to fight. This includes but is not limited to, fighting gear, uniform, groin protection, and mouthpiece. Any delay will result in 1 point being awarded to the opposing fighter.

Intentional Avoidance of Fight: If it is determined that a fighter is intentionally avoiding to fight by excessive or intentional falling or running out of bounds, 1 point will be awarded to the opposing fighter.

Arbitration: If coach calls an arbitration and loses that arbitration, 1 Point will be awarded to the opposing fighter

Coaches Shirt: If Coach sits down in the chair without wearing their shirt, 1 point will be awarded to the opposing fighter. The only exception is if USA Sport Karate has granted a waiver.

Coach addressing Official: If a coach addresses an official, a point will be awarded to the opposing athlete.

Negative Coaching: defined as any unsportsmanlike or vulgar act committed by an instructor, coach, parent, friend or other interested party of a competitor. This includes speaking to, about or gesturing negatively to an official, standing up from a chair. This results in 1 point awarded to the opposing fighter. Continuing this behavior may result in disqualification of the competitor and expulsion of the interested party from the event.

Unsportsmanlike Behavior: defined as any act considered to be a physical display of disrespect to an official, other competitor or spectator. This includes but is not limited to Profanity, Vulgarity, and Throwing of equipment, speaking in a loud or disrespectful manner. This results in one or all of the following; warning to the competitor, points awarded to the opponent, disqualification of the competitor from the match and or disqualification from the tournament.

NEW: Coach on the floor while not actively coaching; A Coach will be asked to leave the floor 1 time. If they come back on the floor again, the promoter school they belong to will be assessed a $50 fine each time, If they are not connected to a promoting school, they lose their coaching privilege for that event.

Section 1O: Ring Procedure and Protocol/ Dispute & Arbitration Fighting Divisions

Only Coaches may arbitrate. Coaches may not step into the ring to dispute or arbitrate a call. Coaches will respectfully raise their Flag/Hand, stay seated and the Center Referee is required to acknowledge by the next stop in the match. In the event the Center Referee does not see the Coach raise their hand, the corner can remind the Center referee. The Coach may also involve an arbitrator. Once the arbitrator renders their decision, it is final, and the match will continue in a respectful manner. If no designated arbitrator is present, then the USA SPORT KARATE Coordinator becomes the arbitrator