1. Centre Referee’s Responsibilities

■ Every competition involves a Centre Referee (CR) and two (2) Corner Judges at opposing corners.

■ All three (3) officials must be constantly moving throughout the competition placing themselves in a good position to see contact from both competitors.

■ The CR starts and stops the match, awards point, takes warning decisions, administrates the voting of the other judges, communicates clearly with the scorekeeper and timekeeper, and announces the winner of each match.

■ The CR has the power to issue warnings and penalty without a majority.

■ The CR can automatically disqualify a competitor who receives four (4) warning points

■ Only the CR has the power to call time-outs.

■ The CR is not to determine the seriousness of an injury – the judgment of the injury will always be determined by first aid

■ The disqualification of a competitor is determined only by a majority vote of the three (3) Referees

■ Once the Centre Referee calls for a competitor and he/she is not at the ringside and ready to compete, the four (4) minute rule applies

2. Competitor’s Uniform

■ The competitors must be wearing a clean and proper uniform.

■ The competitor’s top must have sleeves covering at least to the mid area of the upper arm (Optionally the sleeves can reach the elbows or the wrists)

■ The Competitors’ pants must extend to the feet; no zipper fasteners, pockets or buttons are allowed.

■ Traditional uniforms are permitted.

■ Competitors are not allowed to wear any metal objects that may cause injury to their opponent; piercing, chains, watches or earrings are not allowed.

■ Badges of the respective club, associations or sponsor along with names, slogans are permitted if they do not offend public decency

■ Headbands, hairnets, durags and scarves are optional

■ Long hair must be tied back with an elastic band. Hairgrips are not allowed.

■ Finger- and toenails must be trimmed and clean.

3. Competitor’s Equipment

■ Required equipment

   Mouthguard

   Groin cup (male)

   Sport Martial Arts or foam dipped gloves

   Sport Martial Arts or foam dipped kicks

   Head gear

■ Optional equipment

   Shin Pads

   Face Mask

   Hand Wraps

   Chest protector

■ The Centre Referee must check all of the competitor’s safety equipment from.

■ Competitors who do not allow the referee to check their equipment will be disqualified.

■ The wearing of breast and groin protection will be checked verbally.

■ If an injury occurs and it is discovered that the competitor was not wearing the correct safety equipment, he/she will be disqualified.

4. Duration of a Bout

■ Rounds in all Divisions is one (1) round with two (2) minutes time limit

■ If there is a tie score at the end of the match, there will be no break and the competition shall continue with one (1) minute round to break the tie

■ If there is still a tie score after the extra one (1) minute round, there will be no break and the competitor that scores the first point is declared the winner

5. Competitor Readiness

If a competitor is not ready when called up to compete the four (4) minute rule applies as follows:

■ After the first minute the competitor receives their first warning

■ After the second minute the competitor receives their second warning

■ After the third minute the competitor receives a penalty point

■ After the fourth minute the competitor is disqualified

6. Start of the Match

■ The Centre Referee shall stand in the centre of the ring facing the score table

■ Once the Competitors have been approved by the Corner Referees on their safety equipment the match is ready to begin

■ The Centre Referee shall check that the Coaches are positioned behind their competitor, that the two judges are in the neutral corners on opposite sites and that the scorekeeper and timekeeper are ready.

■ The Centre Referee shall ask that the Competitors touch gloves and assume their starting position

■ During the bout both judges are allowed to move in an L-shape opposite each other and around the fighting area to get the best possible view

■ The Centre Referee shall demand to start the time and immediately order the competitors to “Fight”

■ The clock must continue to run throughout the match unless the Centre Referee calls “Time”.

■ The Centre Referee is the only person who can call “Time”

■ “Time” should only be called if a competitor needs to fix their gear, there is an injury or a warning is being issued.

■ The clock shall keep running even when the Centre Referee asks the fighters to “stop” and is awarding points

7. Awarding Points

■ The Centre Referee will refer to every fighter by Red or Blue when awarding points, giving warnings and announcing the winner of the match

■ The Centre Referee shall ask the competitors to “break” when he/she or the Referees at the corner see a point and raise their hand.

■ All three officials must respond with a hand signal quickly when the Centre Referee calls “break”

■ If there is a delay in the signals from any of the umpires at the corner, once the Centre Referee says “break” he/she has the power to disregard the call

8. End of the Match

■ The Timekeeper will throw in a belt or bean bag close to the Centre Referee’s feet when the time expires

■ The match is over when the time has expired, and the Centre Referee calls “time”.

■ The Centre Referee is entitled to award points or give warnings after the time has expired if the scoring or the violation happened before he/she has stopped the match

■ A difference of ten (10) points ends the match

■ When the match is over, the Centre Referee will point toward the winner and announce “winner”

■ The Centre Referee will confirm with the scorekeeper that the correct competitor is recorded as the winner

9. What is a Point?

A point(s) is a Martial Art technique executed by a competitor.

■ with control & recoil

■ with accuracy (targeting a legal area while having that area in clear vision)

■ with the correct attacking tool (see below)

■ Speed

■ Balance

■ With light to moderate contact

■ Appropriate Power according to the age and weight categories

10. Point Values

■ Any hand techniques score 1 point.

■ A Foot Sweep scores 1 point. Sweeps or spinning sweeps must be made in an upright position and make contact with the opponent’s foot below the calf to the outside or inside of the foot or heel to heel. The opponent is considered swept if his/her balance is broken and at least three ports of his/her body touch the mat.

■ Kick to the body scores 1 point.

■ Kick to the head scores 2 points.

■ Jump kick to the body scores 2 points.

■ Jump kick to the head scores 3 points.

11. Scoring Areas

■ Entire head and face (including the face guard)

■ Front and sides of the body above the waist.

■ Sweeps below the calf

12. Attacking Tools

■ Fist (Front only)

■ Foot (Instep, Heel, Sole, Ball of Foot)

13. Legal Techniques

■ Jab

■ Cross/Reverse Punch

■ Ridge Hand

■ Back Fist

■ Front Kick

■ Side Kick

■ Spinning Back Kick,

■ Roundhouse Kick

■ Hook Kick

■ Crescent Kick

■ Axe Kick

■ Sweep

■ Spinning Sweep

■ Previously listed kicks while jumping

14. Illegal Techniques/Actions

■ Hook

■ Upper Cut

■ Any Open Hand

■ Spinning Back Fist

■ Elbow Strikes

■ Knee Strikes

■ Throws

■ Strikes with the shin

■ Foot Sweeps above the calf.

■ Pushing with arms or gloves,

■ Kicks below the belt (except sweeps)

■ Punches below the waist

■ Strikes to the back

■ Head Butts

■ Scratching

■ Biting

■ Spitting

■ Verbal Abuse to the officials or his/her opponent.

■ Excessive Contact

■ Clinching

■ Overly aggressive Behavior

■ Running out of the ring

15. Out of Bounds

■ Out of bounds is when an entire foot is outside the competition area

■ The attacking competitor can score if the defender is out of bound if he/she scores prior to the Centre Referee calling “stop”

■ If a competitor voluntarily steps out of bounds or is refusing to engage in the fight the CR will issue a warning/penalty.

16. Downed Competitor

■ A Competitor who falls to the floor can get scored on with only a punch to a legal target area within the three (3) seconds after they have fallen.

■ A Competitor may still score if the Centre Referees feel they were thrown or pushed to the floor while executing a scoring technique.

■ While on the ground, a competitor is not allowed to kick upwards to avoid getting punched. Doing so will result in one (1) warning to the Competitor on the ground.

■ If there is no exchange the Centre Referee will call “break”

17. Avoiding the Fight

■ If a competitor is trying to avoid the fight during the last seconds of the bout the Centre Referee has the option to add ten (10) seconds to the fight.

18. Injured Competitor

■ In the event of a strike that dazes an opponent, the Centre Referee must stop the time and then ask the Corner Referees about what they saw in order to decide if the strike was an illegal technique or an accident. An “illegal technique” results in a warning/penalty/disqualification to the offender whereas an “accident” results in no warning issued

■ If a competitor is unable to continue the match due to injury from the opponent the injured competitor is declared the winner

■ If the competitor is unable to continue due to an accident the competitor with the highest score will be declared the winner. If the score is tied the uninjured competitor is declared the winner.

■ If a Competitor is out of condition they will receive a warning, at a second time the Centre Referee shall stop the clock and consult the other two referees. The Centre referee then has the option to stop the competition with an RSC (Referee Stopping Contest). N.B.: This rule also applies for continually crying in junior divisions.

19. Officials Hand Signals for Points

■ Yes, I saw the points ➔ Raise the hand and show the number of points

■ No, did not see contact made ➔ Both hands crossed in front of the face

■ No score ➔ Both hands crossed in front of the legs

■ A Competitor stepped out of bound ➔ Point to the area line and swings the arm

■ Both Competitors scored (clash) ➔ Raise both hands and show all points

■ Illegal techniques ➔ Raise the arm and circle the hand

20. Officials Hand Signals for Penalties

■ The Centre Referee must tell the Timekeeper to “stop the time” to inform the offending Competitor why they are being warned. Then, the Referee will show him/her by the warning hand signal and then whip their finger and say “no”.

■ Contact too strong ➔ Punch the palm

■ Striking in an illegal area ➔ Show the illegal area

■ Blind scoring ➔ Turn the body and strike a punch or kick

■ Holding or Grabbing ➔ Hold your own arm and pull

■ Turning the body or run away ➔ similar

■ Speaking during the fight ➔ fingers and thumb open and close

21. Warnings, Penalty Points and Disqualification

■ All violations to the rules, depending on how serious they are, may result in a warning, penalty point or disqualification.

■ If the Centre Referee deems that the first rule violation is too severe, a penalty point shall be issued immediately. In extreme circumstances, immediate disqualification may occur.

■ Warnings from unsportsmanlike coaches, improper safety equipment, illegal techniques, stepping out of bound, etc. are all accumulative to the Competitor.

■ After the first warning is issued a penalty point is deducted for each rule violation.

■ A competitor who receives three (3) penalty points in one match will be disqualified