1. Contact

• Kick Light Continuous Fighting is not full contact

• Techniques must be controlled at all times.

• Excessive contact is defined as any contact that:

1.  Snaps the opponents head back.
2. Causes injury.
3. Is a dangerous technique that misses.

• Excessive contact may result in a warning, penalty point or disqualification depending on the severity as determined by the center referee.

• There shall be no head contact for competitors 12 and under.

• Accidental contact will not be penalized if it is determined that the opponent’s own actions contribute significantly to the contact.

2. Competitor’s Uniform

• The competitors must be wearing a clean and proper uniform

• T Shirts are permitted

• Muay Thai Shorts or equivalent are permitted

• Traditional uniforms are permitted

• The waistline must always be visible.

• In the absence of a belt, the uniform top needs to be tucked into the pants.

• 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. 

• Fingernails and toenails must be trimmed and clean.

3. Required Equipment

• Adults – 16oz boxing gloves (Velcro only, no ties)

• Juniors – 10oz boxing gloves (Velcro only, no ties)(12 and under)

• Mouthguard

• Cup (males)

• Shin and instep

• Headgear that covers the back of the head

4. Duration of a Bout

• One Two Minute Round

5. Availability to Compete

• Once the Centre Referee calls a competitor that is not ready or is missing or does not have theproper equipment, the two minute rule applies

1. The competitor will be paged via speaker and will be given 2 minutes to arrive at the ring with proper equipment or will be disqualified.

6. Center Referee’s Responsibilities

• The center referee must check the competitor’s safety equipment.

• Competitors who don’t allow the referee to check their equipment, will be disqualified.

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

• Only the center referee starts and stops the match, issues warnings and minus points.

• Communicates clearly with the judges and timekeeper.

• The center referee shall ask the medic to inspect a competitors’ injuries even if they seem minor and try to monitor the injury throughout the competition.

• The clock must continue to run throughout the match until the center referee requests that the Timekeeper  “Stop the Time”. (In case the competitor needs to fix their gear or when a warning is being issued)

• Only the center referee has the authority to stop the fight.

• The center referee has the authority to disqualify a competitor who receives four (4) warning points.

• The center referee has the power to call time-outs. A Competitor can ask for a time-out (to fix safety gear or in case of injury) but it is the decision of the Centre Referee to issue one.

• A center referee must verify that the winner of each match is correctly recorded by the scorekeepers.

7. Corner Judges Responsabilities

• The winner of the bout is determined by the number of points scored and the number of minus points.

• If the clicker points are even at the end of a match judges will consider the following two criteriato determine the winner:

1. Fighting spirit and initiative
2. Effective parries and counterattacks

• The winning fighter of a round gets 10 points, his/her opponent 9 points.

• Judges must choose a winner for each bout (no ties)

8. Start of a Bout

• The center referee shall stand in the center of the fighting area/matts facing the timekeeper table.

• The three (3) umpires/judges shall stand or be seated in the center of each side of the mat facing thetimekeeping table

• Once the Competitors have been approved by the center referee on their safety equipment the bout is ready to begin

• The center referee shall check that the coaches and the judges are standing or seated in their respective positions and the Timekeeper is ready to start.

• The center referee shall ask that the Competitors touch gloves and then back up to their red or blue starting positions.

• The center referee shall demand to start the time and immediately order the competitors to “Fight”

9. End of a Bout

• The match is over only if the Centre Referee says “time” due too elapsed time or Injury of a competitor or surrender or disqualification of a competitor

• The decision by the medic on the fitness of a fighter to not continue is final.

• The Timekeeper can also throw in a belt close to the Competitors’ feet when the time expires.

• Three (3) judges will determine the winner as previously described

• When the match is over, the Centre Referee will take the hand of each Competitor and raise the hand of the winner while announcing his/her name.

10. What is a Point?

• To score points all effective legal kicks or punches must hit directly on a legal area without being blocked or parried . For punches, the technique must be issued from the striking zone of the closed glove.

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

1. Dynamically
2. with control & recoil
3. with accuracy (targeting a legal area while having that area in clear vision)
4. with the correct attacking tool
5. Speed
6. Balance (if a competitor is pushed he/she can still score if executing a correct technique while losing balance)
7. Appropriate Power according to the age and weight categories

• Attacking tools

1. Fist (Front of Fist only)
2. Foot (Instep, Heel, Sole, Ball of Foot)

• Scoring Areas

1. Entire head(excluding back) and face including the face guard(no head contact for 12 and under)
2. Front and sides of the body above the waist.
3. Sweeps below the ankle.

11. Legal Techniques

• Jab, Cross/Reverse Punch

• Hook

• Uppercut

• Back Fist

• Front Kick

• Side Kick

• Back Kick

• Roundhouse/Turning Kick

• Hook Kick

• Crescent Kick

• Axe Kick

• Sweep

• All previously listed kicks while jumping or spinning

• Low Roundhouse/Turning Kick with the instep to the opponent’s thigh

12. Illegal Techniques

• Palm Hand

• Ridge Hand

• Spinning Back Fist

• Knife Hand

• Elbow and Knee Strikes

• Throws

• Pushing with arms or gloves

• Head Butts

• Using thighs

• Scratching

• Biting

• Spitting

• Verbal Abuse to the Referees or his/her opponent

• Excessive Contact

• Aggressive Behaviour

• Running out of the ring

• Strikes with Shins

• Foot Sweeps above the ankle

13. Illegal Targets

• Groin

• Punches below the waist

• Back of the body

• Back of the head

14. Point Values

• Every POINT equals one (1) CLICK on the handheld clicker

• Any hand techniques scores as 1 point

• Foot Sweep scores as 1 point (a foot sweep or spinning sweep must be made in an upright position and make contact to their opponent’s leg below the ankle and ONLY to the inside of the foot or heel to heel. The opponent is swept if his/her balance is broken and at least three (3)parts of his/her body touch the mats.

• 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.

15. Penalties

• A penalty can be a warning, a minus point or disqualification

1. First penalty – warning
2. Second penalty – warning
3. Third penalty – minus one point from each judge’s final score
4. Fourth penalty - disqualification

• A minus point or disqualification can occur on any infraction if it is deemed dangerous orexcessive by the center referee

• A penalty will be issued for the following (hand signal)

1. Contact too strong – (Punch the palm)
2. Striking to an illegal area – (Show the illegal area)
3. Blind scoring – (Turn the body and strike a punch or kick)
4. Holding or Grappling – (Hold your own arm and pull)
5. Avoiding the fight – (Similar)
6. Running out of bounds (hand sweep toward outside)
7. Striking a downed opponent (punching downward)
8. Speaking during the fight – (Fingers and thumb open and close)

• Penalties should also be verbalized.

• The center referee must tell the timekeeper to “Stop Time” to issue a penalty.

• Every official penalty given to a competitor, caused by a “foul”, shall be marked with the letterW (warning) M (minus) or D (disqualification) under “fouls” on the scorecard to indicate thatthe competitor has received a penalty.

16. Injury

• The center referee is not to determine the seriousness of an injury – the judgment of the injurywill always lie with the medic.

• If one of the competitors is injured and the fight is over because of a foul, the innocent competitor is declared the winner.

• In the case of an accident, the competitor with the highest number of points is declared the winner. If the score is a draw, the uninjured competitor is declared the winner.

• If a competitor is out of condition they will receive a warning.  On the second warning, the center referee shall stop the clock and consult the judges. The center referee then has the option to stop the competition with an RSC (Referee Stopping Contest).  This rule also applies for continued crying in the kids divisions.

• If an injury occurs and it is discovered that the competitor was not wearing the correct safety equipment, they will be disqualified.

Tournament additions to the WKU rules:

-Kicking with the shin is allowed (but warnings to “lighten up” need to be adhered to.)

-catching kicks is allowed for a -1 second hold time then must be released.

-you can perform a punch while holding the leg.

-sweeps can be done on the calf or thigh