1. POSITION OF OFFICIALS/COACHES IN COMPETITION AREA

2. COMPETITOR UNIFORM

3. EQUIPMENT

4. SCORING AREA

5. CRITERIA FOR SCORING

6. SCORING

7. PENALTY CATEGORIES

8. PENALTY LEVELS

9. PROHIBITED BEHAVIOR

10. INJURIES

11. WINNING A MATCH

12. TIES

13. DURATION OF A MATCH

14. REFEREE PROCEDURES

15. MATCH PROCEDURE

16. DISQUALIFICATION PROCEDURE

17. 10 SECOND RULE

18. CALLING THE MEDIC

19. TABLE PROCEDURES

20. OTHER PROCEDURES FOR SUSPENDING THE MATCH

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1. POSITION OF OFFICIALS/COACHES IN COMPETITION AREA

• The Referee may move around the entire mat.

• Two (2) judges will be standing at the corners on the mat.

• Coaches will be located outside the mat area, on their respective sides at the side of the mat

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2. COMPETITOR UNIFORM

• All contestants must wear a white unmarked Karate gi without stripes or piping.

• The Karate Gi jacket, when tightened around the waist with the belt, must be of minimum

length that covers the hips, but no longer than three quarters of thigh. The Gi jacket must be of kimono style (left side over right), not V-neck style.

• Gi sleeves may not be rolled either on the outside or inside of the sleeve. The sleeves of the Gi jacket must come, in principle, at least halfway down the forearm. The maximum length of the Gi jacket sleeves must be no longer than the bend of the wrist.

• The Gi trousers must be long enough to cover at least two thirds of the shin. The maximum length of the Gi trousers must not exceed below the anklebone. Gi trousers may not be rolled up either on the outside or inside of the leg.

• All contestants must wear a belt.

• Female competitor may wear a plain white T-shirt or white sports bra beneath the Karate Gi jacket.

• Long hair may be secured by an elastic band. Hair slides (“scrunchies”), metal hair grips (“barrettes”), Ribbons or other hair decorations and Hachimaki (head band) of any kind shall not be allowed.

• Contestants must have short finger and toenails.

• Contestants must not wear jewelry or other object(s) that might injure their opponents.

• The use of orthodontic appliances or braces must be approved by the center referee and the medic. The contestant accepts full responsibility for any injury.

• Hats, caps and sweatbands shall not be allowed.

• If a contestant comes into the match area inappropriately dressed, they shall be given one minute to remedy matters.

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3. EQUIPMENT

• Headgear is required

• Fist Guards are required

• Mouth Guards are required.

• Groin protectors are required in all Kumite divisions for male competitors. Groin Cups are to be worn under the Gi trousers.

• Chest Protectors are optional provided they are white or clear plastic breast protective

equipment and are worn under the gi top.

• Shin pads and boot/instep protectors are required.

• No braces that include any metallic parts shall be used.

• The Referee shall make the final decision as to the permitted use of items or products applied to or adhered to the competitor, related to medical treatment, such as tape or other supportive or corrective materials.

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4. SCORING AREA

The scoring areas shall be limited to the following:

• Side of head

• Face

• Abdomen

• Chest

• Side

• Back

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5. CRITERIA FOR SCORING

A score is awarded when a technique is performed to a scoring area and according to the following criteria:

• Good form - a technique with good form is said to have characteristics conferring probable effectiveness within the framework of traditional karate concepts.

• Correct attitude - a non-malicious attitude of great concentration obvious during delivery of the scoring technique within the framework of traditional Karate concepts.

• Vigorous application - defines the power, speed and controlled delivery of the technique, with the purpose of succeeding.

• Zanshin - a continued state of awareness and commitment which endures after the technique has landed. The contestant with Zanshin maintains total concentration and awareness of the opponent’s potential to counter attack and the ability to continue with proper form and other continuing techniques.

• Proper timing - delivering a technique when it will have the greatest potential effect. Proper timing is carrying out a technique at the optimum moment in time to achieve the greatest result.

• Correct distance - delivering a technique at the precise distance where it will have the greatest potential effect.

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6. SCORING

• A full point is awarded to two techniques only

o     controlled kick to the head or face

o     break of balance / safe takedown immediately followed by a scoring technique.

• All other techniques to scoring areas will be awarded a half point.

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7. PENALTY CATEGORIES

• Hansoku – Prohibited actions and behaviors. Contact and non-contact penalties.

• Jogai - Out of bounds.

• Mubobi – defenseless behavior.

• Shikkaku - disqualification or expulsion from the event/competition.

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8. PENALTY LEVELS

• For each of the penalty categories (Hansoku, Jogai, Mubobi) there are 3 levels:

o    Chukoku (warning)

o    Hansoku Chui (minus point)

o    Hansoku (disqualification)

• Penalty levels DO NOT cross accumulate in different Penalty Categories

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9. PROHIBITED BEHAVIOR

• Face Contact

o    All Beginner and Novice Divisions (kick/hand technique): Contact is not allowed, and

      will be penalized.

o    All Intermediate and Advanced Divisions (kick/hand technique): “skin touch” is allowed,

      but excessive transfer of energy to the target area is prohibited and will be penalized.

o    In regard to contact rules, protective equipment shall be considered an extension/part          of the body.

• Any excessive contact regarding the target area.

• Attacks and contact to the joints, throat, below the pubic bone or groin, and legs are not

considered points and will result in a penalty.

• A sweep of the ankle or foot must be followed up with an attempt to score to one of the scoring targets otherwise will result in a penalty.

• Exiting the ring during the match (Jogai).

• Avoiding the opponent, running around the ring and generally disengaging from the match is a non-contact violation and may result in a penalty.

• When SHIKKAKU (disqualification from the entire tournament, competition, or match) is

imposed, the severity of the penalty is decided by the Arbitrator

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10. HAND SIGNALS

• Wazari (half point) – arm extended from the body parallel to the floor.

• Ippon (full point) – arm extended from the body above the shoulder.

• Penalty (Hansoku) – circular motion with hand

• Penalty (Jogai) – hand sweeps toward edge of mat

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11. INJURIES

• An injured contestant who has been declared unfit to fight by the tournament medic cannot fight again in that competition.

• A competitor who is injured during a bout in progress and requires medical treatment will be allowed five (5) minutes in which to receive it.

• An injured contestant who wins a bout through disqualification due to injury is not allowed to fight again in the competition without permission from the medic.

• Feigning Injury

• In order that the credibility of the sport is maintained, competitors who feign injury will be subject to the strongest penalties up to and including suspension for life for repeated offenses.

• Competitors who receive a disqualification for feigning injury and will be taken from the competition area and put directly into the hands of the tournament medic who will carry out an immediate examination of the competitor. The medic will submit a report before the end of the tournament.

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12. WINNING A MATCH

• To win the match the following criteria is considered in this order:

o     Earning a score of sanbon (3) during the allotted time.

o     Having the leading score at the end of the allotted time.

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13. TIES

• If the score at the end of the allotted time is tied the referee calls for HANTEI (judges decision).  The judges' vote plus the referee’s silent vote/judgment will determine the winner or if there is a tie (HIKIWAKE).

• If HANTEI determines there is a tie (HIKIWAKE), the athletes will conduct a one minute match extension (ENCHOUSEN), where no points are carried over. However, penalties will carry over and be considered in the match extension.

• If there is no score at the end of the allotted time of the match extension, the referee calls for HANTEI. At this point, the judges must pick a winner (NO HIKIWAKE).

• If there is still a tie the match will be decided by “first point wins”

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14. DURATION OF A MATCH

• A match will be 2 minutes for all divisions except for adult black belts 18-34 years old.

• Adult Black belt 18-34 year old matches will be 3 minutes.

• The Enchousen (overtime) match is 1 minute for all divisions.

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15. REFEREE PROCEDURES

• Suspending Matches

o     The Referee shall stop the match by using the appropriate gesture and calling “Yame.”

o     When resuming the match, the Referee will announce “Hajime”.

• Ending Matches

o     The timekeeper will announce when there are 30 seconds left in the allotted time.

o     Time-Up signal shall be the throwing in of the belt. At “time” the Referee will haltthe              match. He will then check the score, announce the decision and award the contest to          the winner, or call Hantei (tie).

o    The Referee shall end the match with the formal exchange of bows by the contestants          and Referee Panel and at that stage the match is deemed to be over.

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16. MATCH PROCEDURE

• At the start of a Kumite match, the Referee stands on the outside edge of the match area facing toward the center of the mat. Judges shall stand in opposite corners.

• After the formal exchange of bows by the contestants and the Referee Panel, the Referee takes a step back and the Judges turn inward and all bow together.

• The Referee and Judges shall take up their prescribed positions and following an exchange of bows between the contestants, the Referee will announce “HAJIME” and the bout will commence.

• The Referee will stop the bout by announcing “YAME”. If necessary, the Referee will order the contestants to take up their original positions (MOTO NO ICHI).

• The Referee returns to the starting position and the Judges will indicate their opinions by means of a signal. In the case of a score to be awarded the Referee identifies the contestant, the area attacked, and then awards the relevant score using the prescribed gesture. The Referee then restarts the bout by calling “HAJIME”.

• When a contestant has scored the maximum points as allowed during a bout, the Referee shall call "YAME!" and order the contestants back to their standing lines as he returns to his. The winner is then declared and indicated by the Referee raising a hand on the side of the winner.

• When time is up and the score is tied, the Referee shall call "YAME!" and return to his position. The Referee will call "HANTE!" and following his signal the judges will indicate their opinions. The majority decision will be taken. The judges and Referee have one vote each at HANTE.

• The Referee will award the decision and announce the winner

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17. DISQUALIFICATION PROCEDURE

• The referee shall call up all of the judges (SHUGO).

• The judging panel discusses the offense. If the entire judging panel agrees to the disqualification they write up a description of the offense.

• The arbitrator determines the extent of the penalty (Disqualification from the match, the division, the day, the tournament)

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18. 10 SECOND RULE

• Any competitor who falls, is thrown or knocked down and does not fully regain his/her feet within ten seconds is considered unfit to continue fighting and shall be automatically withdrawn from all Kumite events in that tournament.

• In the event that a competitor falls, is thrown or knocked down and does not return to his feet immediately, the Referee shall signal to the timekeeper to start the ten second count-down, raising his/her hand and then calling out for the doctor.

• The timekeeper will stop the 10 second clock when the competitor stands fully upright and the Referee raises his/her arm. In all cases where the 10 second clock has been started the medic will be asked to examine the contestant. For incidents falling under this 10 second rule, the contestant may be examined on the mat.

• If the contestant does not regain their feet within the 10-seconds, the Referee Panel will decide on KIKEN, HANSOKU or SHIKKAKU as the case maybe.

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19. CALLING THE MEDIC

• The Referee should call the medic when a contestant is injured and needs medical treatment by raising his/her hand and verbally calling out “medic”.

• If physically able to do so, the injured contestant should be directed off the mat for examination and treatment by the medic.

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20. TABLE PROCEDURES

• The timing of the bout starts when the Referee gives the signal to start and stops each time the match is stopped (HAJIME/ YAME).

• The timekeeper will also have available an additional stopwatch for the "10 second" rule.

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21. OTHER PROCEDURES FOR SUSPENDING THE MATCH

• When faced with the following situations, the referee shall call “YAME” and halt the bout temporarily:

o     When both or either of the contestants are out of the match area (or when a Judge               signals a JOGAI).

o     When a Referee orders a contestant to adjust the karate-gi or protective equipment.

o     When the Referee notices that a contestant appears about to contravene the rules.

o     When the Referee notices that a contestant has contravened the rules.

o     When the Referee considers that one or both of the contestants cannot continue with           the bout due to injuries, illness or other causes. Heeding the tournament medic’s                   opinion, the Referee shall decide whether the bout should be continued.

o     When a contestant seizes the opponent and does not perform an immediate technique         or throw within two seconds.

o     When one or both contestants fall or are thrown and no effective techniques are                     immediately forthcoming.

o     When one or both contestants are off their feet following a fall or attempted throw and          begin to wrestle.

o     When both competitors seize or clinch each other without attempting a throw or score         within two seconds.

o     When both competitors stand chest to chest without attempting a throw or score                  within two seconds.

o     When a score or foul is indicated by two or more judges for the same competitor.

o     When in the opinion of the Referee, there has been a point scored or foul committed.

o     When the situation calls for halting the match for safety reasons.

o     When requested to do so by the Area Controller or Referee Council Member.