1. General Principles
Regardless of its intended
purpose, each contest and surrounding event is a source of training. It
is an exercise in both the technical and the administrative aspects of
karate. Contests should bring better understanding of karate to each and
every participant.
CONTESTANTS
| Karate contests
must be conducted in keeping with the spirit of true Karate-do.
All contestants must respect and observe the proper forms of
etiquette toward officials, judges and fellow contestants. They
must do their utmost to compete with courage, dignity and honour. |
Loud and tumultuous
behaviour is not acceptable.
Failure or contestants to
immediately and courteously obey and instruction by an official may
result in disqualification.
A contestant found
guilty of violating the rules of conduct will be barred from tournament
participation for one year (from the date of the offence). A contestant
who commits a second offence will be eliminated from all further
tournaments.
JUDGES
| A judge may not
act in the capacity of a coach. This responsibility rests
entirely with the appointed team coach.
A referee or
judge found guilty of violating the rules will be barred from
officiating at tournaments for one year (from the date of the
offence). A referee or judge who commits a second offence will
be eliminated from all further tournament officiating.
|
A referee or judge found
guilty of violating the rules will be barred from officiating at
tournaments for one year (from the date of the offence). A referee or
judge who commits a second offence will be eliminated from all further
tournament officiating.
The referee and judges must
bear in mind the following points:
 | They must conduct
themselves fairly and impartially.
| They must comport
themselves with dignity and self-control.
| They must concentrate
their full attention on the match and judge every action of the
contestants correctly.
| They must not
converse with anyone during the match, other than the arbitrator,
the referee, the other judges and the contestants (only the referee
will converse with the contestants).
| Propriety (or lack of
it) of the attitude and motives of the referee and the judges has an
important bearing on the reputation and public esteem of Karate-do.
Their attitude and demeanor during a match must be vigorous, agile
and refined. |
| | | |
Contestants
Contestants
are required to wear a clean, white or off white uniform
(karate-gi).The jacket must be long
enough to cover at least half of the buttocks. It is usually slit for
about 18 centimetres up each side. Sleeves must be loose and cover more
than half the forearm.
The pants must be loose
and should cover more than half the lower leg.
It is preferable that if
the jacket or pant cuffs must be rolled up, that they be rolled up to
the inside. This is both safer and more aesthetically appealing.
The belt must be long
enough to go twice around the waist. It is tied with a square knot. Its
ends should be about 15 centimetres long. For identification, one
competitor normally wears a red belt, the other wears their normal belt
or a white belt.
The contestants shall
keep their nails short and shall not wear metallic objects or the like
on their person, as these may cause injury to the opponent.
Bandages or other
protective devices may not be worn. However, safety devices may be
permitted at the discretion of the judges (or supervising physician) to
prevent hazards. Glasses may not be allowed (sports glasses are
acceptable).
Contestants cannot
personally protest a referee's decision. Where the referee's decision
has violated the rules of the match or the rules of judging, the team
manager / coach may protest to the arbitrator against the decision.
Judges
| The official
I.S.K.F. rules do not deal with judge's or referee's attire. In
practice the referee wears a blue blazer, grey pants, a white
shirt and a maroon tie. The judges all wear either the same
attire as the referee or the contestants.There is no standard for
the administrative officials who sit outside the ring.
[Note: it is expected
that judges and referees will provide their own whistles]
|
Kumite
The match area shall
have a flat surface, with the necessary measures taken for the
prevention of hazard. Wooden floors are preferred. However, canvas or
tatami may be used as long as the floor is flat and smooth.
The size of the match
area, in principle, is eight meters square. Outside of the match area,
there shall be a two meter wide safety area around the perimeter.
Inside the match area,
two parallel lines (each one metre long) shall be drawn, each of them
shall be 1.5 meters from the centre point of the match area. These shall
be the standing lines for the contestants.
In addition to the
standing lines, another line (one meter long) shall be drawn
perpendicular to them, also 1.5 meters from the centre point. This line
is where the referee stands at the beginning of a match.
Kata
The match area shall
have a flat surface, with the necessary measures taken for the
prevention of hazard. Again, wooden floors are preferred, but canvas or
tatami may be used as long as the floor is flat and smooth.
Unlike the kumite match
area, there is no standard size. The size shall be such that the
participants are able to perform the kata without any obstacles and the
floor shall be borderlined.
[Note: in practice the
same match areas are use for both kata and kumite over the course of a
tournament. Therefore, the kata match area is usually the same as the
kumite match area].
Kumite
Individual Matches
Individual matches shall
be conducted according to one of these methods:
1.Soatari Shiai (Round
Robin) [Note: common for the final round].Every competitor fights every
other competitor. Limited to small fields (under 7). Slow to run, but
everyone competes. Often used for the finals.
2. Koten Shiai (Big
Point) [Note: very rarely seen]. Each contestant fights until a loss
(total number of wins determines victory). Seldom seen variant. Fun for
spectators / good for strong individual competitors.
3. Kachinuki Shiai
(Winner Continue) [Note: very rarely seen] Winner of first match
continues until defeat, the winner of that match continues until defeat,
etc. Traditional, but seldom seen variant. Fun for spectators and good
for strong individual competitors. Not everyone will necessary compete.
4. Tentori Shiai (Single
Elimination) [Note: this is almost always used] Individual matches where
the loser is eliminated. Most common for elimination rounds. Does not
necessarily guarantee the "best" person wins each match, but
is simple to run and good for large fields.
Individual matches are
decided by ippon shobu (one point; two minute match) or sanbon shobu (3
points; three minute match).
Team Matches
Team matches are
conducted according to one of these methods:
1. Tentori Shiai (Single
Elimination) [Note: this is almost always used] The winning team is
decided on the basis of the number of individual matches won. Useful for
eliminations, championships, evaluations and endurance training. Can be
slow to run.
2. Kachinuki Shiai
(Winner Continue) Each winning member continues to the next match, until
an opposing team has exhausted its contestants. Only useful for
championships. Fun for spectators, good for strong individual
competitors. Not an accurate index of team abilities.
The number of persons
comprising a team shall be an odd number. [Note: in practice, usually 3
or 5].
Detailed Explanation
of Tentori Shiai
Matches between
individual members of each team shall be held ippon shobu (one point;
two minutes) in a predetermined order. The winner of a team match shall
be decided on the basis of these individual matches.
When the number of
winners is tied, the team which has scored the most ippon (full points)
shall be the winner. Victories through foul or disqualification count as
ippon. If the number of ippon is equal, the match shall be decided in
the order of awasewaza (ippon through two half points) and matches
decided by judges decision.
If the tie cannot be
broken with these methods, the decision shall be based on the results of
an extra match between one representatives from each team. These
representatives shall fight matches repeatedly and successively, until a
winner is established. However, after two extra matches, new
representatives shall be selected from each team.
Detailed Explanation
of Kachinuki Shiai
The winner emerging from
each individual match shall continue to fight new contestants from the
opposing team. After each match, the defeated contestant is replaced by
another member of their team. The team which defeats the last remaining
contestant from the opposing team wins.
A system may be
instituted where a team member is replaced after winning three to five
matches.
KATA
| The system to be
used shall be decided by the tournament host and judges. It
shall be announced prior to the match.
The names of the
assigned kata shall be selected by the host and the judges and
announced prior to the match. Individual kata are normally
selected by the competitor, but the choice may be limited by the
judges.
|
Individual Matches: Kata
and Kumite
Individual matches shall be
conducted according to one of these methods:
a. Flag System
| [Note: the same
system applies for kumite, where there is no ippon (decisive
technique) or where one competitor is not ahead by waza-ari
(effective technique)]. |
Two contestants wear
different colored belts and perform an assigned kata simultaneously.
Upon completion of the kata, the referee calls for the corner judges'
decisions and announces the winner based on the flags raised. Used for
elimination rounds only in kata; final round is by points.
Decisions by Flag
| White side wins
("shiro no kachi") |
Red side wins
("aka no kachi") |
| (1) white / white
/ white / white |
red / red / red /
red |
| (2) white / white
/ white / red |
red / red / red /
white |
| (3) white / white
/ white / tie |
red / red / red /
tie |
White side wins
("shiro no kachi") or
draw ("hikiwake’) |
Red side wins
("aka no kachi") or
draw ("hikiwake’) |
| (4) white / white
/ red / tie |
red / red / white
/ tie |
| (5) white / white
/ red / red |
red / red / white
/ white |
| Draw ("hikiwake") |
| (6) tie / tie /
tie / tie |
| (7) white / tie /
tie / tie |
| (8) red / tie /
tie / tie |
| (9) white / red /
tie / tie |
Summary: a minimum of two flags are required to win (on a decision by
the centre judge/referee); see examples 4 - 5. Three flags of the same
colour always win; see examples 1 - 3. Any other situation is a draw;
see examples 6 - 9.
b.
Point System (kata only)
| One contestant
performs an assigned or individual kata and is scored on points.
Upon completion of the kata, the referee calls for a decision
and all raise a scorecard. The announcer reads the five
scorecards and indicates the total. The highest and lowest
scores are not included. |
The Panel of Judges
Chief Judge
The Chief Judge is
selected by the majority vote of all judges. The Chief Judge appoints
the referee and corner judges for each match (and replacements when
necessary).
The Chief Judge sits at
a table outside of the ring (where the visibility of the floor is best)
and ensures that each match is conducted according to the contest rules
and resolves any unusual situations. The Chief Judge is also consulted
whenever the referee has any difficulties.
The Chief Judge decides
the extent a contestant's disqualification during the tournament.
The Referee and Judges
The judgement of a match
shall be made by one referee [note: usually referred to as the
"centre judge"] and four judges [note: usually referred to as
"corner judges"].
| [Note: in kata,
it is possible to have 4, 6 or 7 seven corner judges. In almost
all circumstances, however, there will be only 4.] |
Changes to the Panel of
Judges requires the approval of both the arbitrator and the Chief Judge
and cannot take place at the discretion of the judges alone.
The Arbitrator
An arbitrator is
appointed for each match to ensure the fairness of the conduct of the
matches and the judgements. The arbitrator oversees the operation of the
match and the decisions of the referee.
When a protest against a
decision is received from the manager / coach of a contestant's team,
the arbitrator reviews the complaint and may call for an explanation
from the referee and/or judges. The arbitrator appears to have the
authority to demand that the panel of judges reverse a decision, in
circumstances where the decision is patently unreasonable. In practice,
this usually requires agreement by the referee and judges.
In the case of a
situation not foreseen by the rules (or in the case of doubt about the
applicability of rules to the situation), the judges, the referee and
the arbitrator have authority to make a final decision.
The powers of the
arbitrator include supervision, inspection and direction of the time
keeper / announcer / recorder and their records. The records become
official records, subject to the approval of the arbitrator.
The Announcer
| The announcer
indicates which competitors are required for each match (and
usually indicates who is required for the next match) and
indicates the results of each individual match. When the point
system is used for kata, the announcer reads out the judges
score and indicates the total. When a series of matches has been
completed, the announcer indicates the third, second and first
place contestants. |
The announcer sits at a
table outside the ring, with the recorder and the timekeeper. (One
person may perform two or three of these roles). These officials usually
stay seated throughout the proceedings (including the bow-in and
bow-out), although the announcer may stand up and move to the front of
the table to read out the final results.
The Recorder
The recorder keeps track
of the results of each individual match. When the point system is used
for kata, the recorder calculates and records the total scores for each
contestant. When the flag system is used, the recorder simply notes the
final results for each match.
The Time Keeper
The time keeper monitors
the amount of time used during a kumite match. Normally, a match is two
minutes, but the time may be extended to three minutes (or five minutes)
by the panel of judges.
Time commences when the
referee initially signals the start of a match. Time is stopped while
dealing with an injury or during a judges' conference. Normally, the
referee will signal a stoppage of time to the time keeper.
At the final 30 seconds
of the match, the time keeper announces "30 seconds" or "otoshibaraku"
And, at the conclusion of the match time, the time keeper announces
"time" ("yame" is also proper, but seldom used). A
bell or buzzer may also be available.
The Facility Crew
The facility crew
prepares the match area and ensures that all necessary equipment is
present (i.e. whistles, flags, score cards, kata cards, red/white belts,
recording materials, chairs). They also assist the officials and
competitors as required.
First Aid Crew
Ensures that first aid
equipment is on hand and arranges a place to treat injured contestants.
They must also arrange to have a doctor present or ensure that a doctor
is available within a 10 mile radius of the tournament.
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from a Canadian site.
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