Entry requirements

Competitors shall be registered for each event entered and shall provide accurate age, rank, and dojo information. Age is determined as of December 5, 2026. Rank means the competitor’s actual recognized rank on tournament day; entering below that rank is prohibited. An instructor may be asked to verify rank and readiness to compete.

Required tournament registration and participation forms shall be completed before competition. A parent or legal guardian shall complete required consent for a minor. Competitors must be able to follow referee instructions and demonstrate safe control. Notify the registration desk of an accommodation request before the division begins.

Proposed division framework

Director discretion. The following age and rank bands are a proposed framework, not a confirmed entry list. The Director shall publish event-specific divisions, including any sex or weight categories, before registration closes or before competitors are assigned to brackets.

Belt colors vary by organization. Numerical kyu or dan rank, verified by the instructor when necessary, determines the rank category. A school with a different ranking sequence shall request an equivalent placement from the Director.

Division adjustments

Director discretion. Divisions may be split or combined because of entry numbers. For kumite, the Director and Chief Referee shall evaluate age, size, experience, and control before any combination. Do not combine minors with adults in kumite. Obtain the competitor’s agreement, and parent or guardian agreement for a minor, before moving a competitor to another kumite division. If a safe match cannot be arranged, do not conduct the bout.

Reporting and withdrawals

Competitors shall report when their division is called and remain available until dismissed. The ring coordinator shall make a final call before a no-show forfeiture. Director discretion: allow a two-minute reporting period after that final call. Report conflicting ring assignments promptly; officials shall coordinate reasonable scheduling. A competitor may withdraw at any time and shall notify the scorekeeper.

Traditional appearance

Wear a clean traditional karate gi and the belt appropriate to rank. Sleeves and trouser legs shall not be rolled into unsafe folds. Remove jewelry, watches, and loose accessories. Keep nails short and hair secured with soft fasteners. Officials shall inspect any item that may create a hazard. Kata is performed barefoot unless a safety or accessibility accommodation is approved.

Established kumite equipment requirements

Approval and inspection

All equipment shall be clean, serviceable, properly fitted, securely fastened, and suitable for controlled karate competition. A face guard must be compatible with the headgear and have no exposed sharp edges. Hard or exposed components that could injure an opponent are unacceptable. Protective equipment does not authorize excessive contact.

Director discretion. Before tournament day, publish acceptable equipment types or examples, including hand protection and the meaning of non-traditional equipment. This rulebook does not establish a mandatory glove model or brand. The Chief Referee shall resolve uncertain equipment classifications under the Director’s published criteria. Officials may reject damaged or hazardous equipment regardless of prior approval.

Failure to comply

A competitor shall not begin or resume kumite without required equipment. Stop the bout if equipment becomes loose or unsafe. Director discretion: allow up to two minutes to correct an equipment deficiency; if it remains unresolved, declare a forfeiture. Deliberate removal or repeated interference with equipment may be penalized as misconduct.

Before entering the ring

Confirm the correct division, gi and belt, required equipment, safe fit, and readiness to follow commands. Bring personal equipment to the staging area. Do not rely on borrowing equipment after the bout is called.

Traditional kata standard

Perform a recognized traditional empty-hand karate kata appropriate to rank and training. Announce the kata name clearly, bow before and after the performance, and wait for dismissal. Evaluate correct sequence, stances, posture, balance, technique, focus, timing, breathing, kime, and zanshin. Athletic difficulty alone shall not outweigh sound karate technique. Weapons, music, theatrical routines, and Kobudo are not permitted.

Individual Kata format

Director discretion. Use a numerical scoring format with three judges. Each judge awards 9.0–10.0 in 0.1 increments; add all three scores. Highest total places first. Use the same judging panel and scale throughout a division whenever practical. Officials shall review the standard before the first competitor performs.

Kyu competitors may repeat a kata in any round. Dan competitors shall perform a different kata in a subsequent round or tie-break. Director discretion: allow a repeated kata for a dan competitor only when this exception is announced before the division begins. No mandatory kata list is imposed unless the Director publishes one in advance.

Errors and ties

Minor hesitation, loss of balance, or technique errors shall reduce the judges’ scores in proportion to their effect on the performance. Failure to finish, performing a different kata from the one announced, or an unauthorized restart results in disqualification from that performance. A ring interruption or other external interference may justify a restart authorized by the Chief Judge.

Director discretion. For tied placement totals, tied competitors perform an additional kata under the same scoring procedure. If the tie remains, the three judges choose by majority decision based on the tie-break performances. Resolve ties that affect awards; other equal placements may remain tied.

Team Kata composition and performance

Director discretion. Each team consists of three registered competitors, with the same three members throughout the event. Classify a mixed-rank team by its highest-ranked member. Youth teams consist entirely of competitors under 18; adult teams consist entirely of competitors 18 or older. Mixed-sex teams may enter. Publish additional age or rank categories before competition.

All members perform the same kata together, facing the same direction and beginning and ending together. Judges assess the individual kata criteria plus synchronization, formation, spacing, and collective timing. Natural differences in body size are not faults. Do not use audible counting or coaching during the performance.

Use the individual numerical scoring and tie procedures. Apply the repeat-kata rule for the team’s rank category. Director discretion: Team Kata includes kata performance only; bunkai is not required. If a member cannot continue and no approved replacement was registered before the event began, the team withdraws.

Bout format

Director discretion. Use traditional shobu ippon: the first competitor to earn one ippon or two waza-ari wins. Otherwise, the competitor with the greater score at time wins. An ippon is a full point; a waza-ari is a half point. Do not use a separate multi-point kick scale.

Director discretion. Bouts for competitors under 18 last 90 seconds; adult bouts last two minutes. Use stopped time: the clock runs after Hajime and stops at Yame. Announce a 30-second warning and a clear time-expired signal. Finals use the same duration unless a different duration is published before the division begins.

Starting and stopping

Competitors bow, take designated positions, and begin only on Hajime. On Yame, immediately stop, return to position, and await the ruling. The referee announces scores and penalties before restarting. The table records the score, penalty level, and time. Do not attack after Yame or after the time-expired signal.

Requirements for a score

A scoring technique must have correct karate form, controlled execution, effective distance, sound timing, a clear legal target, and zanshin. Award waza-ari for a controlled technique meeting scoring criteria; award ippon only when the panel judges the technique exceptionally decisive in timing, form, and effectiveness while remaining controlled. Forceful impact is not a basis for ippon.

Director discretion. Use a referee and two corner judges. A score requires agreement by at least two of those three officials on the competitor and award level. If two agree a score occurred but differ on its value, award waza-ari. If no competitor has a majority, award no score. Judges shall not award both competitors a score for simultaneous techniques.

Targets and contact limits

Legal targets are the front and sides of the torso above the belt, and controlled techniques directed toward the head, subject to the limits below. The throat, neck, back, spine, groin, joints, and legs are not scoring targets. Face-guard contact does not count as a separate scoring target.

Director discretion. In all youth divisions and all kyu-rank divisions, head and face techniques shall stop short of contact at effective controlled distance. Adult dan divisions may allow light, non-injurious touch to headgear only; face and face-guard contact remains prohibited. Body contact shall be light and controlled in every division. Publish any stricter division limits before competition. Equipment never permits heavy contact.

Ties and bout results

Director discretion. If regulation time ends tied, allow one 60-second sudden-victory extension, carrying forward scores and penalty levels; the first valid score wins. If still tied, decide by majority Hantei of the three officials, considering effective controlled attacks, defense, initiative, and karate skill. A tied vote is impossible with three officials. Also record wins by forfeiture or disqualification. Techniques initiated after the time signal cannot score; a technique completed at the signal may score only if the panel determines it preceded expiration.

Prohibited acts

Excessive or uncontrolled contact; contact forbidden by the division rules; attacks to prohibited targets; techniques that cannot be safely controlled; attacks after a stop command; dangerous sweeps, throws, takedowns, grabbing, holding, pushing, or wrestling; deliberate collision; and attacks against a fallen competitor are prohibited. This local format does not permit sweeps or throws.

Avoiding engagement, repeatedly leaving the area to escape an attack, feigning injury, deliberately exposing oneself to injury, ignoring instructions, and abusive behavior are also prohibited. A competitor forced out by the opponent’s illegal action shall not receive a boundary penalty for that incident.

Proposed penalty progression

Director discretion. Use one cumulative penalty track per competitor for the bout and any extension. Record the offense and level at the table. Penalties do not add scoring points to the opponent under this local format.

The referee may skip warning levels for a serious offense, dangerous contact, deliberate violation, or conduct that compromises safety. Consult the panel and Chief Referee for disqualification decisions when practicable; do not delay stopping an unsafe bout. A prohibited technique shall not score. Apply the appropriate penalty even if the competitor claims an accidental impact.

Boundaries and passivity

Jogai means leaving the marked competition area without being forced out by the opponent. The referee stops the bout and applies the cumulative penalty progression. Allow a reasonable opportunity to engage before penalizing passivity; normal defensive movement is not automatically passivity. Apply the same standard to both competitors.

Injury and outcome

Medical personnel determine whether an injured competitor may continue. The panel determines responsibility for the injury and the competitive result. If an opponent is disqualified for the action that caused the withdrawal, the injured competitor wins the bout but shall not advance without medical clearance. A withdrawal from an unrelated injury is recorded as Kiken, and the opponent wins. If both must withdraw, the Chief Referee shall review the circumstances and recorded scores; neither may advance while medically ineligible.

No official, coach, or competitor may pressure an injured person to continue. A medical withdrawal is a safety decision, independent of whether a penalty is awarded.

Officials and authority

The Tournament Director manages entries, division structure, scheduling, published discretionary rules, and overall administration. The Chief Referee supervises kumite rules and referee assignments. The Chief Judge supervises kata judging. Ring officials control competition in their assigned area; scorekeepers and timekeepers maintain accurate records. Assign competent officials and avoid direct instructor or family conflicts where practical.

Director discretion. Use three kata judges and a kumite referee with two corner judges. If staffing prevents the approved panel from operating, pause the division until qualified replacements are available. Medical personnel control fitness-to-continue decisions; the Director cannot overrule a medical exclusion.

Protests

Director discretion. A registered coach or instructor may submit a protest concerning an incorrect application of the published rules, eligibility, a clerical mistake, or a timing error. A parent or guardian may submit for a minor who has no coach. Do not protest a judge’s subjective assessment of technique or kata quality alone.

Notify the ring coordinator immediately and submit a concise written protest to the Chief Referee or Chief Judge within five minutes of the announced result, before the next affected bout or award whenever possible. Identify the division, competitors, rule, and requested correction. No protest fee is proposed. Officials may hold the affected bracket briefly while reviewing records and consulting the panel.

The Chief Referee or Chief Judge recommends a ruling; the Director issues the final administrative ruling and records any correction. A safety concern may be raised at any time and shall be addressed immediately. This process does not restrict reporting misconduct or an emergency.

Conduct and coaching

Show respect through proper bows, prompt obedience to commands, and courteous behavior. Competitors and coaches shall not argue with officials, enter the competition area without permission, or distract another performance. Spectators shall remain in designated areas. Threats, harassment, discrimination, profanity directed at others, and physical aggression may result in removal.

Director discretion. Permit one designated coach per kumite competitor in the assigned coaching position. Coaches may offer brief instructions during active kumite without disrupting officials; remain quiet during kata and official decisions. A coach violation may result in a warning or coach removal. Penalize the competitor only for the competitor’s own conduct or participation in the violation.

Awards and brackets

Director discretion. Award first, second, and third place in each completed division. For kumite, use single elimination with a third-place bout between semifinal losers when both are medically eligible. If a third-place bout cannot safely occur, award joint third to eligible semifinal losers. Kata placements follow the scored results and tie procedure. Do not promise trophy type, cash prizes, or participation awards unless announced separately.

The Director shall announce how a division with only one entrant will be recognized before it begins. Competitors shall remain for the presentation or notify officials if they must leave. Confirm names and placements against the official record before presenting awards.

Medical readiness

Before competition, the Director shall designate qualified medical personnel, an emergency response lead, and a clear route for emergency access. Verify the exact venue address, emergency communications, and first-aid supplies with event staff. Do not begin or resume kumite without the required medical coverage. Coaches shall identify relevant safety concerns to medical personnel privately.

Injury response

On an injury, the referee calls Yame, stops the clock, and summons medical personnel. Keep the area clear. Only authorized responders provide treatment. Call 911 for a serious emergency and direct responders to address of the venue. Record the incident, care provided, disposition, and the competitive ruling.

A competitor with a suspected concussion shall be removed immediately from all participation and shall not return that day. Return to sport requires clearance by an appropriate healthcare provider. Coaches and officials shall not determine concussion severity themselves. Notify a minor’s parent or guardian promptly. These provisions follow CDC HEADS UP guidance: www.cdc.gov/heads-up/response/index.html.

For other injuries, medical personnel shall determine whether continued participation is safe. Active bleeding must be controlled, wounds covered, and contaminated equipment or surfaces cleaned before any permitted return. A competitor may decline to continue even when medically cleared. Medical treatment shall not be rushed to preserve a bracket or schedule.

Director approval record

The Director shall approve and announce the local rules before these rules are issued for competition. Changes shall be recorded in a dated written bulletin and communicated to coaches, officials, and affected competitors before their division begins. Apply rules consistently throughout a division; stop immediately when a safety correction is required.