Judges: In Sparring matches, there should be no fewer than three (3) judges, 1 Center Judge, and two (2) Corner Judges. Corner Judges should be placed diagonally across the ring from each other. Five (5) judges, one (1) Center and four (4) Corners, are recommended for all Black Belt Sparring divisions. Officials should never Center Judge for their own child or spouse. If at all possible a Center Judge should try to either Corner or excuse  themselves from being Center Judge for one of their students.

Match: The winners of matches below Black Belt shall be the competitor who has scored three (3) points or the most points scored prior to expiration of time; Black Belt winners will have scored five (5) points or the most points scored prior to the expiration of time.

Length of Match: Time limit of all matches shall be two (2) minutes running time. The Center Judge is the only person authorized to stop time (i.e. equipment repair, injury or safety of competitors). In the event of tied score, the match will continue into a sudden-victory overtime with the first point awarded to determine the winner.

Points Awarded: The Center Judge will award all points by the majority vote of the Center Judge and the Corner Judges.Scoring areas are the head, face (adult brown belts and black belts only may lightly touch the face; children competitors and adults under brown belt may score to the face, provided there is NO contact), neck (except throat area and back of neck), chest, abdomen (NO groin contact), back (excluding shoulders and spine), and kidneys. The Center Judge will call to score all points (which have been observed to the scoring area by controlled hand or foot techniques) and the Corner Judges will indicate their award simultaneously after command from the Center Judge; late calls will not be considered for award of point. There must be at all times (other than rule violations) a majority vote to award points. There will be no half pointsawarded; only full points. Proper technique to a valid scoring area will result in one (1) point. Valid head kicks with no contact to the face will be awarded two (2) points. Lead hand jabs to the body do not count, nor will any sloppy technique or strikes. To be counted a strike must be snapped, controlled, focused and executed with proper balance.

Face or Groin Contact or Uncontrolled Techniques: Uncontrolled or blind techniques will not be tolerated in any division. Face contact will not be allowed in any division except Adult Brown and Black Belt divisions. Face contact which rocks the head will result in a warning, penalty point, or disqualification. Face contact which severely rocks the head, causes immediate swelling, redness, bleeding or unconsciousness will not be allowed and will result in immediate disqualification. Leg checks or kicks to the legs are not permitted. Groin kicks are not permitted. There are no sweeps allowed to the weight bearing leg or to both legssimultaneously. If a competitor executes a technique which inflicts any injury, damage, bruise, abrasion, redness of the face, swelling, laceration, fracture, dislocation, bleeding, unconsciousness, the competitor executing the technique will be disqualified. There are three (3) levels of penalties which may be imposed during a match; a warning, a point penalty, and disqualification. Penalties are cumulative in nature. If a competitor is warned about face contact, a violation of this section such as a leg check will be considered the second violation, and incur a penalty point. Once a penalty has been imposed, the next penalty will automatically be escalated, on any strike that is in violation of this section. In the event of injuries, medical personnel if present will make the decision as to whether or not the competitor will continue to compete. In the event no medical personnel are present, a Board Member shall make the determination. Alldeterminations made will be in favor of the continued safety of the competitors. In all instances the Center Judge will have final say in the determination of penalties. In the event that the two Corner Judges see the technique incurring thepenalty and the Center does not, it is still a determination of the Center Judge as to the call. The Center Judge may call a conference with the two Corners for more information, but is not required to do so. In the instance of a violation of Section B, the Center Judge may make a penalty call without the consensus of the Corner Judges. The safety of the competitors is of primary concern, and these violations may be called independently by the Center Judge.

Excessive Contact: Excessive Contact is any contact to a scoring area that is delivered with such force as to cause injury, even if such injury is not immediately apparent. Strikes to the body that would cause bruising or worse injury may not be evidenced at the time due to clothing or other delayed reactions. On the other hand, a blow that could cause momentary loss of breath might not be an excessive strike. This is a judgment call by the Center Judge, and should be treated accordingly. Warningsor loss of penalty points can be assessed, as well as disqualification for overt or intentional excessive strikes.

Illegal Techniques: The following are illegal techniques, and can be grounds for disqualification: head butts, hair pulling, biting, scratching, knee strides, elbow strikes, throws, stomps to the head, jumping on a downed opponent, falling to the floor to avoid contact,pushing, intentional strikes to the spine, back of the neck or throat, open hand techniques to the eyes, or faking an injury.

Three Second Rule: Grabbing the uniform or trapping a kick is allowed to facilitate scoring. Scoring must occur within 3 seconds.If I fighter slips or falls to the floor the match will be stopped immediately, competitors returned to their starting points, and the match restarted. If however one competitor causes the other to fall, by intent, then the competitor will have 3 seconds to score a point with a valid technique to a scoring area. For example, a successful sweep (boot to boot) does not receive a point but a follow up technique to the downed opponent would.

Late Hits: When a halt is called by any Judge, all action shall cease and the competitors shall return to their starting points. Any strike delivered after time has been called, is a late hit, and will be warned for first offense, and penalty points assessed for each subsequent late hit.

Out of Bounds: A competitor who steps out of bounds or steps on the out of bounds line with one or both feet is out of bounds. A competitor propelled out of bounds during the course of a match by a strike or a kick is not out of bounds. Out of bounds will be penalized by: (A) warning for the first infraction; and (B) a penalty point awarded to the opponent for each infraction thereafter. The decision of whether or not the competitor was forced out of bounds is left to the Center Judge’s determination.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated at any time during the tournament by the competitor or the competitors' instructor. Violation will result in a warning for the first infraction and immediate disqualification upon the second infraction.Any Unsportsmanlike conduct by spectators, is also to be handled by the Center Judge. The conduct will be stopped first and foremost, by the issuance of a warning to the spectators in violation. If this is not sufficient, the match will bestopped until a Board Member is summoned, and the violators can be escorted from the premises. If this results in the competitor being unable to continue, that match will be forfeited. Definition of Unsportsmanlike Conduct is left to thedetermination of the Center Judge, and can include but not be limited to improper actions or language.

Safety Equipment: All competitors must wear approved Safety Gear. This includes (but is not limited to) Headgear, Hand Gear, Foot Gear, and Mouthpiece. All male competitors must wear an Groin Cup in addition to the above gear. Chest protectors are encouraged to be worn, but are not mandatory. Shin pads may not contain rigid inserts (as worn in soccer). Gear is to be of the foam dipped variety, and cloth covered foam is not approved. Gear must be intact, and not worn to the point of being ineffective. Center Judge has final determination of approval of gear. A competitor without the appropriate gear or gear deemed unsafe will not be allowed to compete. Jewelry that could cause injury to either competitor (with the exception of plain wedding bands and medical information tags) will not be worn.

F. Clasping fist in fist, circling hands while pointing to the competitor that theyfelt should be awarded the point due to Excessive Contact.(In all instances the hand should point to the competitor receiving the point)