SUMMARY OF TOURNAMENT RULES

It is the intent of the Alliance to provide a means of competition between students of Martial Arts Schools,

to allow them to test their skills and knowledge against their peers. A concern of this intent is to allow this

competition to take place in a fair, sportsmanlike, and impartial manner. The primary concern of the Alliance

is that said competition take place with the safety of the participants held paramount over all else.

As the Alliance was developed to foster “A Unity Within All Martial Arts”, All Styles and Systems are welcome

to our tournaments. As long as the competitor is a student of an established school, is wearing a clean uniform

of that school or style, and is willing to abide by these rules they are welcome to compete.

The tournament ring shall be no smaller than 16’X16’ with an optimum size of 20’X20’.

All byes and pairings shall be figured prior to the start of any match, with an impartial manner of selecting the

recipients (such as a blind draw of entry cards) Competitors receiving byes shall be notified before start of the

match. If at all possible, care should be taken to not pair up competitors from the same school in

the first rounds. Once the first match has started there will be no late entries.

Center Judges shall be appointed at the Black Belt Meeting, and they will be responsible for assembling

their  assisting  judges. Junior Black Belts shall not be utilized to judge adult divisions, but may be used in the

youth divisions. Center Judges should be of high rank, and preference shall be given to individuals

completing Alliance Rules Certification. Care should be taken to ensure that there

is not a majority of Judges from one school on any Board.

There will be no appeals of judgment calls made by the Center Judges. Any appeal concerning the violation

of a written rule shall be made prior to the next point called in Sparring, or the next competitor entering the ring

in Kata. The person appealing the call must respectfully notify the Center Judge of their intent, and the

Center Judge shall call the designated members of the Alliance Board to render judgment. Any one Board Member

can make the final determination, after hearing the situation explained. This determination is final, and is not subject to

appeal.

There shall be one Scorekeeper for each Kata Division, and one Scorekeeper andone Timekeeper for each

Sparring Division. They shall report to the Center Judge at the end of each round of Competition, and the

Center Judge shall be responsible for a final look at their results before announcing them.

Divisions will be provided for the greatest array of ranks, sex and ages possible. Competitors will compete in their

appropriate division. A competitor found competing in a division that is not theirs will be disqualified.

On a 10 rank basis, under Black Belt, the breakdown will be as follows:

If there are not enough competitors for a division it will be up to the tournament promoter to place the

competitor. Points accumulated will be accrued in the competitors normal division.

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.

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.

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.

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 points

awarded; 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.

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 legs

simultaneously. 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. All

determinations 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 the

penalty 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 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. Warnings

or loss of penalty points can be assessed, as well as disqualification for overt or intentional excessive strikes.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 be

stopped 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 the

determination of the Center Judge, and can include but not be limited to improper actions or language.

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.

Appropriate hand signals should be used to indicate scoring on Sparring Matches. While this is not mandatory,

the following are recommended for use in order to achieve consistency in calls. The Center Judge shall announce:

“Ready” and then “Call”. Upon “Call” all Judges shall signal by either:

A. Pointing to the Competitor that they felt should receive the point,

B. Covering their eyes, indicating they did not see the point to be called,

C. Pointing two (2) fingers indicating two (2) points for a head kick,

D. Crossing both arms indicating that they felt it was a clash and/or no point

should be awarded,

E. Clasping fist in fist pointing to the competitor that they felt should be awarded

the point due to a rules violation from the other competitor,

F. Clasping fist in fist, circling hands while pointing to the competitor that they

felt should be awarded the point due to Excessive Contact.

The Kata and Weapons Board shall be comprised of an odd number between three (3) and seven (7) qualified judges;

however, five (5) are recommended if a sufficient number of qualified judges are available. Five (5) judges are

recommended for all Black Belt Kata divisions. There may not be more than two (2) black belts from any one instructor nor

more than one (1) black belt from a single school on any Kata or Weapons Board if there are other qualified judges

available and they are willing to judge.

Kata is not to be judged on the content of the Kata. Many systems run the same forms, but few systems run the same

form in the same ways. Kata is not to be judged on the style. Kata from a “soft” stylist is to be judged on the same basis as

that from a “hard” stylist. Kata is to be judged basically on the 8 elements which a re the same from style to style.

Balance, Concentration, Execution, Form,

A competitor may ask to restart a Kata one time if needed. For any such restart, 1.0 points should be deducted upon scoring.

The higher the rank, the moredeductions should be made.

Scoring in all Kata divisions shall be by the point decimal system. The lowest possible score shall be 7.00 while the

highest possible score shall be 10.00. An 8.5 would be average score. If there are less than three (3) competitors in any

one division, each competitor shall be scored after performing his/her respective Kata. The Center Judge shall

call for all judges to score simultaneously. If there are more than three (3) competitors in any one division, the Kata Board

shall observe the first three competitors prior to any competitor in the division receiving a score. Once the three

competitors have performed their Katas, their scores will be awarded; thereafter, each competitor will be scored after

his/her Kata has been performed. When the Kata or Weapons Board is comprised of three (3) judges, all scores

received will be added together to determine the winner. When the Board is comprised of five (5) or more judges, the

highest and lowest scores are eliminated from computation of the scores. If, after computation of the scores, there is a tie,

the competitors who have tied will be required to perform an additional form to break the tie. For intermediate and

advanced competitors, the additional form performed must be a different form to break the tie. For beginning competitors,

the additional form may be the same form  again, or a different form to break the tie. (Excluding Weapon divisions.) When

two (2) competitors are tied, the Board will determine a winner after both competitors have performed their respective

tie-breaking form, by each member of the Board pointing one arm to the competitor they perceive to be the winner

simultaneously when the Center Judge calls for score. When more than two (2) competitors are

tied, the winner will be decided by scoring the individual competitors after they have performed their respective Katas.

In the absence of scoring materials a hand system shall be used to indicate the decimal scoring for Kata. Upon the

Center Judge’s call of “Judges Ready”, “Score” the Judges shall indicate with the appropriate number of fingers their

first number in the two number score. The Center Judge will then call “Ready”, “Second Score” and the Judges will indicate

the second number. For example a score of 8.5 would entail the Judges holding up 8 fingers for the first score, and 5 fingers

on the call for the second score.

All Weapons utilized in weapons Kata competition shall be real weapons, such as were used in ancient times and

were designed specifically for fighting or as farm implements or tools. The Katas must incorporate actual fighting

techniques, as if the use of the weapon was for a real fighting situation. All weapons must have lethal

strength and hardness to inflict serious physical injury to an opponent when used in an actual encounter. The Weapons

Kata Center Judge shall inspect each competitor's weapon to ensure that the minimum requirements are met or

exceeded for weapons competition. A wooden weapon should not break with the application of a normal force when

applied to its middle. Failure to meet or exceed these minimums may result in the weapon

being disqualified and the competitors rejected from weapons competition.

If during the course of a Kata, the competitor drops their weapon, appropriate points should be deducted in scoring.

A minimum of 1.0 should be deducted on any rank below Black Belt. The higher the rank, the more points that should

be deducted. A competitor who drops a weapon should never win the round over a competitor who did not lose control

of their weapon, no matter how the Kata is run by either from that point onward.

Musical Kata shall be judged in the same way as any other Kata, but with additional scoring criteria to be met.

In addition to the 8 elements of Kata, Musical Forms will be judged on Rhythm, Timing and Movement appropriate

to the music selection being performed. Musical Kata is an open form, and need not adhere to traditional Kata.

Changes to traditional forms to are permitted to enhance performance, as well as the creation of entirely new forms

to fit the music.

Competitors shall supply their own materials for the Breaking Divisions, and shall be responsible for policing the area

afterwards. Competitors shall be judged on the difficulty of the breaks, the number of breaks, and their success in

achieving the breaks, including the number of attempts needed to accomplish them.

Some tournaments will offer additional divisions, such as: Loudest Kiai, Ju Jitsu, Continuous Contact,

Synchronized Kata, Chanbarra or Demonstrations. Rules for these will be announced at the Black Belt Meeting

before competition begins, and guidelines should be sent out with the flyers announcing the tournament.