GENERAL RULES

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UNIFORM: All contestants must wear a complete (top and bottom) traditional or professional sport karate (kung fu, tae kwon do, etc.) uniform in a state of good repair. A contestant with offensive words or artwork on the uniform may be denied the privilege of participation. The appropriate color belt or sash must be worn in competition.
RANK RULE: All competitors must compete at the highest belt level they have earned in the martial arts. A contestant can never compete in a division of which he/she has not earned. Once a competitor competes as a Black Belt, he/she must always compete as a Black Belt.
PROOF OF AGE RULE: All contestants must have proof of age. If there is a legitimate reason to question a contestant’s age, he/she must present a birth certificate to prove their age. If proof of age cannot be presented and contestant wins a division, his/her award(s) and rating points will be held until proof of age is furnished. Proof of age must be furnished within (7) days of event.
JUDGE/REFEREE ATTIRE: We ask that all tournament judges wear either a Martial Arts Uniform or Black Slacks/Pants, Regional Series Officials Shirt, or one of our event provided Tournament Shirts if you are judging. This will help those in attendance determine staff members. This will also help us met our objective of presenting a more Professional event.
SPECTATOR VIEWING POLICY: Spectators are not allowed on the competition floor at any time, spectators include black belts that are not judging. Spectators may be fined or ejected from tournament site or both for unsportsmanlike conduct, foul language, standing behind the scorekeepers, illegal protests, or being on the competition mats.

COACHING: Coaches are not allowed on the competition floor during forms/weapons competition. They may only be ringside during fighting competition, seated in an assigned coaches chair when they are ACTIVELY coaching their fighter. If a Coach comes on the competition floor other than to ask a question or file a protest, then they will lose their coaching privileges for the day. All protest are to made ringside to a tournament arbitrator or to a Center Referee at the Score Table. 
CODE OF CONDUCT: Regional Series values sportsmanship, fair play, skill development, and mutual respect among all competitors, coaches, officials and spectators. This Code of Conduct has been established and adopted to ensure the guiding principles of the Regional Series are understood and met by all individuals associated with this organization. To meet these responsibilities, each Competitor/Coach/Parent is expected to:
A) Know the rules and abide by them.
B) Respect the officials, referees, coaches and players of the opposing team. Demonstrate appropriate gestures of sportsmanship at the conclusion of each match. Be humble and generous in victory and proud and courteous in defeat.
C) Maintain control of his/her emotions, avoiding the use of abusive language or profanity, humiliating remarks and gestures of ill temper upon another competitor at any time.
D) Realize, accept, and practice the principle that a team’s reputation is built not only on its martial arts ability but also on the sportsmanship, courtesy and manners of each individual.
OFFENSIVE ACTIONS: A Competitor, Parent or Black Belt can be disqualified/ejected from event or suspended from tournament competition for unsportsmanlike conduct, depending on the severity of the infraction due to their behavior. Disqualification may include the following violations: Foul Language, Disrespect to Officials/Referee, the use of Excessive Contact, Throwing Equipment, Excessive Coaching or Uncontrolled Temper. If a competitor is disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct, they will receive: NO REGIONAL SERIES POINTS OR AWARDS for that day. This decision may be made by the Arbitrator, Tournament Promoter, Director or any officers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WEAPONS - FORMS - SELF DEFENSE - CMX RULES

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LATE ENTRIES AND ORDER OF PERFOMANCE: It is the responsibility of the contestant to be at the ring prior to the time that the division starts. Once the division is organized and the first competitor begins, there will be no additional entries. If a contestant comes late but the first contestant has not started, he/she can compete but must compete first and immediately. The order of performance will be by random draw of selection, shuffling of cards or computer matrix. Competitors competing in Self-Defense divisions must were a helmet.
TIME LIMIT - SCORING RANGE: All weapons/forms/self-defense contestants have a maximum of three (3) minutes to present and perform their routine. The time starts once they enter the competition area. Contestants in the grand championship runoff will receive (4) minutes. Scoring Range: 9.99 1st Place, 9.98 2nd Place, 9.97 3rd Place and 9.96 4th Place. All others 9.90-9.95. Can not repeat top 4 scores. If a competitor drops their weapon, forgets their form and starts over then mistakes will be included as part of the referee score evaluation. If there is a tie breaker or only 2 competitors, then a show of hands may be used to determine the winner.
FORMS DIVISIONS (JAPANESE/OKINAWAN/CHINESE/KOREAN): Competitors in these divisions must exhibit a form that reflects the essence and traditional values of the division name in which they are competing. The form does not have to be a classical form handed down over the years but should not deviate too far in form and content from the style’s classical form.
CMX (Creative/Musical/Extreme) FORMS & WEAPONS DIVISION: Competitors in the CMX Division exhibit forms that are comprised of elements from more than one style, have gymnastics or include music with presentation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POINT SPARRING & OPEN WEIGHT SPARRING RULES

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SCORING POINTS: A point is a controlled legal sport karate/kung fu technique scored by a player in bounds that strikes an opponent with the allowable amount of focused touch contact or focused control to a legal target area. All punching & kicking techniques to a legal target area on the body will be awarded one (1) point. All kicking techniques to the head will be awarded two (2) points.
TIME LIMIT: Two minutes per match Total Points. The competitor the high score at the end of regulation wins the match or 10 Point spread Adults/7 Point Spread Youth declared winner.
SAFETY GEAR: Helmet, Mouthpiece, Hand Pads, Feet Pads, and Groin Cup (men only). Face shields are not required but are highly recommended for youth 17yrs and under.
LEGAL TARGET AREAS: Chest, Stomach, Head (Helmet/Head Gear Area and Face), Side Ribs & Kidneys
ILLEGAL TARGET AREAS: Spine, Back of Neck, Throat, Groin, Legs, Knees and Back. PLEASE NOTE - Light face contact ONLY is allowed during sparring competition. Any strike to an illegal target area will result in a penalty point or contact deemed excessive/malicious will lead to disqualification.
SWEEPS, TAKE DOWNS and GRABS: Sweeps not to take down an opponent, but only to obstruct the balance can be executed to the back of the front leg and mid-calf or below. Ground fighting is not allowed. A competitor may grab an opponent to offset balance or set for a strike but MUST let go to opponent before they strike.
SECOND PUNCHING: Executing a technique after the center referee has said stop will result in a penalty point given to the opponent whether the infraction takes place in or out of bounds.
OUT OF BOUNDS: Any time a competitor is avoiding or intentionally runs out of bounds and or steps out of bounds a penalty point will be awarded to the opponent, provided he or she is not pushed, shoved, propelled, or fighting out of the ring.
PENALTY POINTS: Every verified rule infraction will result in a penalty point awarded to the opponent. This excludes those rules infractions that are considered flagrant and result in disqualification. Once a competitor receives (3) penalty points, they are disqualified. (NO WARNINGS)
WEIGHT DIVISION: It is mandatory for all adult fighting competitors who fight in a weighed division, to weigh-in before engaging in competition. Only one official weigh-in is required. All adult fighting competitors must fight in their weight division. A contestant cannot go up a heavier weight or down to a lower weight division. If the weight official feels a contestant is trying to weigh heavier by wearing unreasonable clothes or equipment, he/she will be asked to take off those articles before weighing in. The weight in pounds must be recorded on the competitor’s competition card and arm band. Lightweight 179 – Under, Heavyweight 180 – Over.

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