Rules For the U.S.

Eastern Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Federation Annual

Tournament

These rules and regulations have been adopted for use at the U.S. Eastern Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Federation
U.S. Eastern Wado-Ryu Karate-Do
Federation
Judges Rules For
C. T. Patterson Memorial
Wado-Ryu Karate
Championships

tournament and are independent of rules prescribed by WUKO, NASKA, RSKF or any other sport karate
organization. All of the following regulations will be adhered to unless specifically altered by the president of
the U.S. Eastern Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Federation. Throughout this document, the United States Eastern
Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Federation may be referred to as the USEWRKDF or, as the Federation.
COMPETITOR:
Each competitor must present him/herself to the referee suitably attired with proper uniform and equipment (see
uniform and sparring equipment specifications below) and physically prepared to compete. If he/she is not prepared
to compete as deemed by the center referee, the competitor may be disqualified.
ELIGIBILITY RULE:
Each competitor must be a member in good standing of the USEWRKDF or have specific permission from the
president of the federation to participate. Black belt competitors from first to fifth dan will be allowed to compete in
individual kata and kumite divisions. The exception to this rule is that sixth dan and above may only compete in the
team fighting division.
DELAY OF TIME PENALTY:
Any competitor that is not present when the division his/her kata or kumite division begins will be disqualified.
RANK RULE:
A competitor must compete at the highest belt level that he/she has earned in Wado-Ryu karate. A competitor can
never compete in a division of which he/she has not earned the rank of the division.
Exception to the RANK RULE:
Competitors who have earned a black belt rank in another style of karate but have started the practice of Wado-Ryu
karate at a Federation dojo should have their instructor request that they be allowed to enter in the black belt
division. This is out of fairness to other competitor, particularly in the kumite division.
PROOF OF AGE RULE:
All competitors must have proof of age. If there is a legitimate reason to question a competitor's age, he/she must
present a document such as a birth certificate or driver's license to prove his/her age.
LEGAL AGE RULE:
An adult competitor shall compete in the age division that corresponds to their age the day of the competition. A
youth competitor shall compete only in age division that corresponds to their age the day of competition.
UNIFORM:
All competitors must wear a complete (top and bottom), clean traditional white karate gi (uniform) in good
condition. The U.S. Eastern Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Federation should be worn on the left chest area of the gi. School
or team patches are allowed on the upper sleeve or back of the gi top. Should the uniform become excessively torn
or bloodied during a sparring match, it must be replaced before the match will continue. Not doing so may cause the
offending competitor to forfeit his/her match.
The competitor's appropriate color belt must be worn in competition. All uniforms must have sleeves that reach at
least to the middle of the forearm. No T-shirts, sweats, or tank tops are allowed under the top for males but a white
undershirt should be worn for females. No wearing of jewelry or chewing gum is allowed in the competition.
COMPETITOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
It is the responsibility of the competitor to know the rules and be ready for competition when called to do so. He/she
must be suitably attired, weighed-in and at the appropriate ring when competition begins. Three calls will be made
for competition at ringside. If the competitor is not at his/her ring ready to compete when competition begins, he/she
will not be allowed to compete. (Refer to delay of time rule, above.)
If a competitor leaves the ring after the competition begins and is not present when his/her name is called to
compete; his/her name will be called three times at ringside. If he/she is still not present to compete, he/she will be
disqualified.
KATA COMPETITION
ORDER OF COMPETITION:
Once the final call for the kata division has been made at ringside the competition cards will be collected and
shuffled thoroughly. The competitor cards will then be drawn randomly for the order of competition. Competitors
who arrive late for the division will be placed first in the lineup for the division.
The first three competitors will perform before any scores are awarded. After the third competitor is finished, the
first competitor will be called to come back for scoring followed by the second and third competitors. This is to give
the judges a sampling of the quality of the competitors. All competitors in the division will be judged in comparison
to these first three competitors.
NUMBER OF OFFICIALS:
Five officials are required in the adult black belt kata divisions.
Three judges are required in the junior black belt and under black belt divisions.
MANDATORY KATA:
The following katas are mandatory choices from which each designated belt colored competitor must select. In the
USEWRKDF tournament there will be no exceptions to these choices.
White belt 9th kyu Kihon No Kata Ichi or Ni (basic kata) or Pinan Nidan
Gold belt 8th kyu (Same as above)
Orange belt 7th kyu Pinan Nidan or Pinan Shodan
Blue belt 6th kyu Pinan Shodan or Pinan Sandan
Purple belt 5th kyu Pinan Sandan or Pinan Yondan
Green belt 4th kyu Pinan Yondan or Pinan Godan
Brown belt 3rd-1st kyu Pinan Godan, Naihanshi or Kushanku
Black belt 1st-5th dan Naihanshi, Kushanku, Chinto or Seishan
SCORING RANGES OF KATA:
USEWRKDF will only have one scoring range for all belts. The scoring range will be 9.75 to 9.90 points
(using the two decimal points). The head official may choose to omit the highest and lowest score when
tallying the competitor's scores and may want to show scores after each 3 competitors. When asked by the
ring director, all judges will present their scorecards to be read clearly by the scorekeeper. The scores should
not be read aloud to or by the scorekeeper. The competitor may check his or her score after the division is
completed if it does not disrupt the division.

PRESENTATION OF KATA:
Before entering the ring, each competitor will rei (bow) then enter approximately halfway into the kata area and rei
again towards the judges. The competitor should then clearly announce his/her competition number, which will
have been previously assigned by the head official. Announcement of the official kata name by the competitor is
optional.
After performing the kata, the competitor must stay in the ring in musubi dachi (attention stance) while his or her
score is being tallied. After being given permission to leave to ring, the competitor should rei towards the judges,
back up to the back line of the ring and then return to the competitor area.
Kiais in the appropriate movements of kata competition is recommended but not mandatory.
In the children's division, boys and girls competition will be run together.
TIES:
To break ties the high and low scores will be added back in. If after adding the high and low, there is still a tie,
they must perform again to break the tie. They may perform the same kata or a different one as long as it is in the
mandatory kata list (see above). If there is a second tie, the judges must be asked on the center judge's command to
point to the competitor who they feel should win. All judges must make a decision for only one competitor.
STARTING A KATA OVER:
If a competitor starts his/her kata over because of a memory lapse or any other reason due to his/her own negligence,
he/she may perform the kata again. The officials will score as though there was not a mistake, but the center referee
will instruct the scorekeeper to subtract 1.0 point from the competitor's final score for each time they start over. An
adult competitor can only start over one time for scoring. A child competitor may start over twice. If a competitor
has to start over not due to his/her negligence, he/she will not be penalized for the restart.
KUMITE COMPETITION

REQUIRED SAFETY EQUIPMENT FOR KUMITE (SPARRING):
Approved headgear; hand and foot pads, mouthpieces and groin cups (for male competitors only) are mandatory for
all competitors in kumite divisions. The competitor's equipment will be checked and if it is deemed unsafe, he/she
will be asked to change the equipment before he/she can compete.
Hand Pads: A soft padded surface must cover the fingers, wrist and any striking surface of the hand.
Foot Pads: A soft padded surface must cover the instep, sides, toes, ankle and back of the heel of the foot. The
bottom of the foot does not have to be padded.
Head Gear: The forehead, sides and back of the head must be covered by a soft padded surface.
Insufficiently padded gloves, foot and head hear will not be allowed.
All equipment must be in a good state of repair and must be free of heavy taping, tears or any other repairs that may
cause injury. The tournament's head rules arbitrator ultimately determines the approval or denial of the equipment.
Shin pads and rib/chest guards are highly RECOMMENDED but not mandatory for kumite competitors.
NUMBER OF OFFICIALS:
Three judges are required in all kumite divisions except Team Kumite. (See Team Kumite below.)
Head Contact:
Light touch is allowed to all legal target areas except to the bare face of all youth and under black belt adult
competitors. Light touch does not have to be made to the headgear in all Youth competitors and adult under black
belt competitors but must be approximately two inches away without being blocked. If the head of any competitor
is visibly moved or blood is drawn as a direct result of contact, a penalty point will be issued to the offended
competitor. A black belt should be well trained in focused technique and therefore can make light touch contact to
the head. If it is noted that excessive force is being used and the head is visibly moved or blood is drawn as a direct
result of contact only one warning will be given. If contact is made in the same way the second time, the offender
will be disqualified.
CENTER REFEREE:
The center referee is the most experienced official in the ring and is thoroughly versed on the rules and order of
competition. He/she must be a third dan rank or higher. He/she promotes the safety of the competitors, enforces the
rules and ensures fair play. He/she starts and stops the match, awards points, makes penalty decisions, oversees the
voting of the other judges, communicates clearly with the scorekeeper and timekeeper, and announces the winner of
each match.
Added Powers of the Center Referee:
1) Match starts and ends only with his/her command (not the command of the timekeeper).
2) He/she has final decision on any disputes on score.
3) He/she has the power to issue warnings and award penalty points without a majority decision.
4) He/she can overrule a majority call only to issue a warning or a penalty point.
5) He/she automatically has power to disqualify a competitor who receives three penalty points.
6) He/she has power to issue time-outs. A competitor can ask for a time-out but it is the determination of the referee
to issue one.
The disqualification of a competitor, where disqualification is not automatic, is determined only by a majority
vote of the judges.
JUDGES:
The judges (or corner referees) call points as they see them. The center referee may consult them to help in
determining penalties or warnings, although the referee alone has the power to issue them. They will be asked to
vote on disqualification rulings. It is the majority vote of the judges and referee that determines a scoring point.
When there are two judges, they should make every attempt to stay on opposite sides of the match from each other.
This is to maintain the best overall view to see potential points scored.
CALLS OFFICIALS (CENTER REFEREE AND JUDGES) MAY MAKE:
When the center referee believes there has been a significant exchange of techniques, or when signaled to do so by a
corner judge, he/she shall call out the word, "matte"or "stop" in a loud voice. (Judges who believe there has been
a significant exchange shall call out "point". The center referee shall then return the competitors to their starting
marks and addresses the judges by saying, "judges call".
All judges and the center referee cast their votes simultaneously and assertively in the following manner.
1) Point Calling - When signaled by the center referee, each official immediately points to the competitor who he/
she believes to have scored the point.
2) No Point Scored - An official crosses his/her wrist at waist level to indicate that he/she believes that a point was
not scored.
3) Did Not See If A Point Was Scored (No See)- The official holds his/her hand over his/her eyes indicating that
he/she could not clearly see whether a point was scored or not. Using this signal has the same effect as saying "no
point", but it indicates to the referee, competitors and spectators the reason a point was not called.
4) Clash - Officials make a motion as though they are hitting both fists together, indicating that both competitors
attacked but with no decisive point scored. This call equals a no point call.
5) Penalty Point - The official points the index finger of one hand towards the offended competitor while holding
the pointing hand in the palm of the free hand.
(The official points at the competitor receiving the point.)
6) Disqualification - A disqualification vote is taken separately from any other vote. When a disqualification vote is
asked for, the referee will say, "judges call". The judges will then point to the competitor who is to be disqualified
(in the same manner as described above) and make a circular motion with both hands. If an official does not feel the
competitor should be disqualified, he/she signals by crossing the wrists at waist level.
LATE CALLS:
All officials should make their calls at the same time. If in the opinion of the center referee, the corner judges are
making late calls intentionally, the referee can disqualify the call. Noise making it difficult for the judges to hear the
center referee and the honest mistakes such as pointing at the wrong competitor should be taken into consideration
not to disqualify the call.
PROTEST:
A competitor has the right to protest an infraction of the rules or if he/she believes a possible mistake was made
(not a judgment call). If a competitor wishes to protest, he/she should first let the referee know he/she believes there
has been an infraction of the rules or a mistake has been made. The referee will summon the arbitrator to the ring to
render a decision if the referee cannot settle the protest to the competitor's satisfaction.
All protests must be made in an orderly, proper and sportsmanlike manner. All protests must be made
immediately. Protests are not allowed once competition has resumed. A competitor may be penalized or even
disqualified if he/she is protesting improperly or without proper cause.

THE RING:
The size of the fighting and form adult black belt rings shall be approximately 20' x 20'. Starting lines should be
marked approximately six feet apart in the middle of the ring. Additionally, each ring should be posted with a ring
number visible to competitors, officials, and medical personnel from across the floor. All youth and under black belt
adult rings shall be approximately 16' x 16' minimum.
WEIGHING-IN:
It is mandatory for all adult sparring competitors who are in weight divisions to weigh in before the competition.
Only one official weigh-in is required. All competitors must enter in his/her weight division. A competitor cannot
compete up or down in another weight division for which he/she has not made the proper weight. It is the
responsibility of the tournament personnel to weigh and properly record the competitor's weight.
ORDER OF COMPETITION:
Once the final call for the kumite division has been made at ringside, the division is ready to be set up. The
competition cards should be collected and counted (if competition cards are not used, competitors are counted) to
see if byes are needed. If byes are needed, they will be picked randomly. Bye charts will be issued.
Matches should always be selected by random, but certain allowances may be given to competitors from the same
school in the first round of competition. They will be separated from each other in the first round, if possible.
Competitors cannot pick whom they want or do not want to fight.
In the youth division, the competitors should be lined up by height, smallest to the tallest, and split into tall and short
divisions if required. Determining tall and short divisions is for safety reasons, not just to split the division equally.
Once the tall and short divisions are determined by height, matches will be determined by random draw. Again,
competitors from the same dojo will be separated if possible.
LENGTH OF MATCH:
Two-minute running time unless three points are scored before time has expired.
POINT VALUES AND WINNER DETERMINATION:
All legal hand and foot techniques that score will be awarded one point. All penalty points awarded will be awarded
one point. The competitor who first earns three points or is ahead at the end of the two-minute period is declared the
winner. If a match is tied at the end of two minutes, a sudden victory (first person to score a point) overtime period
will determine the match.
MAJORITY VOTE:
Points are awarded by a majority vote of all judges. The majority of judges do not have to agree on the same
technique being scored, only that a point was scored.
WHAT IS A POINT:
A point is a controlled legal sport karate technique scored by a competitor who is in-bounds and up-right (without
time being called) that strikes a competitor with the allowable amount of focused touch contact. In order to score a
point, all hand techniques must be made with a fully closed fist with the exception of ridgehand strikes. Balance
must be maintained before during and after a kick or punch is executed to be valid. Diving or falling while
attempting to score will invalidate a point.
OUT-OF-BOUNDS:
A competitor is out-of-bounds as soon as he/she does not have at least one foot touching inside or on the boundary
line. An out of bounds competitor cannot score a point while out of bounds. In bounds competitor can score on an
out of bounds competitor if the center referee has not called stop.
LEGAL TARGET AREAS:
Entire head and face (light contact only for adult Black Belts, 2 inch rule for all adult under belts and children) , ribs,
chest, abdomen, collarbone and kidneys.

ILLEGAL TARGET AREAS:
Spine, back of neck, throat, eyes, sides of the neck, groin, legs, knees and back.
NON-TARGET AREAS:
Hips, shoulders, buttocks, arms, and feet.
LEGAL TECHNIQUES:
Legal techniques are all controlled sport karate techniques, except those listed as illegal.
ILLEGAL TECHNIQUES:
Head butts, hair pulls, bites, scratches, elbows, knees, eye attacks of any kind, take downs on a hard surface floor,
ground fighting on a hard surface, any stomps or kicks to the head of a downed competitor, slapping, grabbing for
more than one second, uncontrolled blind techniques, any uncontrolled throws, takedowns and any other
uncontrolled dangerous techniques that are deemed unsafe in sport karate.
GRABBING:
A competitor may grab the uniform top of his/her opponent for one second only in an attempt to score immediately
with a sport karate technique after which time he/she must release the uniform. Likewise, the uniform pants may be
grabbed for one second to an upright opponent in an attempt to score.
SWEEPS, TAKEDOWNS, GRABS AND GROUND FIGHTING:
Sweeps to off-balance an opponent may be used if immediately followed by a legal sport karate kick or strike.
Sweeps can only be executed to the back of the foot on the padded surface. A sweep must be deemed a proper
sweep and not a kick to be legal. Controlled takedowns and sweeps that are meant to literally take down an
opponent are not allowed. A sweep may never be executed on the supporting leg of a kicking competitor. If one
competitor falls with no point being immediately scored, the fighters will separate and restart from their original
starting lines.
No additional points will be scored regardless of the effectiveness of a sweep.
LIGHT TOUCH CONTACT:
Means there is no penetration or visible movement of the competitor as a result of the contact. Light touch is
allowed to all legal target areas except to the bare face of all youth and under black belt adult competitors.
Light touch does not have to be made to the headgear in all Youth competitors and adult under black belt
competitors but must be approximately two inches away without being blocked. If the head of any
competitor, including Black Belts, is visibly moved or blood is drawn as a direct result of contact, a penalty
point will be issued to the offended competitor. If hard contact is made again the aggressor will be
disqualified.

MODERATE TOUCH CONTACT:
Means slight penetration or slight target movement. Moderate touch contact may be made to all legal target areas
except the headgear and face.
WARNINGS AND PENALTIES:
One and only one warning is allowed for breaking the rules before a penalty point is awarded. After the first
warning is given, a penalty point is awarded. If a competitor receives second warning in any one match, he/she will
be disqualified.
Other Penalty Rules:
If, in the opinion of the referee and/or the medical personnel, a competitor cannot continue because of an injury
caused by an illegal penalized attack executed by his/her competitor, the offending competitor shall be automatically
disqualified.

Other Cause for Penalization:
Attacking illegal and non-target areas, using illegal techniques, running out of the ring to avoid fighting, falling to
the floor to avoid fighting, continuing after being ordered to stop, excessive stalling, blind, negligent or reckless
attacks, uncontrolled techniques, showing unsportsmanlike behavior by the competitor, his/her coaches, friends, etc.,
excessive contact, and delay of time are examples of possible penalization.

DISQUALIFICATION:
Should have a majority vote by all officials, unless unnecessary contact rule has been broken which is an automatic
disqualification or the conditions as noted below, if in question call for an arbitrator.
No entry fees will be refunded to a disqualified competitor.

Disrespect to Officials:
The referee shall have the power to disqualify any competitor that exhibits disrespect and/or unsportsmanlike
conduct toward any official, other competitor or spectator.
Wrong Division:
If any competitor competes in a division he/she does not qualify to compete in due to age, weight, rank, gender,
style, etc., he/she will be disqualified.
COACHING:
1) No competitor may receive direct technical coaching during a match from an instructor, teammate or spectator.
2) Never, at any time, can a coach, instructor, teammate or spectator enter the ring without the
center referee's permission.
3) No abusive, violent, disrespectful or jeering comments will be allowed from coaches,
instructors, teammates or spectators.
4) Coaches, instructors, teammates or spectators cannot ask for a time out. Only the competitor
may ask for a time out.
5) Coaches, instructors, teammates or spectators can never, at any time interfere with the proper
running of the ring or the decisions of the judges.
The center referee can issue a warning to a competitor for each time his/her coach is interfering with a match or
disrupting fair play between contestants. The referee will ask for a violator to correct their behavior and if they do
not will disqualify the competitor, stop the ring, and have the security personnel remove the person from the venue.

TEAM KUMITE:
There shall be one referee and four corner judges for this event. Three judges/referee must point to a competitor for
a point to be awarded during a call. The team kumite competition shall be for the USEWRKDF Wado Cup. This
trophy shall be held by the winning dojo and returned to the Federation tournament each succeeding year. Each team
shall be comprised of 1 black belt (6
th
dan and below), 1 Brown belt and 1 Green belt consisting of adult men
of any weight or age. Each competition will start with the Green belt and work up to the black belt. The first two
matches will be one minute and the first competitor to reach three points will win and end the match. These scores
will be recorded and will be cumulative for the team. The third match is also one minute but has no point limit. If
there is a tie at the end of the three matches, the competitors of the third match will compete for a sudden victory. In
the event of a disqualification during one of the first two matches the score will be recorded as 3 - 0, 0 going to the
disqualified competitors team. In the event of disqualification during the third match, the disqualified competitors
team loses by disqualification regardless of the cumulative score.