COMPETITOR REQUIREMENTS
  1. All competitors must wear protective foam HAND, HEAD, and FOOT gear. Absolutely no taping of the gear will be allowed. No gear made of leather or vinyl will be permitted.
  2. All competitors must wear a MOUTHPIECE.
  3. All male competitors must wear a protective GROIN CUP.
  4. Competitors must remove ALL pieces of jewelry before entering the ring. This includes but is not limited to: face and body piercings, earrings, necklaces, and rings.
  5. Fingernails and toenails must be closely trimmed to avoid injury to other competitors.
  6. Absolutely no taping of the hand or wrist is permitted.
  7. Shin, Instep, and Arm guards made of foam are permitted. Female chest protectors and groin protectors are permitted when worn under the uniform.
GENERAL CONTEST PROCEDURES
  1. The official time keeper for all rings will be the Time Controller at the head table. All freesparring matches will be synchronized to begin and end by a sound signal from the head table.
  2. Each freesparring match consists of one two-minute round. The competitor with the most points at the end of the match is the winner.
3.
In the event of a tie, both competitors will remain in the ring and fight a second two-minute round. If the competitors are still tied at the end of the second match, they enter into “sudden victory.” The first competitor to score a point wins unless a disqualification occurs.
SYNCHRONIZATION OF MATCHES
  The synchronization of all rings for freesparring matches necessitates special considerations   and a higher level of awareness for competitors, officials, and scorekeepers. However, it   presents a highly professional, organized appearance to spectators and allows the winner of   each match in each ring to be recognized individually.
 1. When the starting signal is delivered from the head table, the Chief Referee signals to begin the match.
 2. When the ending signal is delivered from the head table, the Chief Referee stops the match and follows the procedures for bowing the competitors out of the match. (See below.)
 3. There will be approximately a one minute lapse of time between the last ring’s winner being recognized and the starting signal of the next match. This minute is used for the Chief Referee to bow in the competitors of the next match. In order to facilitate a smooth transition, scorekeepers should announce competitors “on deck” for the next match, and all competitors should have all gear in place.
 WHEN TIME MUST STOP DURING A MATCH
  In the event that a match must be stopped due to injury, discussion of the rules, or any other legitimate reason, the following procedure must be followed:
 1. The Chief Referee signals to the scorekeeper to “Start Time” on the ring’s individual stop watch. The scorekeeper is essentially keeping track of lost seconds due to the ring’s action being stopped. As soon as the match is resumed, the scorekeeper stops the stopwatch and records the number of seconds that elapsed on the scoresheet.
 2. The scorekeeper then resets the watch to 0:00 and remains alert in case the Chief Referee signals for another “Start Time.”
 3. If the match is stopped multiple times, the scorekeepers must keep track of the number of seconds that elapsed each time.
 4. IMPORTANT: The scorekeeper starts the watch when the Chief Referee says “Start Time” and stops the watch either when the match resumes or the ending signal from the head table sounds. The number of seconds is recorded immediately on the scoresheet.
 5.

When the ending signal sounds, the scorekeeper alerts the Chief Referee as to whether the TOTAL elapsed time on the stopwatch exceeded twenty seconds. This is determined by adding up the seconds as recorded on the scoresheet. If the amount of time the match was stopped is more than 20 seconds, the competitors wait in the ring for the next starting signal from the head table, at which time they will fight for the total number of seconds that were lost in their match. The competitors DO NOT fight for the entire two minute round.

For example, if the match was stopped once for 15 seconds due to injury and a second time for 25 seconds for the officials to confer, the total amount of lost time is 40 seconds. Because this is more than 20 seconds, the competitors will be allowed to fight for 40 seconds from the next starting signal from the head table. At the end of the 40 seconds, the official keeps them in the ring so the winner can be announced when the other rings finish their normal two minute rounds.

BOWING INTO THE DIVISION
 1. The five officials will line up in a straight line.
 2. Immediately after arriving from the staging area, the competitors will line up in a straight line facing the officials.
 3. The Chief Referee will direct competitors to face the the head table, come to attention, and bow.
 4. The Chief Referee will direct competitors to face the officials, come to attention, and bow.
 5. The Chief Referee will then direct the side judges to move to their chairs and motion for the side judges to sit simultaneously.
 6. After the side judges have taken their seats, the Chief Referee will direct the competitors to sit, to which they will answer “Yes Sir/Maam.”
 7. The Chief Referee will direct the scorekeeper to call the competitors of the first match.
 COMPETITORS BOW INTO THE MATCH
 1. After hearing their names called by the scorekeeper, the competitors will answer “Yes Sir/Maam” and move to the edge of the ring. They bow at the edge of the ring to show respect for the contest and wait for the Chief Referee to direct them to enter the ring and take their places as Red or White.
 2. The Chief Referee will direct the competitors to come to attention and bow first to the Chief Referee and then to each other.
 3. The Chief Referee will then direct the competitors to assume the Jae Yu Dae Ryun Chun Bi (fighting stance) and give the command to start fighting after the signal from the Time Controller at the head table.
 COMPETITORS BOW OUT OF THE MATCH
 1. At the end of the timed match, the Chief Referee will instruct the competitors to stop fighting and face each other in the center of the ring. The Chief Referee will bring the competitors to attention, bowing first to their opponent and then to the Chief Referee.
 2. After the competitors bow to the Chief Referee, the Chief Referee will stand between the competitors and grab each of their wrists. When the Ring Number of that division is called, the Chief Referee will raise the hand of the winner.After the competitors bow to the Chief Referee, the Chief Referee will stand between the competitors and grab each of their wrists. When the Ring Number of that division is called, the Chief Referee will raise the hand of the winner.
 3. The competitors will then face one another, shake hands, face the Chief Referee, and exit the ring backwards.
 4. The competitors will then bow at the edge of the ring to show respect for the contest, and sit down.
BOWING OUT
 1. After the last match, one scorekeeper should go to the trophy table and bring the appropriate medals to the ring.
 2. The Chief Referee will direct the officials and competitors to line up and come to attention in the same manner as the ring was bowed in.
 3. The Chief Referee will review the scoresheet and call out the names of the winners, starting with 4th Place.
 4. Once the four winners are lined up, the Chief Referee will designate the winners from 1st Place to 4th Place and the officials will present the medals/trophies.
 5. The Chief Referee will then bring all of the competitors to attention, and have them bow first to the ring officials and then to the Grandmaster or head table before dismissing them.
*In the event that there is a winner’s platform the procedure will be as follows:
 1. Follow steps 1-4 as outlined above.
 2. The Chief Referee will then bring all of the competitors to attention, and have them bow first to the ring officials and then to the Grandmaster or head table.
 3. The Chief Referee will then direct one scorekeeper to escort the winners to the trophy stand with the scoresheet of the division to receive their awards.
LEGAL TARGET AREAS
 1. The face area and the area of the head covered by headgear.
 2. The front of the chest.
 3. The stomach area above the belt.
 4. The sides of the body from the armpit to the belt.
 ILLEGAL TARGET AREAS
 1. Any part of the body below the belt.
 2. All parts of the back, including the spinal column and kidney areas.
 3. The throat and neck.
LEGAL SCORING TECHNIQUES
  In order to receive a point, a legal technique must be delivered within one inch of a legal target area with good form and balance.
  The Three-Point/Foot Rule is as follows: Competitors are considered out of bounds if two feet between the two competitors are outside the ring. If one competitor has both of his/her feet outside the ring, the competitors are considered out of bounds and no points can be scored by either opponent. If both competitors have one foot each outside of the ring, the competitors are considered out of bounds and no points can be scored by either opponent. If only one competitor has one foot outside of the ring, points can be scored by both competitors.
RETURN TO COMPETITION PAGE