WMKF BASIC FORMS & KATA RULES General Rules All athletes must wear a Martial Art uniform relevant to their style in all divisions (T-shirts are not permitted unless this is representative of the style/discipline) and should be in a good state of repair. Props, fancy dress, costumes, face paint or other dramatic wardrobe or accessories are prohibited and will result in disqualification. Athletes may only enter a division once, but may enter multiple divisions. Athletes must wear and compete at their highest grade belt / sash. Athletes must enter the correct division according to their grade / level and age. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. Athletes must announce their name and the country they are representing to the official table and/or centre judge before they perform. Athletes should bow before entering and when leaving the competition ring and bow to the next competitor waiting on deck (standby). Novice Divisions = 0 to 15 months training Novice Scoring Range = 7.0 to 7.9 (7.5 is the average score) Intermediate / Advanced Divisions = 16 months plus Intermediate / Advanced Scoring Range = 8.0 to 8.9 (8.5 is the average score) Black Belt Divisions = Black belt 1 st Degree and above Black Belt Scoring Range = 9.0 to 9.9 (9.5 is the average score) All athletes will compete before the judges make their scoring decisions. Once each competitor has performed they will then return one at a time in the same order and stand in the centre of the competition area for the judges to show their scores and then leave accordingly. At the end of the division all competitors will be bowed out by the head judge. Where Music is required it must be presented on a CD or MP3 player with the athlete s name clearly visible. If using a CD only one track should be written on the disc. It is the responsibility of the athlete to hand in their music when the division is called and to collect at the end of the event. Music with lyrics must be clean with absolutely no profanity or racial content. There must be a minimum of 3 athletes in a division for the category to run. Categories may be merged at the discretion of the organisers and officials if the minimum athlete requirement is not met. Athletes that do not act appropriately, are rude, abusive and do not show good sportsmanship will be disqualified. Coaches that do not act appropriately, are rude, abusive and do not show good sportsmanship will result in their athlete being disqualified.
Definition of Minimum Time: The time starts when the athlete steps onto the mat/ring (not from the first martial move). Definition of Maximum time: Defined as the time from stepping on the mat to final bow to the judges. Traditional Forms / Kata Rules The Kata / Form name must be announced to the centre judge or at the start of the performance in the centre of the ring. Intermediate, Advanced and Black Belt forms / kata have a minimum performance time of 1 minute (after entering the area) and maximum time limit of 3 minutes. Novice divisions have no minimum or maximum time requirement. Kata / Forms may be unmodified or modified but must remain true to the style. In novice divisions where an athlete forgets his/her form or stop before they finish, they will not be disqualified but have the opportunity to restart with.1 of a point deducted from their score. In intermediate / advanced and black belt divisions where an athlete stops his/her form before they finish, they will not be disqualified and may restart but will only achieve up to the average score. In the event of a tie where athletes are requested to perform again, novice athletes may perform the same Kata / Form. In the event of a tie where athletes are requested to perform again, Intermediate / Advanced and Black Belt athletes must compete with a different Traditional Kata / Form. Creative & Musical Forms Rules Creative and Musical forms must be of Martial content but may contain up to 5 basic gymnastic type movements. Techniques with a rotation greater than 360 degrees are not permitted. Movements with inversions more than parallel to the floor and without at least one hand hands touching the floor are not permitted. Basic gymnastic movement e.g. cartwheels, one handed cartwheels, forward rolls, shoulder rolls and jumping & spinning techniques are allowed. If an athlete is unsure if a technique is permitted, his / her coach must speak to an official before the competition starts. compete again with the same creative or musical form. For all athletes, there is a minimum performance time of 1 minute (after entering the area) and maximum time limit of 3 minutes for all creative and musical forms. Creative & Traditional Weapons Rules Traditional and Creative Weapons will compete together. Music is not allowed for Traditional or Creative Weapon forms. Weapon forms must be of Martial content and will be judged on application and use of the weapon. Techniques with rotations greater than 360 degrees are not permitted. Movements with inversions more than parallel to the floor without at least one hand touching the floor are not permitted.
Weapon releases / catches, palm spins, wrist rolls, body rolls are not permitted in traditional and creative Weapon forms. If an athlete drops his / her weapon unintentionally they will not be disqualified but may continue and will only achieve the up to the average score. If an athlete s weapon hits the floor unintentionally during the performance, he/she may continue but will only achieve up to the average score. If an athlete loses control during his/her and is deemed dangerous to him or herself and others around they will be disqualified and judges will score 0.0 compete again with the same Traditional or Creative Weapon form. If the judges and officials deem the athletes weapon unsafe they will not be permitted to compete with said weapon. If the athlete does not have a replacement they will be disqualified and will not be permitted to compete. Weapons Guidelines - No Live (sharp) blades, lightweight weapons permitted as long as the moves performed are traditional. Extreme Rules (Open Hand & Weapons) An Extreme form must be of Martial Content but main contain gymnastic type movements. However continuous flips and tumbling is not permitted. Athletes must perform to music. Techniques with rotations more than 360 degrees are permitted Inversions are permitted. All Weapon releases, palm spins, wrist rolls and body rolls are permitted. If an athlete drops his / her weapon they will not be disqualified and may continue but will only achieve the minimum score. If an athlete s weapon hits the floor unintentionally, he/she will not be disqualified and may continue but will only achieve the minimum score. compete again with the same Extreme form. If the judges and officials deem the athletes weapon unsafe they will not be permitted to compete with said weapon. If the athlete does not have a replacement they will be disqualified. If an athlete loses control during his/her and is deemed dangerous to him or herself and others around they will be disqualified. Team / Synchronised Forms There must be a minimum of two athletes and maximum of 3 athletes performing together The majority of the form must be synchronised. Break out or individual performances are not permitted. Judges will score athletes on their timing, synchronisation, difficulty level and ability. Athletes may be creative in their presentation of their kata / form. Music may be used. Weapons may be used. Synchronised forms may be traditional, creative, musical, weapons or extreme forms.
In the event that there is a tie, athletes may compete again with the same synchronised form. Creative Self Defence Athletes competing in creative self-defence will be judged on their technical ability, creativity, showmanship and realism (The realistic application in a real life self-defence situation). Athletes participating in creative self-defence may have 2 to 5 attackers independently of his/her sex. The demonstration can be performed in a Martial Arts uniform or wearing casual clothes. Music is permitted and is optional. Fake / Prop weapons may be used provided they are safe. The minimum performance time is 1 minute and maximum time limit is 3 minutes. Scoring ranges are the same as all forms divisions; Novice 7.0 7.9, Intermediate/Advanced 8.0 8.9 and Black Belts 9.0 9.9 Power Breaking Athletes competing in the power breaking must be intermediate level or higher. The breaking material will be plates/bricks 40x20cm. A spacer (maximum thickness 1cm) can be used between the plates. Athletes must declare how many plates he/she intends to break and with what technique before their performance. For every plate not broken the athlete will receive 2 penalty points. Athletes can choose two techniques out of three to break with. (Elbow, Edge of hand or punch) The scoring of the two breaks will be added together to give a final score. Scoring will range from 9.0 to 9.9 The organisers have the plates for sale for the power breaking division and can be purchased at registration for 1.50euros. If needed, more plates can be purchased at the venue of the Championships. Athletes must bring their own spacers to place between the plates and ensure they have the correct quantity. Judges Scoring Judges will score using the following criteria: Scores will be determined by technical ability, martial content, difficulty level, stances, power, balance and poise. The centre / head judge will bow all of the athletes in and liaise with the table officials to ensure the competitors are lined up in order of competition. Once athletes have bowed in they should sit to the side of the ring in the correct order and enter accordingly. Judges will see all athletes perform before making a scoring decision. Judges may make notes if necessary to help with any scoring decisions. Judges will score each ability level within the scoring range.
Judges will only give the top three scores once per division. For example, a judge must score his or her top three athletes with 9.9, 9.8 and 9.7. Once a judge has awarded the top scores they cannot score another athlete with the same score. They must score 9.6 or lower, with 9.0 being the minimum score. (Same principal for other 2 levels replace leading 9 by and 8 or 7 as appropriate) Once all athletes have performed, they will then return and stand in the ring (in the same order) to receive the judges scores. Judges will score using score cards. Scores must be presented to the athlete, the audience and the official score table. The centre judge will make the call for all judges to show their score cards at the same time. Judges will not score an athlete higher or lower because they feel a movement in a kata / form was incorrect but will score the technical ability and skill level of the athlete. Each style and instructor may perform or interpret a Kata / Form in slightly different manner. The WMKF is an open all styles competition and judges will allow for different interpretation of Kata / Forms providing it is still representative of its style. Judges may not discuss his / her score or opinion with other judges during the event. They must score independently of each other. In the event of a tie for 1 st, 2 nd or 3 rd place the higher and/or lower scores will be taken away to break the tie. If the tie still remains the athlete will be asked to perform again. There will be a minimum of 3 judges and maximum of 5 judges per division. Judges will always be fair, unbiased and objective. Judges must wear a navy blue jacket and trousers, white WMKF shirt and tie and dark shoes.