Judges - WKF Rules and Regulations
APPENDIX 3: OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR REFEREES AND JUDGES
This Appendix is intended to give assistance to Referees and Judges where there may be no obvious guidance in the Rules or Explanations.
EXCESSIVE CONTACT
When a contestant makes a scoring technique immediately followed by another which makes excessive contact the Referee Panel does not award the score and instead issues a Category 1 warning or penalty (unless it is the recipient’s own fault).
EXCESSIVE CONTACT AND EXAGGERATION
When a competitor makes a pretence of having received an excessive contact and the Referee Panel decides instead that the technique in question was controlled, satisfying all six scoring criteria, then a score will be awarded and a Category 2 warning or penalty for feigning or exaggeration will be issued. (Always taking into account that severe cases of feigning injury may warrant Shikakku.)
MUBOBI
A warning or penalty for Mubobi is given when a competitor is hit or injured through his or her own fault or negligence. This may be caused by turning their back on the opponent, attacking with a long, low gyaku tsuki chudan without regard for the opponent’s jodan counter attack, stopping fighting before the referee calls “Yamae”, dropping their guard or concentration and repeated failure or refusal to block the opponent’s attacks. Explanation XVI of Article 8 states:
Should the offender receive an excessive contact and/or sustain an injury and the fault is considered to be the recipient’s, the referee will issue a Category 2 warning or penalty and may decline to give a penalty to the opponent.
A contestant who is hit through their own fault and exaggerates the effect in order to mislead the Referee Panel may receive a warning or penalty for Mubobi as well as an additional penalty for exaggeration, since two offences have been committed.
It should be noted that there are no circumstances in which a technique that has made excessive contact can be given a score.
ZANSHIN
Zanshin is described as a state of continued commitment in which the contestant maintains total concentration, observation, and awareness of the opponent's potentiality to counter-attack. Some contestants after delivering a technique will turn their body partially away from the opponent but are still watching and ready to continue the action. The Referee Panel must be able to distinguish between this continued state of readiness and one where the contestant has turned away, dropped their guard and concentration, and in effect has ceased fighting.
CATCHING A CHUDAN KICK
Should the Referee Panel award a score when a contestant delivers a chudan kick and the opponent then catches the leg before it can be withdrawn?
Provided that the kicking contestant maintains ZANSHIN there is no reason why this technique cannot score provided that it contains all six of the scoring criteria. After all in the case of two almost simultaneous gyaku tsukis it is normal practice to award a score to the contestant considered to have landed their technique first even though both might be considered effective. Theoretically, in a real fight scenario, a full power kick would be deemed to have disabled the opponent and therefore the leg would not be grabbed. Appropriate control, the target area, and satisfaction of all six criteria, are the deciding factors as to whether any technique can be awarded a score or not.
THROWING AND INJURIES
Since grabbing hold of the opponent and throwing is allowed under certain conditions it is incumbent upon all coaches to ensure that their competitors are trained in and are able to use break-fall/safe landing techniques.
A competitor who attempts a throwing technique must comply with the conditions imposed in the Explanations in Article 6 and Article 8. If a competitor throws their opponent in full compliance with the stated requirements and an injury results due to the opponent failing to make a proper break-fall, then the injured party is responsible and the thrower should not be penalised. Self-caused injury can result when a contestant being thrown, instead of making a break-fall lands on an extended arm or elbow, or holds onto the thrower and pulls them down on top of themselves.
A potentially dangerous situation occurs when a contestant grabs both legs to throw the opponent on their back. The Article 8, Explanations X states that “…and the opponent must be held onto throughout, so that a safe landing can be made.” Since it is difficult to ensure a safe landing, a throw such as this may fall into the prohibited category. If an injury results this would be dealt with under Category 1. If there is no injury or the throwing process is interrupted by the Referee then a Category 2 warning or penalty could be imposed under Article 8, Category 2, Paragraph 6. It should be emphasised that this kind of throwing technique is not prohibited per se; it is the manner in which it is executed that will be the deciding factor.
THREE MIENAIS
If three Judges signal “Mienai” after the referee has stopped the bout can the Referee give a score or penalty?
Paragraph III of the Explanations in Article 12 states “However, when the bout is halted, the majority decision will prevail.” Since the Judges have seen nothing they are not considered to be offering an opinion or vote and therefore the Referee is in the majority. This situation can occur when action occurs close to the match area perimeter on the Referee's side and where the Judges are unsighted.
TWO AKA, ONE MIENAI
If after Yame, two Judges signal a score for Aka and the other Judge signals Mienai, can the Referee give a score to AO?
The rules state that the Referee cannot go against two Judges unless he has the positive support of the other Judge. Mienai is not positive support because it indicates that the Judge did not see a scoring technique. Therefore the Referee has no support and must ask the Judges to reconsider their decision, indicating why he thinks they should do so.
RE-CONSIDERATION
The Referee may ask the Judges to re-consider when “…he believes them mistaken, or when implementation would be a violation of the rules.” However, re-consideration should be asked for only once. If the Referee’s request is not supported then the majority decision must be given.
CLARITY OF SIGNALS
To avoid confusion Judges should give only one signal at a time. If a technique fails to score it is not required to indicate why in the first instance. The correct procedure is to cross and uncross the flags (Torimasen). Signals such as “blocked”, “missed”, etc., should be given only if and when the Referee asks for re-consideration. In order to avoid unnecessary mistakes and requests for re-consideration all three Judges must indicate their relative opinions when the Referee stops the match and returns to his position.
JOGAI
Judges must remember that when indicating Jogai they are required to tap the floor with the appropriate flag. When the Referee stops the bout and returns to his position they should then indicate a Category 2 infringement.
RECONSIDERATION PROCEDURES FOR JUDGES
When the Referee asks for re-consideration the Judge must first consider the Referee’s request. However should the Judge disagree then he should indicate his reason why and then re-confirm his original decision.
If the Judge believes in retrospect that the Referee was in a better position to see or interpret the action then he may change his decision in support of the Referee.
When a Judge knows that there were two techniques but could see only one actually reach the scoring area but nevertheless is sure that his decision is correct he should indicate “Mienai” for the Referee’s choice then re-confirm his own choice.
When a Judge knows that there were two techniques but could see only one actually reach the scoring area and believes that the Referee’s choice was first (the Judge could see the contestant’s body action but not actual arrival at the scoring area) then the Judge should indicate “Mienai” for the Referee’s choice and not indicate a score for the other. This indicates no preference and no vote and gives responsibility to the Referee to resolve the situation.
INDICATION OF RULES INFRINGEMENTS
For Category 1 infringements Judges should first circle the with the appropriate coloured flag then extend the crossed flags to their left for Aka, putting the red flag in front, and to their right for AO, putting the blue flag in front. This enables the Referee to clearly see which competitor is regarded as the offender.
This is provided for your information. Please check the WKF website for any amendments or changes to this information or for the latest news. www.wkf.net
