PSKL Rules
Competitor Responsibilities	The competitor is responsible to know all rules and be prepared to compete when his/her division has been called. If the competitor is not at the ring when his/her division is called, he/she will not be allowed to compete and loses his/her registration fee. If a promoter wishes to reimburse the competitor it is up to his/her discretion.
Competition Age	All competitors must enter divisions based upon the age they were as of June 30 of the competition year. There are some exceptions for adult Black Belts. (See forms and or fighting rules)
Proof Of Age	Competitors must have proof of age. If there is a legitimate reason to question a competitor’s age, he/she must provide proof of age. All competitors should carry appropriate documents.
Rank	All competitors must compete at the highest belt level they have earned. All competitors may compete at a higher belt level but can never compete at a lower level once they have moved up.
Belt Levels	Novice (white, yellow, gold, orange), Intermediate (purple, green, blue), Advanced (red, brown), Expert (black).
First Timer Divisions	These divisions will only be held at a Regional level. All belts are allowed. Competitors cannot earn PSKL points in this division. These divisions are intended for competitors competing for the first time. The goal is to make the competitors first experience fun and motivating. Each competitor will perform their form and receive their score. Each competitor will fight one match with a competitor of closest physical size and belt rank. It is two-minute time accumulated points.
Uniform	Each competitor must wear a full top and bottom competition uniform when performing Katas. T-shirts will be allowed in fighting divisions if they are a part of a school or team uniform. A full Black or White uniform must be worn for Jap/Oki and Korean Forms.
Sparring Safety Equipment	Head, hand footgear, and a mouthpiece is required. Foam sparring gear, SAP type gloves, and Ringstar’s will be allowed. Males must wear Groin area protectors. Equipment must be in good condition and fit appropriately. Fingers and toes cannot be found protruding from the hand or footgear. Continuous Sparring divisions must wear closed fingered gloves (Ex. Sap Gloves)
Weigh-In	All adult fighting competitor must weigh in. All competitors must fight in his/her correct weight division. Competitors cannot fight up or down in another weight class in 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. If there is a legitimate reason to question a competitor’s weight, he/she may be asked to weigh in again.
Sparring Matches	Once a sparring division has been called the head judge will collect the cards. Matches will then be selected randomly. There will be certain allowances for same school competitors and for the top two seeded fighters (in Black Belt divisions). Competitors, instructors, coaches, scorekeepers, or judges cannot pick whom they want and don’t want to fight. It must be random. Short and tall divisions will be used at National events and at the World Games. A coordinator may choose to divide a division at a regional event if he/she finds it necessary for safety reasons. The center judge will line up the competitors and divide them by size when ever appropriate. If a division is extremely large, it will be at the promoter’s discretion whether or not to divide the division between short and tall competitors.
Arbitrators	Arbitrators will have final decisions on all disputes.
Number of Officials	Each ring will be assigned three judges, five when possible. All Grand Champion Divisions will have five judges.
Removal of Officials	If a competitor or coach feels an official should be removed from a division with good reason a formal protest must be made prior to the start of the division. The final decision to remove official will be made by the arbitrator.
Protest	All protests must be made in an orderly and proper, and sportsmanlike manner. Protest must be made immediately. Protests are not allowed once competition is resumed. When a competitor or coach wants to make a protest the center judge must stop the ring immediately. A competitor may be penalized or even disqualified if he/she is protesting improperly or with out proper cause.
Center Referees	The center referee is the most experienced person in the ring and is thoroughly versed on the rules and order of competition. He/she promotes the safety of competitors, enforces the rules, and ensures fair play. To this end, he/she starts and stops the match, awards points, makes penalty decisions, administrates the voting of the other judges, communicates clearly with the scorekeeper and timekeeper, and announces the winner of each match. The center referee has final decisions on disputes. He has the power to over-rule a majority call only to issue a warning or penalty point. He can automatically disqualify a competitor who receives two penalties. He and only he has the power to issue a time-out and to ask the timekeeper to stop time.
Number of Sparring Divisions	Only one point sparring division and/or one continuous sparring division is allowed per competitor.
Length of Point Sparring Matches	Two minutes running time. Under belts have seven point matches in the two minutes. No three point techniques for Under Belts. Cartwheel kicks and jump spinning kicks are allowed but only count as two points. Black Belt divisions are two minutes running time total points. There will be a ten-point spread. If a match is tied at the end of two minutes, sudden victory (first person to score a point) in overtime period will determine the match.
Grand Championship Matches	All Grand Championship sparring matches must be won by two points.
Majority Vote	Point are awarded by the 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. A majority of the judges calling the point must call a two or three point technique before points can be awarded otherwise only one point is awarded.
Legal Target Areas	Light touch to the entire head and face, ribs chest, abdomen, kidneys.
Illegal Target Areas	Spine, back, neck, throat, legs, knees, groin area, (nothing below the belt).
Legal Techniques	Legal techniques are all controlled sport karate techniques.
Illegal Techniques	Groin kick, head butts, hair pulls, bites, scratches, elbows, knees, eye attacks of any kind, take downs, stomps or kicks to the head of a down competitor, slapping, grabbing for more than two seconds, uncontrolled blind techniques, sweeps. Any other uncontrolled dangerous techniques that are deemed unsafe in sport karate.
Downed Opponent	Black Belt Players have three seconds (3) to score when one player is down. Any kicking motion towards the head and punches making head contact to a downed opponent are illegal.
Grabbing	Competitors may grab a uniform top of his/her opponent in an attempt to score with a sport karate technique for only two seconds immediately after which time he/she must release the uniform. Uniform pants may also be grabbed for two seconds to an upright opponent in an attempt to score.
Sweeps	Sweeps can be used only to obstruct the balance of an opponent, not to take him/her down. (Boot to boot). A point is only given when the legal sweep is effective and followed up with an appropriate sport karate techniques immediately. The supporting leg cannot be swept.
Light Contact Touch	Light contact can be made to all legal target areas except to the face in all under belt divisions. Light touch does not have to be made to the headgear in any under belt division, but can be up to approximately two inches away without being blocked.
Moderate Touch Contact	Only in black belt divisions. Moderate touch means slight penetration or slight target movement. Moderate contact can be made to all legal target areas. Only in black belt divisions. Moderate touch means slight penetration or slight target movement. Moderate contact can be made to all legal target areas.
Scoring	(1) One point for hand techniques (1) one point body kicks (2) two point head kicks for Black Belts only there will be (3) three point jump spinning kicks to the head and cartwheel kicks. (Under Belts can do jump spinning kicks and cartwheel kicks but only receive (2) two points for each technique).
Warnings And Penalties	There will be no warnings. Automatic point will be awarded to opponent on all penalties. This includes running out of the ring, intentionally falling to the ground, illegal techniques (refer to illegal techniques), unsportsman like behavior. A competitor cannot be penalized and still be awarded a point on the same call. A competitor can receive a point for a proper technique and another point from a penalty call from his/her opponent. 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. The medic will have final say if a competitor can continue or not.
Disqualification	Requires a majority vote by all officials, unless it is an automatic disqualification. If in the majority opinion of the officials it is considered that the competitors are not making an obvious attempt to fight in the true spirit of competition both competitors will be warned and if it continues will be disqualified.
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. There is no blood rule. The severity of a technique will be up to the head judge’s discretion.
Coaches	All fighters can have one coach. The coach must have a coach’s pass. If a coach is caught in the coach’s area with no pass his/her opponent will automatically receives a point. If coach without a pass does not leave the coaches area, his player will automatically be disqualified. A coach cannot step into the ring with out a center referee’s permission. There will be no abusive, violent, unsportsmanlike or overzealous coaching. In black belt divisions, only the coach or competitor can call for a 10 second timeout. Timeouts may not be awarded during live sparring segments. If a coach calls for more than one timeout, a penalty point will be awarded to the opponent. Coaches can never, at any time, interfere with the proper running of the ring or the decisions of the judges. A coach is defined as anyone who is trying to help a competitor in any way. A coach could be but is not limited to a friend, parent, teammate, instructor, or official coach. The center referee can award a penalty point to the opponent for each time a coach interferes with a match or disrupts fair play between contestants. Due to limited space around the ring, coaches are not allowed to stand in the competition area before and after his/her competitor’s matches. While coaching, coaches must be respectful and stay in the coach’s area. Coaching is not allowed at ringside of any forms, weapons, or self-defense division.
Out-Of-Bounds	A competitor is out-of-bounds when both feet are outside the ring area. One foot in one foot out is not considered out-of-bounds, but that competitor cannot score. (A competitor must have both feet in bounds to score). An in-bounds competitor can score on an out-of-bounds competitor if the center referee has not called stop.
Late Entries	For all divisions, once a division has started there will be no entries. No exceptions. If a competitor comes late, but the first competitor has not started he/she can compete, but must compete first and immediately.
Black Belt Seeded Competitors (Fighting Divisions)	There will be two seeded competitors in fighting divisions.
Adult Black Belt Team Sparring	Teams must consist of (3) three Black Belt Players, any weight, 18 and older. The order of the players will be determined by coin toss. Winner of the coin toss decides to send out first or to have opposing team send out their first fighter. After a team sends out the first player in the first match, the opposing team must send out their next player first, in the second round etc. Each match will be (2) two minutes total points, with a 12-point mercy rule. (Ex. If a player is up in the match by 12 points, the match will be stopped.) See scoring rules for points.
Rated Black Belt Teams	In order to remain a rated team two out of three players on the team must compete together to receive points at any event. Players may compete on different teams but cannot use the name of a rate team, and cannot receive rated points. There is no charge to become a rated team. A formal registration team form must be sent in with the full names of all team players to PSKL ratings. This rule will be closely monitored.
Team Fighting	All above rules apply for Junior Black Belts, and under belts with the exception of the rated rules.
Continuous Sparring	Will have (1) center referee and (3) officials. The center referee will control the match and will give penalties and can disqualify a player. At the end of each match the center referee will collect score cards from the corner judges, which will be added to determine the winner. The scoring will be a 10 point must system. Ten (10) to the winner and (9) to the loser. If an opponent is overwhelmed the score may be 10 to 8. Penalty points will be deducted from total points earned in the round. Total points earned will determine the winner. Each match will consist of (1) one 30 second round for 9 year-olds and under, (1) 45 second round for 10 to 17 year-olds, and (1) one, one minute round for 18 year-old and up. The last match for first and second place will be (2) two rounds of the required time, with a one minute rest. In case of a tie, the players will fight another round to determine the winner. Continuous sparring will be light contact fighting.
Location of Judges For Forms, Weapons, & Self Defense	Judges will be separated. If there are three judges in a ring, the Head judge will be seated in the center and the other two judges will be seated in the front, right and left corner. When there are five judges the other two judges will be seated between the other three judges.
Forms, Weapons, And Self-Defense Order of Competition	Once the final call at ringside has been made and the competition cards have been collected and shuffled thoroughly, the competitor cards will be then drawn randomly for the order of competition. (This does not include the top four seeded competitors in black belt divisions only) The first three competitors will perform before any scores are awarded. After the third competitor has finished, the first competitor will be called to come back for scoring, followed by the second and third competitors. All competitors in the division will be judged in comparison to these three competitors.
Black Belt Seeded Competitors (Forms, Weapons And Self-Defense)	All black belt divisions will run with out the top four seeded competitors. After all competitors have performed and have received their score the center judge only will find out from the scorekeeper who are the top four competitors. Those top four competitors will then perform again against the top four seeded competitors. The sequence will be luck of the draw. If there are eight or less competitors in a division, including seeds the sequence will be luck of the draw.
Time Limit (Forms, Weapons, Self-Defense)	Each routine must be three minutes or less. Any routine that goes over the allowed time limit will be automatic disqualification. The time starts once the competitor enters the competition ring. All team and demo routines must be five minutes or less.
Japanese/Okinawan, Chinese, Korean, Traditional, Etc.	Competitors in these divisions must exhibit a form or weapon routine that reflects the essence and traditional values of the division name in which they 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 styles classical form movements. Otherwise, the competitor risks disqualification or down grading.
Basic Forms Rules (Jap/Oki & Korean, including Hard Traditional Weapons)	Form comprised of traditional movements related to the division name. Weapon must be constructed with proper materials (i.e. Wood) and unadorned. None of the following: gymnastics (including display of extreme flexibility) or tricks, more than three kicks with the same leg, release of weapon (i.e. Keep both hands on the weapon).
Hard Creative Forms (Including Music)	Any traditional or contemporary movements from Jap/Oki or Korean influence (i.e. linear), including but not limited to multiple hand combinations, flying front and side kicks, split kicks, multiple kicks with the same leg etc. Not allowed: soft style techniques (incl. Butterfly kicks), any movement, which involve inversion or flipping or where the head is below the waist, any aerial movements with rotation greater than 360 degrees (i.e. 540, 720 and 1080 kicks).
Extreme Forms	Any movements allowed (including soft style)
Musical Divisions	All competitors are responsible for their own music and player. (No extension cords) All music players must stay outside the competition area. Restarts for technical difficulty with music players will be allowed within the first fifteen seconds after entering the ring. After the first fifteen seconds the competitor must continue his/her form without music or else risk disqualification.
Restarts	There will be no restart in black belt divisions, except for technical difficulties in musical forms (see Musical Divisions). Under belt competitors can restart one time with a .50 penalty from his/her total score. If a competitor does not finish on the second try he/she will be disqualified. If a competitor has to start over not do to his/her own negligence, the contestant may start over with no penalty.
Weapon Break	Where a weapon break is INTENTIONAL, the form will be scored as so. Where a weapons break is UNINTENTIONAL, the player will be given 2 minutes to replace the weapon and perform again with no penalty. In the case where the break is UNINTENTIONAL and where judges feel that the player broke the weapon through reckless/careless handling and/or defective manufacturing, the judges can decide to deduct or even give a “no score” for the competitor. (Judge note: weapons check BEFORE division)