World Karate-Do Federation

KARATE KUMITE RULES

Table of Contents

ARTICLE 1: COMPETITION AREA

1. The competition area must be flat and devoid of hazard.
2. The competition area must be a matted square.
3. The area will be a square, with sides of 8 meters (measured from the outside). The area may be elevated to a height of up to 1 meter above floor level. The elevated platform should measure at least 10 meters a side, in order to include both the competition and the safety area.
4. Two parallel lines, each 1 meter long and at right angles to the Referee's line, must be drawn at a distance of 1.5 meters from the center of the competition area for positioning the competitors.
5. A line of 0.5 meters long must be drawn 2 meters from the center of the competition area for positioning the Referee.
6. The arbitrator shall be seated between the scorekeeper and timekeeper.
7. A line must be drawn one meter on the inside of the competition area. The area enclosed by this line may be in a different color, or the line itself may be broken.

Match area measurements and positioning of Referee, Judges, Arbitrator and Contestants.	Pre and post match line up positions for Arbitrator, Referee, Judges and Contestants.

l	KACHI	WINNER	JK	JOGAI KEIKOKU
l	IPPON	IPPON	K	KEIKOKU
m	WAZA ARI	WAZA ARI	HC	HANSOKU CHUI
s	HIKIWAKE	DRAW	MC	MUBOBI CHUI
X	MAKE	DEFEAT	H	HANSOKU
J	JOGAI	EXIT	S	SHIKKAKU

EXPLANATION:

There must be no advertisement hoardings, walls, pillars etc. within one metre of area's outer perimeter.

The mats used should be non-slip where they contact the floor proper but have a low coefficient of friction on the upper surface. They should not be as thick as judo mats, since these impede Karate movement. The Referee must ensure that mat modules do not move apart during the competition, since gaps cause injuries and constitute a hazard.