World Karate-Do Federation

KARATE KUMITE RULES

Table of Contents

ARTICLE 10: INJURIES AND ACCIDENTS IN COMPETITION

1. KIKEN or forfeiture is the decision given when a contestant or contestants are unable to continue, abandon the bout, or are withdrawn on the order of the Referee. The grounds for abandonment may include injury not ascribable to the opponent's actions.
2. If two contestants injure each other at the same time or are suffering from the effects of previously incurred injury and are declared by the tournament doctor to be unable to continue, the bout is awarded to the contestant who has amassed the most points at that time. If the points score is equal, then a decision (HANTEI will decide the outcome of the bout.
3. An injured contestant who has been declared unfit to fight by the tournament doctor cannot fight again in that competition.
4. An injured contestant who wins a bout through disqualification due to injury is not allowed to fight again in the competition without permission from the doctor. If he is injured, he may win a second bout by disqualification but is immediately withdrawn from further Kumite competition in that tournament.
5. When a contestant is injured, the Referee shall at once halt the bout and call the doctor. The doctor is authorized to diagnose and treat injury only.
6. Any competitor who falls, is thrown, or knocked down, and does not fully regain his or her feet within ten seconds, is considered unfit to continue fighting and will be automatically withdrawn from the tournament.

Self inflicted injury and those injuries caused by the athlete are easy to deal hith but when assessing an injury caused by the opponent's technique, the Panel must consider whether the technique was valid. Was it properly, applied to the proper area ar the correct time and with the correct degree of control? Consideration of this wil1 assist the Referee Panel in deciding whether the injured contestant should be declared the loser by Kiken, or whether the opponent should be penalized for a foul.

When the doctor declares the contestant unfit, the appropriate entry must be made on the contestant's monitoring card. The extent of unfitness must be made clear to other Refereeing Panels. A contestant may win through disqualification of the opponent for accumulared minor infractions. Perhaps the wvinner has sustained no significant injury. A second win on the same grounds must lead to the winner's withdrawal, though he may be phisically able to continue.

The dortor is obliged to make safety recommendations only as they relate ro the proper medical management of that particular injured contestant.

When applying the "Ten Second Rule " the time will be kept by a timekeeper appointed for this specific purpose. A warning bell will be sounded at seven seconds followed by the final bell at ten seconds.

The Referee Panel wil1 decide on KIKEN, HANSOKU or SHIKKAKU, as the case may be.

In order that the credibiliry of the sport be maintained, competitors who feign injury will be subject to the strongest penalties, up to, and including, suspension for life for repeated offenses.

Competitors who receive SHIKKAKU for feigning injury, will be taken from the competition area and put directly into the hands of the W.KF. Medical Commission, who will carry out an immediale examination of the competitor. The Medical Commission will submit its report before the end of the Championship, for the consideration of the Referee Council.

ARTICLE 11: PROTEST

1. No-one may protest about a judgment to the members of the Refereeing Panel.
2. If a refereeing procedure appears to contravene these rules, the off cial representative is the only one allowed to make a protest.
3. The protest will take the form of a written report submitted mmediately after the bout in which the protest was generated. The sole exception to this is when the protest concerns an administrative malfunction. The Area Controller should be notified immediately the admin;strative malfunction is detectcd.
4. The protest must be submitted to a representative of the Referee Council. In due course the Council will review the circumstances leading to the protested decision. Having considered all the facts available, it will produce a report and shall be empowered to take such action as may be called for.
5. Any proteste concerning application of the rules must be made in accordance with the complaints procedure defined by the WKF-DC and submitted in writing on an approved form and signed by the official representative of the team or contestant(s).
6. The complainant must deposit a sum of money as may be agreed by the WKF-DC, with the Treasuiy and a duplicate receipt will be issued. The protest, plus a copy of the receipt, must be lodged with the Chairman of the Referee Council.

The protest must give the names of the contestants, the Referee Panel officiating and the precise details of what is being protested. No general claims about overall standards will be accepted as a legitimate protest. The burden of proving the validity of the protest lies with the complainant.

In case of an administrative malfunction during a match in progress, the Coach can notify the Match Area Controller directly. In turn the Area Controller will notify the Referee.

The protest will be reviewed by the Referee Council and as part of this review, the Council will study the evidence submitted in support of the protest. The Council will also study official videos and question Match Area Controllers in an effort to objectively examine the protest's validity.

If the protest is held by the Referee Council to be valid, the appropriate action will be taken. In addition, al! such measures will be taken to avoid a recurrence in future competitions. The deposit paid will be refunded by the Treasury.

If the protest is held by the Referee Council to be invalid, it will be rejected and the deposit forfeited to WKF.