| Policies Connecticut Kempo Invitational (CKI) is dedicated to having a tournament that embodies the association’s values and priorities. These include a commitment to excellence, the martial arts, and respect. We therefore reserve the right to dismiss any attendant at the tournament, their guests, or families for improper conduct. This event is designed in part, as an educational experience for children to see hundreds of other children upholding the way of karate. Therefore name-calling, booing, arguing, swearing, or rude or obnoxious behavior may be used as a ground for dismissal.
Under-registered divisions: CKI will make every effort to arrange fair and equitable competition for each division. In the case that an event is under-registered, however, CKI may re-arrange a division to provide workable numbers.
Etiquette Please clap only at the end of a forms or combinations performance after a student has bowed to the judges and is going to sit down. Clapping during a performance can be distracting or time-consuming. Feel free to cheer during sparring matches
Dress Code: All participants must wear appropriate martial arts attire and their belt. At the judges’ discretion, a student who is improperly dressed may not be allowed to compete.
How To Spar Equipment Students are required to wear helmet and gloves while sparring. An athletic cup is highly recommended as are other kinds of protective gear. A judge has the right to reject gear that he feels is unsafe or unfit for this kind of sparring. The tournament is not responsible for providing equipment. Purchase equipment from your martial arts school or arrange to share with fellow practitioners.
Scoring Points Points are scored by moving a hand or foot into the proximity of a legal target area. If the judges deem that by fully executing a technique the competitor would be able to make contact a point is awarded. It must be clear that the path between the hand or foot to a legal target is unobstructed. No point is awarded if there is any contact at all. Proximity & Opposition: Proximity required to score is determined by two factors: opposition and the ranks of the participants. A hand or foot is considered close enough to score if it is a forearms distance or less from a legal target area, heading towards that target area at the time it is scored and is unopposed (see below). For Intermediate & Advanced Level competitors, the distance is the length of an open hand. Opposition means that something is in the way of a hand or foot scoring. This could be a block or a guard. Opposed punches or kicks do not score unless they demonstrate that they clearly will pass the opposition. In most cases this means a punch or kick must pass the guard in order to score. Totally unopposed shots, e.g. the guard is down and the strike is to the head, may score at the judges’ discretion at any distance if it is clear that the competitor pulled their strike for reasons of safety or courtesy. Legal Target Areas: Points are only scored when a hand or foot is in the proximity of the following areas: -The front of the torso -The Head (the face and the area covered by the helmet) These areas are illegal targets and may result in a warning: The back (determined as starting at the base of the skull at the top of the neck proceeding down across the top of the shoulders and dropping straight down the sides of the competitor. These lines follow the side seams of most gi’s.) Below the belt The Arms
Contact Warnings Deliberately pushing, biting, grabbing, gouging or striking an opponent are all illegal. These actions may result in disqualification at the judges’ discretion. Furthermore, even accidental contact of a punch or kick may result in a warning. Two warnings will result in the loss of a point. If a competitor has no points to lose, his opponent is awarded a point. A third warning results in automatic disqualification.
Excessive Contact Judges may decide, at their discretion, that a blow was dealt with excessive contact and disqualify a competitor. Disqualified competitors are eliminated from the event.
Allowable Contact All contact derived from blocking or opposing strikes is allowed. Pushing an arm or leg out of the way in order to create an opportunity to score is also allowed. Striking to the arms or legs is not allowed. Hitting clothing or long hair is not considered contact. Sparring etiquette: Competitors are expected to bow when meeting their opponent and to the judges at the beginning and end of each match. Competitors are not to trash talk or verbally harass their opponent. If one competitor hurts another, apologize and then kneel down facing away from the injured competitor until the match is resumed.
Winning: The First Person to score 3 points in a match is the winner. It is also possible to win by forfeit or disqualification. Knock Out Events and procedures. Matches are determined first by school and then by size. We prefer that students of the same school not spar each other when it can be avoided. Generally if a competitor loses a match, he will not spar again but will be "knocked out" of the competition. In rare cases, competitors will be asked to spar again in order to work out difficult numbers of competitors. Judges’ Discretion: Judging sparring is extremely difficult. To judge perfectly is beyond human physical limits. First off, judges can’t see through people and therefore there might be strikes hidden from one or even both judges. Secondly, sparring happens at a rate that is faster than the human eye. A typical competitor has the ability to throw 6 strikes in a second. That means with two competitors in the ring, it is likely that a single second will contain many strikes beyond what the brain is capable of recording. It is therefore the object of the game to score the points that the judges see, not just score points. Judging is not guaranteed to be perfectly fair, only impartial. Since it is impossible to have perfect scoring in sparring, a judge scores based purely on what he sees. They have the ultimate and absolute authority and are not to be challenged. What changes at Shodan: Shodan level competitors have the highest level of control and thus are allowed to deliver light contact and score. Hits that impact with a momentum transfer and are thus not light contact, may still be given warnings. Excessive contact is still not permissible.
Competitor Rules for: Maneuvers Event: What is the maneuvers event? The maneuvers event is a competition based on three kempo combinations. Which maneuvers are allowed? Any of the numbered combinations numbered between are allowed. Also allowed are Extra Kempos, animal kempos, kempo jujutsu, and other kempo-based maneuvers. Eight Point blocks will also be allowed although Ten Point will not. Competitors may perform any three of the allowable maneuvers. Maneuvers will be scored on a technical basis, however, and picking a combination that is too difficult will decrease their score. Scoring: Scoring will be done on a technical bases with a maximum score of ten. Deductions will be made in tenth and half point deductions. Scoring is based on four categories:
Power – Scores the power and level of effort a competitor is demonstrating. Also rates technical power such as power generated by proper weight drop, snap, and hip movement.
Presentation – Scores the crispness of movement, mental focus, confidence, and the gut feeling impact of the performance. The presentation score can be affected by the spoken presentation preceding a performance.
Technical Precision – This category scores the competitor’s ability to do proper kempo movement in a precise, skillful way. One part of this score is maintaining hand control in terms of keeping their hands in the proper position. The hands should either be performing movements, be on guard, or on the ribs. When performing movements the hands and feet should be in the proper shape and posture. For example, fists should be tight, straight at the wrist, and have the thumb tucked out of the way, and outside the fingers. Also included in this category would be proper timing of strikes (when the foot lands and when the hip snaps) and targeting.
Stances - Each stance should have the proper shape, beyond just having the knees bent. For example in a horse stance, the knees should be pushed out, the back should be straight, the feet should be symmetrically turned out. This category scores the competitors ability to create powerful and consistent stances in all movements. Proper crane stances are now included in this category. Each competitor will be given a single score for all three maneuvers. The performance will be judged as a whole, not as three separate mini-performances. Performances which move quickly and crisply from one combination to another may affect the presentation score but excess movement or acrobatics between movements is not allowed and will not positively affect the score.
Restarts - If a competitor makes an error which they feel should stop their performance or simply loses their place, they may restart no more than two times. Restarts are scored as a new performance and deductions from the previous performance are cleared. If a competitor asks for a third restart, the judge must deny them permission and ask them to finish their performance the best they can.
Etiquette When entering the ring for the first time, each competitor has the option to introduce himself. It is customary to bow to the judges before and after the entire performance. Most introductions state the competitor’s name, their dojo, and the material to be performed.
Second Presentations: In rings that have ten or more competitors, the first competitor to perform will be asked to perform again after each competitor has performed once. This is so that each competitor can be judged fairly within the context of their peers. If there are twenty or more competitors, the second competitor will also be asked to perform a second time and rings with more than thirty, the first three competitors will be asked to perform a second time. In any case, the higher score will prevail.
The Finals Round - In rings that have eight or more competitors, a finals round will occur. The six top-scoring competitors will give a second performance and be scored again. Rings with eight or nine competitors will have a finals round with only the top four competitors. For the finals, a competitor may repeat their performance exactly as it was performed the first time or use alternate material. Either way, only the second set of scores will count. The finals round will be scored technically just like previous rounds, but places will be determined by the competitors’ Ordinal Scores (see below).
Ordinal Scores – In the finals round, judges will first score competitors based on the technical categories just like in the preliminary rounds to get a Raw Technical Score. After judges get a Raw Technical Score, they will determine final competitors’ Ordinal Scores. To do this, judges label competitors with a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The number one will be assigned to their highest scoring competitor, the number two to their second highest competitor, the number three to their third highest competitor …etc. These numbers are the competitors Ordinal Scores. The center and corner judge then average their Ordinal Scores to determine place. The LOWEST ordinal score average wins FIRST Place. The second LOWEST ordinal score wins SECOND place, …etc. If there is a tie, the center judge will refer back to his Raw Technical Scores from this round, and a tie-break will be determined by who scored higher in the CENTER judge’s Raw Technical Score. In the unlikely event that 2 or more competitors have a tie in their Ordinal Scores AND in the center judge’s Raw Technical Score, they will compete again to break the tie.
Competitor Rules for: Kata What is the Kata event? The kata event is a competition based on the performance of a single Kempo form.
Which forms are allowed? Only eleven empty-hand kempo forms will be allowed in this division. These forms are 1 – 5 kata, 1 - 5 Pinan and Stature of the Crane. These forms are to be presented as they are generally practiced without acrobatic or extraneous embellishment.
Scoring: Scoring will be done on a technical bases with a maximum score of ten. Deductions will be made in tenth and half point deductions. Scoring is based on four categories:
Power – Scores the power and level of effort a competitor is demonstrating. Also rates technical power such as power generated by proper weight drop, snap, and hip movement.
Presentation – Scores the crispness of movement, mental focus, confidence, and the gut feeling impact of the performance. The presentation score can be affected by the spoken presentation preceding a performance.
Technical Precision – This category scores the competitor’s ability to do proper kempo movement in a precise, skillful way. One part of this score is maintaining hand control in terms of keeping their hands on the proper position. The hands should either be performing movements, be on guard, or on the ribs. When performing movements the hands and feet should be in the proper shape and posture. For example, fists should be tight, straight at the wrist, and have the thumb tucked out of the way, and outside the fingers. Also included in this category would be proper timing of strikes (when the foot lands and when the hip snaps) and targeting.
Stances - Each stance should have the proper shape, beyond just having the knees bent. For example in a horse stance, the knees should be pushed out, the back should be straight, the feet should be equally weighted and angled. This category scores the competitors ability to create powerful and consistent stances in all movements. Proper crane stances are now included in this category. .
The Finals Round - In rings that have eight or more competitors, a finals round will occur. The six top-scoring competitors will give a second performance and be scored again. Rings with eight or nine competitors will have a finals round with only the top four competitors. For the finals, a competitor may repeat their performance exactly as it was performed the first time or use alternate material. Either way, only the second set of scores will count. The finals round will be scored technically just like previous rounds, but places will be determined by the competitors’ Ordinal Scores (see below).
Ordinal Scores – In the finals round, judges will first score competitors based on the technical categories just like in the preliminary rounds to get a Raw Technical Score. After judges get a Raw Technical Score, they will determine final competitors’ Ordinal Scores. To do this, judges label competitors with a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The number one will be assigned to their highest scoring competitor, the number two to their second highest competitor, the number three to their third highest competitor …etc. These numbers are the competitors Ordinal Scores. The center and corner judge then average their Ordinal Scores to determine place. The LOWEST ordinal score average wins FIRST Place. The second LOWEST ordinal score wins SECOND place, …etc. If there is a tie, the center judge will refer back to his Raw Technical Scores from this round, and a tie-break will be determined by who scored higher in the CENTER judge’s Raw Technical Score. In the unlikely event that 2 or more competitors have a tie in their Ordinal Scores AND in the center judge’s Raw Technical Score, they will compete again to break the tie.
Changes at Shodan and Above: Competitors may also perform any form that demonstrates proper kempo movement. The form need not be a traditional kempo form but it will still be scored based on its adherence and demonstration of the skills of kempo such as weight drop, hip snap, short hitting, and whip-like motion.
Restarts - If a competitor makes an error which they feel should stop their performance or simply loses their place, they may restart no more than two times. Restarts are scored as a new performance and deductions from the previous performance are cleared. If a competitor asks for a third restart, the judge must deny them permission and ask them to finish their performance the best they can.
Etiquette When entering the ring for the first time, each competitor has the option to introduce himself. It is customary to bow to the judges before and after the entire performance. Most introductions state the competitor’s name, their dojo, and the material to be performed.
Second Presentations: In rings that have ten or more competitors, the first competitor to perform will be asked to perform again after each competitor has performed once. This is so that each competitor can be judged fairly within the context of their peers. If there are twenty or more competitors, the second competitor will also be asked to perform a second time and rings with more than thirty, the first three competitors will be asked to perform a second time. In any case, the higher score will prevail.
Competitor Rules for: Weapons What is the weapons event? The weapons event is a competition based on a single weapons form. Weapons forms are not necessarily kempo forms; acrobatic movements are allowed and traditional kempo uniform (the gi) is not required. Which weapons forms are allowed? Any weapons form will be allowed. Forms that appear to be damaging to the floor or facility (e.g. heavy hitting of the floor) will be immediately stopped and disqualified. Weapons forms will be scored on a technical and presentation basis
Scoring: Scoring will be done on a technical bases with a maximum score of ten. Scoring is based on five categories:
Power – Scores the raw power and level of effort a competitor is demonstrating.
Presentation – Scores the crispness, intensity, the precision, confidence, and the gut feeling impact of the performance. The presentation score can be affected by the spoken presentation preceding a performance.
Weapon Control – Scores the competitor’s ability to move the weapon effectively and accurately..
Stances - Each stance should have the proper shape, beyond just having the knees bent. For example in a horse stance, the knees should be pushed out, the back should be straight, the feet should be parallel and straight ahead.
Difficulty – Forms will be scored based on their difficulty. Therefore if two competitors have the same technical errors, but one is performing a more difficult form, the more difficult form will score higher.
Restarts - If a competitor makes an error which they feel should stop their performance or simply loses their place, they may restart no more than two times. Restarts are scored as a new performance and deductions from the previous performance are cleared. If a competitor asks for a third restart, the judge must deny them permission and ask them to finish their performance the best they can.
Etiquette When entering the ring for the first time, each competitor has the option to introduce himself. It is customary to bow to the judges before and after the entire performance. Most introductions state the competitor’s name, their dojo, and the material to be performed.
Second Presentations: In rings that have ten or more competitors, the first competitor to perform will be asked to perform again after each competitor has performed once. This is so that each competitor can be judged fairly within the context of their peers. If there are twenty or more competitors, the second competitor will also be asked to perform a second time and rings with more than thirty, the first three competitors will be asked to perform a second time. In any case, the higher score will prevail.
The Finals Round - In rings that have eight or more competitors, a finals round will occur. The six top-scoring competitors will give a second performance and be scored again. Rings with eight or nine competitors will have a finals round with only the top four competitors. For the finals, a competitor may repeat their performance exactly as it was performed the first time or use alternate material. Either way, only the second set of scores will count. The finals round will be scored technically just like previous rounds, but places will be determined by the competitors’ Ordinal Scores (see below).
Ordinal Scores – In the finals round, judges will first score competitors based on the technical categories just like in the preliminary rounds to get a Raw Technical Score. After judges get a Raw Technical Score, they will determine final competitors’ Ordinal Scores. To do this, judges label competitors with a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The number one will be assigned to their highest scoring competitor, the number two to their second highest competitor, the number three to their third highest competitor …etc. These numbers are the competitors Ordinal Scores. The center and corner judge then average their Ordinal Scores to determine place. The LOWEST ordinal score average wins FIRST Place. The second LOWEST ordinal score wins SECOND place, …etc. If there is a tie, the center judge will refer back to his Raw Technical Scores from this round, and a tie-break will be determined by who scored higher in the CENTER judge’s Raw Technical Score. In the unlikely event that 2 or more competitors have a tie in their Ordinal Scores AND in the center judge’s Raw Technical Score, they will compete again to break the tie.
Competitor Rules for: Open Forms What is the Open Forms event? Open Forms is a competition based on a single martial arts form. Open forms are not necessarily kempo forms; acrobatic movements are allowed and traditional kempo uniform (the gi) is not required. Which forms are allowed? Any open hand form will be allowed. If the form runs more than two minutes a judge has the right to stop a performance and score based on what was already presented.
Scoring: Scoring will be done on a technical bases with a maximum score of ten. Deductions will be made in tenth and half point deductions. Scoring is based on five categories:
Power – Scores the raw power and level of effort a competitor is demonstrating.
Presentation – Scores the crispness, intensity, the precision, confidence, and the gut feeling impact of the performance. The presentation score can be affected by the spoken presentation preceding a performance.
Body Control – All martial arts emphasize precise control of the body. This category scores a competitors quality of movement.
Stances - Each stance should have the proper shape, beyond just having the knees bent. For example in a horse stance, the knees should be pushed out, the back should be straight, the feet should be parallel and straight ahead.
Difficulty – Forms will be scored based on their difficulty. Therefore if two competitors have the same technical errors, but one is performing a more difficult form, the more difficult form will score higher.
Restarts - If a competitor makes an error which they feel should stop their performance or simply loses their place, they may restart no more than two times. Restarts are scored as a new performance and deductions from the previous performance are cleared. If a competitor asks for a restart, they may do so but inform them that they can only do so one more time. If a competitor asks for a third restart, the judge must deny them permission and ask them to finish their performance the best they can.
Etiquette When entering the ring for the first time, each competitor has the option to introduce himself. It is customary to bow to the judges before and after the entire performance. Most introductions state the competitor’s name, their dojo, and the material to be performed.
Second Presentations: In rings that have ten or more competitors, the first competitor to perform will be asked to perform again after each competitor has performed once. This is so that each competitor can be judged fairly within the context of their peers. If there are twenty or more competitors, the second competitor will also be asked to perform a second time and rings with more than thirty, the first three competitors will be asked to perform a second time. In any case, the higher score will prevail.
The Finals Round - In rings that have ten or more competitors, a finals round will occur. The six top-scoring competitors will give a second performance and be scored again. Rings with eight or nine competitors will have a finals round with only the top four competitors. For the finals, a competitor may repeat their performance exactly as it was performed the first time or use alternate material. Either way, only the second set of scores will count. The second set of scores will determine first through fourth place. The finals round will be scored technically just like previous rounds, but places will be determined by the competitors’ Ordinal Scores (see below).
Ordinal Scores – In the finals round, judges will first score competitors based on the technical categories just like in the preliminary rounds to get a Raw Technical Score. After judges get a Raw Technical Score, they will determine final competitors’ Ordinal Scores. To do this, judges label competitors with a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The number one will be assigned to their highest scoring competitor, the number two to their second highest competitor, the number three to their third highest competitor …etc. These numbers are the competitors Ordinal Scores. The center and corner judge then average their Ordinal Scores to determine place. The LOWEST ordinal score average wins FIRST Place. The second LOWEST ordinal score wins SECOND place, …etc. If there is a tie, the center judge will refer back to his Raw Technical Scores from this round, and a tie-break will be determined by who scored higher in the CENTER judge’s Raw Technical Score. In the unlikely event that 2 or more competitors have a tie in their Ordinal Scores AND in the center judge’s Raw Technical Score, they will compete again to break the tie.
Competitor Rules for: Open Synchronized Forms What is the Synchronized Forms event? Synchronized Forms is a competition based on a pair of competitors performing together generally to music. At least three quarters of the form needs to be "synchronized". Synchronized means that the competitors are performing:
Equipment CKI provides no equipment for this event. Competitors will provide their own music, musical equipment and weapons. Music with obscene language or inappropriate content will result in immediate disqualification at the judges’ sole discretion. CKI will provide an electrical outlet where available. Which forms are allowed? Any open hand or weapon form will be allowed. Synchronized forms are not necessarily kempo forms; acrobatic movements are allowed and no uniform is required. While occasional contact is allowed between the two participants, the presentation should not include techniques done on each other or be constructed like a 2 man set. If the form runs more than three minutes a judge has the right to stop a performance and score based on what was already presented.
Scoring: Scoring will be done on a technical bases with a maximum score of ten. Deductions will be made in tenth and half point deductions. Scoring is based on five categories:
Power – Scores the raw power and level of effort a competitor is demonstrating.
Presentation – Scores the crispness, intensity, the precision, confidence, and the gut feeling impact of the performance. The presentation score can be affected by the spoken presentation preceding a performance. This category will also be used to Judge the two competitors ability to perform "in Synch" as defined above.
Body Control – All martial arts emphasize precise control of the body. This category scores a competitors quality of movement.
Stances - Each stance should have the proper shape, beyond just having the knees bent. For example in a horse stance, the knees should be pushed out, the back should be straight, the feet should be parallel and straight ahead.
Difficulty – Forms will be scored based on their difficulty. Therefore if two competitors have the same technical errors, but one is performing a more difficult form, the more difficult form will score higher.
Restarts - If a competitor makes an error which they feel should stop their performance or simply loses their place, they may restart no more than two times. Restarts are scored as a new performance and deductions from the previous performance are cleared. If a competitor asks for a restart, they may do so but inform them that they can only do so one more time. If a competitor asks for a third restart, the judge must deny them permission and ask them to finish their performance the best they can.
Etiquette When entering the ring for the first time, each competitor has the option to introduce himself. It is customary to bow to the judges before and after the entire performance. Most introductions state the competitor’s name, their dojo, and the material to be performed.
Second Presentations: In rings that have ten or more competitors, the first competitor to perform will be asked to perform again after each competitor has performed once. This is so that each competitor can be judged fairly within the context of their peers. If there are twenty or more competitors, the second competitor will also be asked to perform a second time and rings with more than thirty, the first three competitors will be asked to perform a second time. In any case, the higher score will prevail.
The Finals Round - In rings that have ten or more competitors, a finals round will occur. The six top-scoring competitors will give a second performance and be scored again. Rings with eight or nine competitors will have a finals round with only the top four competitors. For the finals, a competitor may repeat their performance exactly as it was performed the first time or use alternate material. Either way, only the second set of scores will count. The second set of scores will determine first through fourth place. The finals round will be scored technically just like previous rounds, but places will be determined by the competitors’ Ordinal Scores (see below).
Ordinal Scores – In the finals round, judges will first score competitors based on the technical categories just like in the preliminary rounds to get a Raw Technical Score. After judges get a Raw Technical Score, they will determine final competitors’ Ordinal Scores. To do this, judges label competitors with a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The number one will be assigned to their highest scoring competitor, the number two to their second highest competitor, the number three to their third highest competitor …etc. These numbers are the competitors Ordinal Scores. The center and corner judge then average their Ordinal Scores to determine place. The LOWEST ordinal score average wins FIRST Place. The second LOWEST ordinal score wins SECOND place, …etc. If there is a tie, the center judge will refer back to his Raw Technical Scores from this round, and a tie-break will be determined by who scored higher in the CENTER judge’s Raw Technical Score. In the unlikely event that 2 or more competitors have a tie in their Ordinal Scores AND in the center judge’s Raw Technical Score, they will compete again to break the tie.
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