Martial Arts Karate Competition

This pack provides the guidelines upon which S-Factor Officials shall base their marking for the S-Factor Competition. ALL officials must be fair and impartial at ALL times giving equal consideration to EVERY competitor.

‘Forms’ shall be used as common reference for the names given by each martial art to their formal exercise routines. These names include; katas, patterns, etc. ‘Forms’ shall be used as a common reference for the performances within the eight sections at the S-Factor Competition i.e; Chinese Forms, Japanese Katas, Korean Patterns, Creative Forms, Traditional Weapons, Creative Weapons, Team Displays and Team Weapons.

The role of the Head of Forms shall be to ensure the correct preparation for each competition by nominating the Head Judges and Judges for each event section. The Head of Forms shall check and confirm qualifications, nominate substitute officials and shall pass final judgement over any issues that may arise on the day.

The Head Judge shall oversee the running of an event section and be available for the Judges if required. The Head Judge must be the most highly qualified person on the section (proof required) and as such shall be the point of contact for disputes. The Head Judge shall decide if the Form to be performed is likely to be entered into the correct section. If a Form is deemed to be in the wrong section they may be changed but a fee may be applied.

The Judge shall be asked to provide the score for a Form. Scores shall be given without consultation. All Judges shall be closely monitored by the Head Judge to ensure uniformity of marking because all Judges should be seeing approx the same thing. For the first competitor only, Judges will be asked to write down their score before a brief meeting to discuss this matter. Once the standard has been discussed the written scores will noted and the final score announced. No further consultations shall take place for that event.

The Timekeeper shall time every form and pass the time to the Head Judge to determine if a deduction will be necessary. It would be fair to use between 30 sec and 60 sec as a reasonable guide for this ruling. No Form shall last more than 6 minutes (e.g. Tai Chi). Timing shall begin with the FIRST movement in the Form.

The Scorekeeper shall be responsible for correctly recording the scores from the Judges and inform the Head Judges of any ties in scores.

2) The competitor shall make their way to the competition area. If they do not appear they shall be summoned again. If they do not appear within one minute of the initial summons they will forfeit there turn without refund.

3) The competitor shall approach the table smartly and announce their name, the name of their club or association and the name of their Form. This must be done clearly and politely in conjunction with the rules of etiquette within the style they are learning. A deduction may be made by the Head Judges for infringements to the above.

4) The competitor must start and finish their form within the designated competition area. Weapons Forms must be closely monitored for safety.

5) When the competitor has completed their form they will be signalled by the Head Judges and must wait at a designated place for their score.

6) The Judges will note their score without collaboration. With the exception of the first competitors Form which will need a brief meeting (see the Term for Judge above), the Judges will announce the scores. The Head Judge will note the scores total and make any deductions necessary before announcing the final score. All deduction must be justifiable in case of appeal. All Judges scores must be justifiable in case of appeal.

7) Once the final score has been announced the competitor will salute (or bow) politely and leave the competition area.

8) In the event of any draws the Head Judge will announce to the competitors affected that they must perform again with a different choice of Form (or the same one if they wish).

9) Draws that affect 1^st place shall be settled first as this may affect other positions thus forcing a playoff for 2^nd place etc.

10) In the event of a dispute the complaint must be submitted in writing to the Head of Forms. If the complaint cannot be resolved there and then, a written resolution will be given in accordance with the S-Factor arbitration rules.

11) The Timekeeper will begin timing the moment the competitor begins the first movement of their form. The time taken shall be noted on the Scorekeepers Scorecard. The Head Judge must be informed of breaches in the time limits of approx 30 sec to 60 sec for a Form. Judges shall be notified if a competitor is going to perform a Tai Chi Form (or similar) whereupon a whistle will sound at 6 minutes.

12) Judges shall only score what they see. They shall not deduct marks for incorrect pattern. If the movements are performed technically correct, with power and focus (spirit) the marks should be high. This shall be called the ‘End Score’, and it shall be passed it the Head Judges table

14) Deductions made by the Head Judge shall be no higher than 0.5 and shall be justifiable. Tactical marking is unfair so in the case of an appeal the Judges notes will be considered.

15) Only Head Judges and Head of Forms shall be responsible for ascertaining the authenticity of a Form. They shall ensure that competitors Forms are entered into the correct sections. If a Form is deemed to be in the wrong section they may be changed but a fee may be applied.

16) All deductions made by the Head Judge shall be made to the End Score of each Judge. Once the deduction has been made to each Judges End Score they will be multiplied by THREE to make the Final Scores. This multiplication is only used in order to make full use of the electronic scoreboards. The Final Scores shall be displayed and the Average indicated.

17) There may be a difference in the criteria for deductions depending on which section of the Forms event taking place, e.g., The Japanese Forms Judges may deduct for incorrect patterns in relation to a ‘Standard Form’ requirements. This may not be possible in the Chinese Forms (Competition Wushu in particular) and Creative Forms events because they may not be derived from a Standard Form. However, technique, balance, posture, speed, power, etc must all be evident. In the Chinese Forms event there may be a competitor that performs one of the many styles of Tai Chi Forms so Harmony must be one of the criteria to be considered with Focus (Spirit) and Power.

18) IF IN DOUBT ASK! If any of the officials have any concerns about the Judging they shall have an opportunity for a brief discussion after each event, while it is fresh in their mind, to voice their thoughts. Equally, if there are concerns about a Judge by the Head Judge, this matter can be resolved in this meeting after the event. A Judge cannot be changed mid-event.

19) Complaints received about Judges must be resolved by the Head Judge and the Head of Forms.

General note: All Forms must display concentration, balance, and control of movement, accuracy and intent in accordance with the edicts of the style. There are a number of different styles to be marked at the S-Factor competition per the competitions events list. Competitors shall be required to demonstrate the above as well as grace, rhythm, and balance (again degrees of this will be style dependant). Competitors shall all start with a score of 10 prior to deductions being made by the Judges and the Head Judge. The deductions for incorrect technique, power and focus will reduce the score to the End Score for each Judge (for assistance please see Marking Table below). The Head Judge will make any further deductions before arriving at the Final Score (see section below; Multiplying End Scores).

Correct technical performance of the movements in a competitors Form shall have the most significant influence over their score. It is the Judges role to identify and grade the technical merit of each movement within the Form. Pay careful attention to the following…

Accuracy (i.e. punches, blocks, kicks and directions relative to stances and posture)

Consider the correct application of Power (aka Force where Force =Mass x Acceleration) of the competitors’ technique in relation to their movements. Judges must determine whether the competitors Form demonstrates Power through the use of stance, posture and correct (relaxed) application or if the competitor is relying on muscular strength to ‘look’ strong. Some Forms (sometimes the Chinese events) may exhibit what is known as ‘Soft’ technique (e.g. Tai Chi) to develop Power or for evasion purposes. Judges in these categories must clearly understand this principle in order to mark it. For a Tai Chi Form a Judge would be considering Harmony (Relaxed and controlled).

Once a competitor has been called to the event he or she must give clear indication of their degree of Focus (intent, spirit, concentration) by their manner, state of apparel and etiquette. Failure to do so may result in a deduction in the Focus mark of no more than 0.2 (a note of why must be added to the score sheet). Once the Form has started, pay careful attention to the following…

The Judge’s sole responsibility is to assess the performance they have just seen impartially and in accordance with the above. It is in the best interest of the competition that people who have the highest qualifications may be considered for the role of Head Judge. For certain events, questions of Form authenticity will be directed to and answered solely by Head Judge or the Head of Forms if no Head Judge is in that section.

A Form that is not completed due to forgetfulness, uniform damage (tear or coming undone) or a weapon being damaged may be allowed a second attempt but will forfeit ONE full point, to be deducted by the Head Judge. A Form that is not completed due to unavoidable circumstances to which the competitor cannot be held responsible (e.g. somebody interfering with the performance, possibly a stray bystander) may be allowed a second attempt but NO forfeit to their score. This decision with regard to this situation rests with the Head Judge.

The necessity to multiply the End Scores by THREE is solely due to the electronic scorecard machines that display score out of 30.

Each Judge having determined the End Score for the Form they have just seen, will pass their completed score cards to the Head Judge for any deductions. Once the deductions (if any) have been made the End Score shall be multiplied by THREE, the results entered onto the electronic scorecards and the average found. The average displayed will represent the Final Score for that Form.

Below are Marking Tables to ease the marking procedure for the Judges. As quick guides they will steer you towards a range that is suitable for the competitor you are viewing. As an example; a competitor that appears to be Good (range 7 to 8) can be further divided to Satisfactory (range 7.00 to 7.33). Therefore another competitor in the same event may be Good / Very Good (range 7.67 to 8.00) will beat the former competitor. This chart is a guide specific points and deductions will need to be applied to reach the End Score and the final Score.

Standard of Performance	Marking Range	Further Breakdown to Clarify and Sub- Divide Range
End Scores of 9 to 10 points = EXCELLENT	9.67 to 10.00	VERY GOOD
	9.34 to 9.66	GOOD
	9.00 to 9.33	SATISFACTORY
End Scores of 8 to 9 points = VERY GOOD	8.67 to 9.00	VERY GOOD
	8.34 to 8.66	GOOD
	8.00 to 8.33	SATISFACTORY
End Scores of 7 to 8 points = GOOD	7.67 to 8.00	VERY GOOD
	7.34 to 7.66	GOOD
	7.00 to 7.33	SATISFACTORY
End Scores of 6 to 7 points = SATISFACTORY	6.67 to 7.00	VERY GOOD
	6.34 to 6.66	GOOD
	6.00 to 6.33	SATISFACTORY
End Scores of 5 to 6 points = POOR	5.67 to 6.00	VERY GOOD
	5.34 to 5.66	GOOD
	5.00 to 5.33	MINIMUM SCORE !!!

TECHNIQUE (Total of 6 points)	3.05 to 4.00 points	VERY GOOD
	2.05 to 3.00 points	GOOD
	0 to 2.00 points	BELOW AVERAGE
POWER (Total of 2 points)	1.27 to 2.00 points	VERY GOOD
	0.67 to 1.26 points	GOOD
	0 to 0.66 points	BELOW AVERAGE
FOCUS (Total of 2 points) [0.2 points allocated to etiquette]	1.05 to 1.50 points	VERY GOOD
	0.55 to 1.00 points	GOOD
	0 to 0.50 points	BELOW AVERAGE

There will be space on the Judges Scorecard to enter the results for one competitor at a time. These shall be passed to the Scorekeeper and Timekeeper for processing with the Head Judge. The Scorekeepers Scorecard shall record the scores of all of the competitors’ scores for that section and identify the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place winners.

Forms Section:
Age Category:
Date:
Judges Name:
Competitors Name:

Technique

Power

Focus

TOTAL (do not multiply)