"Honor the Art, Respect the Journey and Fight with Integrity"
Rules for the EMAA Tournament Series & Pro League Series
Competitor Age and Gender Guidelines
All competitors must compete at their age as of the date of the competition/tournament.
(Youth, Teen, Open, Masters)
All competitors must compete in the gender category based upon assignment at birth.
Competitor Rank
All competitors must compete at their skill level of the current belt rank within their style. (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Black Belt)
Uniforms
All competitors must wear a traditional or sport martial arts uniform with no foul language on it, along with their appropriate belt or sash signifying their rank. The uniform must be the same uniform as used in the competitors martial arts school. Jewelry of any kind may NOT be worn during the competition. Competitors may wear a solid color t-shirt or sports bra underneath their uniform. Any uniform displaying foul language will be automatically disqualified. Any uniform not meeting EMAA rules must be corrected before the competitors division begins.
If your martial arts school does not have an official uniform or Gi, you may compete in loose fitting pants such as jogging pants along with a solid color t-shirt. Graphics on the shirt are not permitted except for a basic school name and/or logo. Shorts and blue jeans are not allowed.
Traditional Weapons
The weapon used must be authentic to martial arts and approved by the head judge before competition begins. No sharpened blades will be allowed due to safety reasons. Bo and Nanchaku must be constructed of natural wood without flashy colors or graphics. Weapons should be as traditional as possible.
Kiai
A Kiai is defined as a short, loud yell coming from the diaphragm and is distinguishable from loud breathing techniques. A maximum of five (5) Kiai are permitted in Open and Masters divisions and unlimited in Youth and Teen divisions.
Forms & Weapons Guidelines
All forms must be between 30 and 90 seconds in duration. Points will be deducted if the form is outside of this time limit.
Dropped weapons will result in points being deducted. Second drop will result in disqualification.
Any competitor who forgets their form may start over one (1) time with a penalty. Second time will result in a disqualification.
Forms must be traditional in nature. No spin moves in excess of 360 degrees, body being inverted more than parallel to the floor or gymnastics and/or non martial arts moves (540's, Aerial's, etc.) are prohibited and will result in disqualification.
Scoring Form Rules
- A form judging board will consist of five (5) qualified Black Belt officials. Once a panel of judges begin judging a division no changes in the judges may be made until that division is completed.
- Judges will be positioned at the front of the stage. The head judge will sit at the center.
- In case of a tie between two competitors, the tie breaking procedure will be as follows. Novice may perform the same form, intermediate and above must perform a different form. To determine the winner, the officials will stand and (on command) point to the competitor of their choice as the winner. This is referred to as a “point off”. In case of a tie with three or more competitors, officials will re-score the competitors to determine the winners.
- Competitors will be divided into divisions according to belt rank, age and sex.
- Each competitor will address the head judge by stating only their name, the name of the form they will perform and the style of martial art they represent.
- All competitors must execute true, traditional forms from traditional martial arts systems. Competitors must execute forms instructed at their own rank level. For example, a novice should not do intermediate forms and an intermediate should not do advanced forms.
- Advanced competitors may do any traditional form they know.
- All judges will score each form simultaneously.
- The officials will make score cards visible to competitors and spectators and the scores will be announced in a loud clear voice.
- The scorekeeper will omit the high and low score and add the remaining scores. If there is a tie the tied contestants will perform another form and a “point off” will be executed.
- SCORING THE FORM
8.0 Forgets the form and completes the form on second attempt. Disqualification if form cannot be completed correctly.
8.1 – 8.4 (poor form) Hesitation, disorientation loss of balance, weak movements and flaws in the form of movements.
8.5 – 8.7 (average form) Weakness in some moves, breaks in concentration, slight loss of balance.
8.8 – 8.9 (above average form) Strong form but lacking in smoothness and/or continuity.
9.0 – 9.4 (good form) Overall good performance with slight flaws in balance, kicking, punching, blocking, speed, power and timing.
9.5 – 9.9 (excellent form) Demonstration of superior movement and balance. Extreme level of difficulty taken into consideration. Exceptional power, speed, focus, balance, smoothness and continuity demonstrated.
12. The scorekeeper will double check all scores. The head judge will verify the correct scores.
13. Forms should be judged without regard to style or organization. The proper execution of traditional martial arts techniques in a dynamic and effective manner should be the end goal of each contestant. Judges should not let individual stylistic knowledge affect or impair judgment. Each contestant should be judged on how they perform their form regarding power, speed, focus, balance, timing and overall effect using the above criteria and point scale only.
Unforeseen Circumstances
Although great care and time were utilized in creating a set of rules and guidelines designed to be fair, honest and respectful of all styles of traditional martial arts, there is always the possibility of an issue that may arise during a competition that wasn't addressed previously. If such an issue should arise, a consensus of the judges and promoter will go into making a decision at that time that seems to be fair to the competitors in the tournament. Later, a specific rule will be added to address such a situation in the future. Your registration as a competitor in our EMAA tournaments signifies your acceptance and understanding of our rules, guidelines and policies.
Pro League Series
To qualify for the EMAA Pro League Series, a competitor (age 15 and up) must win their division with at least five (5) competitors in the same division (three (3) competitors in Masters division). If there are less than five (5) competitors or three (3) in Masters, then the division cannot be a pro qualifying event. If a pro card is awarded to the 1st place finisher, that competitor must apply for membership into the EMMA Pro League Series. EMAA Pro League Series competitors then compete against other Pro League competitors for cash prizes. Pro League Series competitors must maintain a yearly membership and compete in a minimum of one (1) tournament per calendar year.