Free Sparring (ONE AND TWO SWORDS)
Preparation: A player participating in sparring must be familiar with all the rules stated here for safety. The player must wear a helmet provided by the organizers during sparring. Only padded swords provided by the organizers may be used during sparring. Players will be allocated either red or blue colors.
Points and winning: The entire body is considered proper target area, except hands from fingers to wrists and feet from ankles to toes. Also the groin area and eyes are forbidden to hit. A player may only touch the other competitor with the padded part of the sword. To score a point, the hit must be clear and made with the upper half of the sword. Light hits are considered “just a flesh wound” and give no points. Every accepted hit is worth 1 point. Hit to the helmet gives one extra point, totaling 2 points. Simultaneous or nearly simultaneous hits (retaliation within half a second) provide no points for either player. After any hit occurs, the referee will separate the players after allowing for “advantage” in combination. Combination strikes can result in a maximum of 4 points if the strikes are delivered without a scoring retaliating strike. Eg. 4 body shots or two body shots and one to the helmet.
One center Judge and 3 “corner” judges will preside over the match. The lay out of the judges is one on each edge of the ring with red and blue flags to indicate a point scored. Two out of three corner judges must agree to score the point. The center referee will consult with the corner judges in regards to combination points and report to the official table and will likewise advise the official table of the points allocated for each strike given by corner judges I.e. Body or head shot, one or two points. The fourth edge of the ring will hold the officials to record points and time.
Time will be paused at each confirmed strike until the score is recorded by the officials. The round lasts for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes the referee ends the match by saying “Ku Man” and the players must stop and return behind their starting lines. The player with the most points is the winner. If after the two minutes both players have the same amount of points, the match will resume until the other player gains the winning point (i.e. “sudden death”).
Warnings and point reductions: All warnings are given by the field referee and recorded by the scoring officials. Stepping outside the competition area results in a warning. A competitor can get a warning from using a forbidden technique, swearing or other kinds of misbehavior. Every warning counts as half a minus point. Only full points are reduced from the final score. Three full minus points result in disqualification, i.e. instant loss. A serious offense results in a full point being reduced from the score or instant disqualification. The field referee handles all point reductions individually, but possible disqualifications are suggested by the field referee and confirmed or overruled by the whole referee panel after brief conference. A competitor may also be disqualified for being late from the start of the match for more than two (2) minutes.
Competition area: The competition area is 8 m * 8 m wide and its borders are marked by tape. The starting lines for the competitors are located in the middle of the area, 3 meters apart. The competitor must face the opponent and start from behind his starting line after the referee announces the competition as begun by saying ‘Si Jak’.
Referee panel: There are four referees for every competition: one field referee and three “corner” referees. The referees are the highest authority on scoring the match and their judgments are final and shall not be questioned on the spot. If a competitor or his team feel that a referee erred monumentally in his judgment of the match, they can lodge a complaint with the main referee of the tournament after the match but no later than 15 minutes after the misjudged competition. The complaint must be delivered in written form and signed by the competitor and one other team member, if present. A complaint fee of 10 EUR shall be paid immediately and will be returned, if the judges find in your favor.