General Rules

Dress Code:
The U.S. National Martial Arts Tournament is a formal event. All competitors are required to dress
appropriately. Competitors may wear traditional Chinese martial arts uniforms (preferred), or pants
appropriate for the Chinese martial arts plus a school T-shirt or an event T-shirt. The competition committee
reserves the right to make the final judgements on appropriate attire. Karate-type Gi¡¯s are NOT considered
appropriate, and are not permitted. Shoes are mandatory for all events, except for light contact sparring and
Shuai Chiao. All shoes should be regular athletic type shoes. No regular street-type shoes are permitted.
Procedures:
All competitors will be called to the ring at least 10 minutes before the beginning of the event. If a competitor
should have an obligation in another ring, he or she must at this time tell ring official/chief judge so they can
readjust the competing order to accomodate the competing obligations.

Competing:
When the official sees that all is ready, he or she will call the first competitor and announce for the next 2
competitors to prepare. When the competitors name is called to compete, he/she will approach the ring and
salute to the main official and wait for permission/signal from the ring-official/chief judge to begin. Judges will
be observing as soon as the competitor¡¯s name is called.

Upon receiving the signal to begin from the ring-official/chief judge , the competitor will walk to the starting
position within the ring. At no point should the competitor speak with any judge or official. This should be
done before the event begins. Once the beginning position is found, the competitor will stand perfectly still at
attention, showing judges and timekeepers that the form is ready to begin. The time clock will begin at the
first sign of movement from this attention position. The time clock will stop when the form is finished and the
competitor returns to a stationary and relaxed position. Upon completion, the competitor will again walk to the
same place he/she entered the ring and face the judges and officials once again at attention. At this time, the
score for the competitor will be given.

After receiving his/her final score, the competitor will acknowledge the score by saluting the ring official/chief
judge. Only now is the competitor finished with his/her form and may leave the ring area.

Scoring:
Scoring will be based on performance & level by individual judges. The ranges for levels are as follows:
• beginner: 6.5 - 7.5
• intermediate: 7.5 - 8.5
• advanced: 8.5 - 9.5
• very advanced: 9.5 - 9.99
5 scores will be given in which the highest and lowest score will be dropped to calculate the final score. In the
event of a tie score, all 5 scores will be utilized. In case of another tie, both athletes shall receive the same
awards.

Awards:
All awards for competition will be given immediately upon completion of each event. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place
medals will be awarded to the top 3 competitors of each event in the General Competition. Grand Champion
Awards will be given at the conclusion of the tournament.

Grand Championship Awards:

ONLY Advanced Level Athletes in their respective Age Divisions may compete for the Grand Championship.  
Athletes vying for the Grand Championship and its corresponding Grand Prize are required to compete and
win first place in two bare-hand forms events and two weapons forms events suited to their respective
category.  Internal Grand Champion candidates can choose events from the internal events category, and
External Grand Champion candidates will choose events from the External Events category. All candidates
for Grand Championship are also required to compete for and win first place in a reaction event suited for
their category.  Internal Grand Champion candidates must win first place in a push hands event, and external
candidates must win first place in a sparring event.  Both men and women will compete for the Grand
Championship

Athletes who meet these requirements will then compete on the final day of the competition in a bare-hand
forms event.  The athletes who wins this event will be awarded the US National Martial Arts Grand
Championship and its corresponding Grand Prize in their respective category.

Requirements for the Grand Championship Categories:

Adult Internal Grand Champion:
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• 1st Place in Two Internal Bare-Hand Forms
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• 1st Place in Two Internal Weapons Forms
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• 1st Place in Push Hands Event
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• 1st Place in Two External Bare-Hand Forms
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• 1st Place in Two External Weapons Forms
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• 1st Place in Sparring Event
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• 1st Place in Two Internal Bare-Hand Forms
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• 1st Place in Two Internal Weapons Forms
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• 1st Place in Push Hands Event
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• 1st Place in Two External Bare-Hand Forms
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• 1st Place in Two External Weapons Forms
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• 1st Place in Sparring Event
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