Del Saito's Martial Arts Training Center

Attire
All competitors will wear plain white traditional karate gi. Sleeves and pant legs must be cut to the proper length and hemmed. Official AAU patch shall be affixed to the upper left front panel of the gi. No other patches or markings shall be permitted. Female competitors shall wear a plain white T shirt or white sports bra beneath the gi. No head bands or bows are permitted. White belt for all beginners (under one year of karate experience), green belt for all novice competitors (one year to under two years of karate experience), brown belt for all intermediate competitors (two years to under four years of karate experience), and black belt for advanced competitors (four years or more of karate experience). Fingernails must be short and long hair must be restrained with plain elastic bands.

Coaches shall wear a white gi pants, official AAU blue polo shirt and tennis shoes.

Officials shall wear a single breasted navy-blue blazer bearing two silver buttons, a white dress shirt, an official AAU tie, plain grey trousers without cuffs, plain unpatterned dark blue or black socks, slip-on black shoes without laces and no jewelry shall be worn while on the competition floor. Officials shall also bring a whistle attached to a white chord.

Kumite Gear
Mouthpiece and white naugahyde fist guards are mandatory. Groin cups are mandatory for males. White face headgear with plastic shield is mandatory for all Junior divisions (optional for adults). White cloth shin/instep pads are optional for youth, shin pads are optional for adults, and white breast (not chest) protectors are optional for women. Any other protective gear must be approved by the tournament director.

Kata
Both empty hand and weapons kata will be judged within the framework of Japanese and Okinawan tradition standards. Katas shall be traditional of and representative to the practitioner’s style. In addition, weapons kata shall reflect the specific characteristics and applications of the weapon used. Flag system will be used in all Kata divisions except in the Mandatory Style Specific Division where scorecards will be used.

Weapons
Only traditional Okinawan bo, sai, eku, tonfa, nunchaku, and kama will be permitted. All wood on weapons must be hardwood. In principle: bo must be at least one fist taller than competitor’s head, sai and tonfa will extend 1 inch beyond elbow, and cord of nunchaku shall be twice as wide as the competitor’s palm. Nunchaku must be connected by cord only. Kama blades must be at least 6 inches long and bare. Kama blades must be dulled. Rope may not be attached to kama. Only one weapon or set of weapons may be used per kata. Loss of control of a weapon will be grounds for disqualification. Long & Short sub-divisions will be offered to novice, intermediate and advanced youth and adults and athletes may compete in both events. In case of a tie, athletes must compete with the specified weapons allowed for that event.

Kumite Rules
Matches shall consist of three point, two minute bouts (three minutes for male 19-34 advanced division only), with an extended time tie-breaker as required. The extended time shall be the same as the initial bout. Skin touch to the head may warrant a point if all the scoring criteria are met. Light to medium body contact is acceptable to the chest, abdomen, back and sides. The ten second rule shall be in effect for all divisions.

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Traditional Karate-Do Organization

Amateur Athletic Union

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Enjoy and learn from this site, however, please do not try to apply anything from these pages without first getting proper training. Reading these pages and looking at the images is not proper training.