国際空手道連盟極真会館

審判講習会
IKO Kyokushinkaikan
Referee’s and Judge’s Seminar
Welcome. This seminar is conducted with the author- rules. Judges should never let their minds wander as
ity of the IKO Kyokushinkaikan Honbu. Completion they sit back and “enjoy the best seat in the house.”
of the course provides the student with official recog- You have a great responsibility. For the sake of a
nition and authority to act as either judge or referee at lapse in concentration, you can literally derail a prom-
IKO-sanctioned events worldwide. ising future champion’s career. You must always
know where you are and what you are doing and if
The course entails theory and practical exams. Please the bout was stopped at any moment, you should in-
read through this seminar guide first. stantly be clear about the decision you would give if
asked there and then.
Seminar Content
1. Supreme Judge At all times, the center referee is in charge of the mat.
2. Judging Team It is essentially his turf. Other officials and competi-
3. Roll of Referee and Judges tors leave and enter the area according to his direc-
4. Bow-in/Bow-out single team tions. Competitors are expected to act according to
5. Mat handover — two teams the referee’s instructions at all times.
6. Seating and standing positions
7. Movements of referee 4. Bow-in/Bow-out — single team
8. Flag actions Where possible, the judging team enters the fighting
9. Commands area from the right of the Official Table with the cen-
10. Decisions ter referee leads the judges to the mat. As they arrive
— Criteria at the mat, they pause briefly one at a time, face the
— Awareness direction of the official table and Supreme Judge, bow
11. Scoring and say Osu. If there is no outgoing team, the incom-
12. Flag Combinations ing team moves directly to position A and bows in.
13. Terminology The center referee directs his team as follows:
14. Three Fundamentals: “Shomen ni, rei!” Bow to the official table.
Fitness The team bows as one with an “Osu!”
Fairness “Mawatte.” The team turns clockwise 180°.
Firmness “Rei.” Team bows with an “Osu!”
“Mawatte.” The team turns clockwise 180° to once
1. Supreme Judge again face the front. The center referee steps forward
At all events a high ranking official of considerable and turns to face his team.
experience shall be selected to act as Supreme Judge. “Otagai ni, rei.” The judges bow to the center referee.
The Supreme Judge represents the presence of Sosai “Osu.”
Mas Oyama in all official IKO events. In this role, at The center referee then says, “Onegaishimasu,” and
any time the judging panel is unable to resolve an directs his team members to move to their seats.
issue, they shall consult with the Supreme Judge for
final resolution. The decision of the Supreme Judge
shall be final.

2. Judging Team
A judging team shall consist of one Central Referee Position
and four Corner Judges. Each member of the judging A
team has one equal say in the final decision of any
bout.

3. Role of Referee and Judges

• The primary objective of the referee is to ensure
the safety of the competitors.
• The primary objective of the corner judges is to Official Table Judging Team
assist the Center Referee in the fulfillment of his enters from here.
duties.
This entails awareness of the competition area sur-
roundings, mat surface, judges, officials, fighters and
 5. Mat Handover — Two teams
The outgoing judging team moves to position A and
bows out. The center referee directs his team as fol-
lows:
“Shomen ni, rei!” Bow to the official table.
The team bows as one with an “Osu!”
“Mawatte.” The team turns clockwise 180°.
“Rei.” Team bows with an “Osu!”
“Mawatte.” The team turns clockwise 180° to once
again face the front. The center referee steps forward
and turns to face his team.
“Otagai ni, rei.” The judges bow to the center referee.
“Osu.”
The center referee then directs his team to position B
To wait for the incoming judging team. If there is no
changeover, the teamsimply proceeds straight off the
mat to the left of the official’s table.
Position
B
Official Table
Outgoing Position Incoming
team. C team.
Bows
and
exits
here. Enters from
Official Table here and bows.
When both teams are ready (Position C), the outgo-
ing referee hands over control of the mat. He does
this by directing the teams to bow to each other by
saying, “Otagai ni, rei!” Both teams bow to each
other with an “Osu!” The outgoing team then exits
the mat to the left of the official table, pausing at the
corner, facing the official table, and bowing with
“Osu!”. The incoming team moves to position A and
bows in as described in Section 4 above.
6. Seating and standing positions
Corner judges should have their feet flat on the mat
and their back straight. It is okay to sit back in the
chair with the back supported, but do not slouch.
Flags should be held lightly, the hands resting on the
thighs ready to be used. Hold them parallel to the
ground; do not cross them or move them around with-
out reason.
A referee should always move with deliberation and
purpose. In addition, by standing unmoving in one
position, you can block the vision spectators, so keep
moving from side to side as the bout progresses. By
changing your position, you also help to zero your
concentration in on what is happening.
7. Maintaining Authority
You are in charge of the ring. The fighters, seconds,
other officials and spectators are all naturally expect-
ing you to do your job perfectly. Why shouldn’t they?
I know it’s not fair, but it’s the truth. Not only must
you do it all right, you have to also inspire confidence
in all around you that you know what you are doing is
right. You know it, your friends and students know it,
but what about the fighter’s work colleague who is
watching a tournament for the first time? He is com-
paring you to a football referee, a boxing referee or an
Olympic Games official. All of these people go
through many years of experience before they are
permitted to referee a professional or elite level.
Are you up to scratch? Would your actions, control,
presence inspire yourself if you were watching? If
not, why? If you wish to be a world class judge or
referee, you have to keep improving. Seek the con-
structive criticism of your peers without taking any-
thing personally. Watch referees who have already
gathered many years of experience and whom you
think have got it right. Learn from observation and
you will grow.
Arm actions, voice commands and decisions must be
precise and decisive. Do not fluff, mumble, hesitate
or act indecisively. It all contributes to a loss of confi-
dence in you. Chances are unless you work on the
fine points of your refereeing skills you won’t be in-
vited back to the mat in a hurry.
Especially, mistakes happen. The worst thing you can
do is pretend it didn’t happen and try and fumble past
hoping no one noticed. Murphy’s Law. Everyone
notices everything. Especially the mistakes and espe-
cially the way you deal with mistakes.
Put a wrong flag out? Change it immediately. Make a
wrong call? Fix it right then. Not sure what hap-
pened? Let the referee know with the correct flag
signals. You are always better off correcting an error
than trying to live with it.
Referee’s arm signals and voice commands must be
precise and authoritative. Fighters react better if you
take command. If you don’t take command, they will
usurp your authority and the match is in danger of
getting out of control.
If you sense that you are losing control, stop the
match. Call time, call the fighters in and let them
know.
“Things are getting out of hand. I expect it to stop
immediately. I will be fair but I will also be very firm.
You must listen to me.”
You must not only do the right thing, you must be
seen to do the right thing and be sure everyone watch-
ing knows you are doing the right thing.
8 Flag actions
The flag actions of the corner judges are as follows:
Gam-men Ōda — Illegal strike to head
Genten — Minus point for fouls, usually two chui-
Hajime — Start
Hansoku Chūi — Official warning
Hansoku Kachi — Win by default after opponent

The flag signals must be crisp and sharp at all times. disqualified for fouls.
The flags are your main form of communication with Hansoku waza — Illegal techniques
the referee. It lets him know you are aware of what is Hansoku Make — Loss by disqualification
going on at all times. Hantei — Decision (of judges

The referee usually knows when you signal and blow

your whistle, especially if you are in his peripheral
vision. If you need to draw something to his attention
that he has not noticed (mouthpiece lost or a sash
loose), then make sure you get his attention to the
point where he acknowledges and perhaps even stops
the bout (if it is a safety issue). On the other hand, if it
is not a safety issue, the referee may choose to let the
bout continue until a break occurs in the fighting.
Hantei Onegaishimasu — “Decision please”. Used by
Take the time to look at these flag positions and be the centre referee to call for a decision from the cor-
sure you know them perfectly. ner judges at the end of a match. Can also be done
with a whistle blow.
9. Verbal Commands Hantei torimasu — “Decision please”. As above.
Tournament terminology Hata — Flag
This is a comprehensive list of tournament terminol- Ihan — Illegal
ogy. Go through and work out what is essential for Ik-kai sen — First round match
you in the role you will be playing. Ippon — Full point
Jōgai — Outside fighting area
Aka — Red Jōnai — Inside the fighting area
Aka no Kachi — Red victory Jun-jun kesshō-sen — Quarter finals
Awasete Ippon — Combined ippon victory (two Jun kesshō-sen — Semi-finals
waza-ari half points) Jun-Yūsho — Runner-up
Bōgu — Protective equipment Juryō-kyū — Heavyweight division
Bōgyō — Defence Kachi — Victory
Chūi — Warning for illegal technique Kamaete — On guard, ready
Chūryō-kyū — Middleweight division Kega — Injury
Enchō Ik-kai — First extension round Keiryō-kyū — Lightweight division
Enchō Nikai — Second extension round Kesshō-sen — Final
Enchō-sen — Extension round Kōgeki — Attack
Fukushin — Corner Judge Kojin — Individual
Fusenshō — Win by default (no show) Kojin-shugi — Individual event
Gam-men Kōgeki — Illegal attack to head Kokusai Taikai — International Tournament
Mitomezu/mitomenai — Not clear. Not approved. “Otagaine, rei!”
When referee calls a technique but it was unclear and “Akushu kudasai.” Shake hands
no agreement with the judges is found.
Ni-i — Second place; runner-up 10. Decisions
Nikai sen — Second round match Judges base decisions on:
Ōda — Blow, strike (to face) • Damage
Otagai — Each other • Attitude (courage)
Otagai ni rei — Bow to each other • Points scored.
Saishū Enchō-sen — Final extension
A technique which downs the opponent or causes the
San-I — Third place
opponent to break away momentarily from the bout is
Sankai sen — Third round match sufficient for a waza-ari.
Sekai Taikai — World Championships
Senbatsu Taikai — Elimination (Selection) Tourna- If the fighter is unable to return to the bout in a state
ment that allows him to fight on safely within three sec-
Shiai — Tournament match
onds, an ippon should be awarded.
Shiai-jō — Fighting area
Shik-kaku — Disqualification If a fighter voluntarily refuses to continue the match,
Shinpan(-in) — Judge, referee he shall lose by Ippon.
Shiro — White
Shiro no kachi — White victory At the end of a bout, decision is based upon points
Shōmen — Front, official table
scored or deducted.
Shōmen ni rei — Bow to the front
Shushin — Centre referee
Shushin ni rei — Bow to the referee
11. Flag Combinations and outcomes
For the sake of illustration pls note that whatever ap-
Taijū — Weight
plies to red shall also apply to white and vice versa.
Taijū hantei — Decision by weight
Taikai — Tournament
Four corner judges and one center referee, a total of
Tameshiwari — Board breaking
five, allows for a definitive decision in each match. In
Tameshiwari hantei — Decision based on number of
some circumstances, however, the center judge may
boards broken
cast the final decision or call a draw if he deems it
Waza-ari — Half point
warranted.
Yame — Stop
Yūsei kachi — Win by superiority
Corner Judges Referee
Yūshō — Winner, First place
4 draws Must call draw
Zenkoku Taikai — National Championships
3 draws Must call draw
Zokō — Continue fighting
2 draws, 1red, 1 white Must call draw
2 draws, 2 red May call draw or red
Commencement of bout
1 draw, 2 red, 1 white May call draw or red
After calling the fighters to the middle, the center
3 red Must call red
referee directs them to face the front and bow.
4 red Must call red
“Shomen ni, rei!”
He directs them to face him and:
You shall be tested on these combinations, terminol-
“Shushin ni rei!”
ogy and practical skills.
Then each other:
“Otagaine, rei!”
“Kamaete.” On guard.
“Hajime!” Start

End of bout
After calling the fighters to the middle, the center
referee directs them to face the front. He then calls
for the judges’ decision.
“Hantei onegaishimasu. Hantei!”
After the flags are out he counts the flags from his
left with his right hand. Slowly and deliberately. He
then awards the victory or declares a draw.
Aka no kachi — Win to red
Shiro no kachi — Win to white
Hikiwake. — Draw
He then directs the fighters to bow to the front, to
himself and to each other as at the commencement of
the match. Then he directs them to shake hands and
exit the fighting area.
“Shomen ni, rei!”
He directs them to face him and:
“Shushin ni rei!”
Then each other: