The following are forbidden:
Any contact to the throat must be penalized unless it is the recipients own fault (Mubobi etc.).
Techniques to the face may "touch" and still score, but touch does not mean a solid impact. When assessing the contact force used, the Referee must take all the circumstances into account. Did the victim exacerbate the impact of an otherwise controlled technique by an injudicious movement?
This is the reason most often give for scoring what would otherwise appear
to be excessive contact but it must not be used as a justification for a
bad assessment. The Referee must consider the effects of a marked disparity
in size between contestants - as can occur in a team match, or in open weight bout.
The Referee must constantly observe the injured contestant. The latter's behavior may help the Referee in his assessment. A short delay in giving a judgment allows injury symptoms such as a nosebleed to develop. Observation will also reveal any efforts by the contestant to aggravate slight injury for tactical advantage. Examples of this arc blowing violently through on injured nose, or rubbing the face roughly with the back of a mitt. Pre-existing Injury can produce symptoms out of all proportion to the degree of contact used.
The trained Karate-Ka can absorb strong impact over muscled areas
such as the abdomen, but the breastbone and ribs are vulnerable to Injury.
For this reason, reasonable control over body contact must be exercised.
The accidental kick in the groin can reduce the opponent's potential
for winning as surely as a deliberate one. Therefore the Referee should
award a penalty in either case. Foot sweeps that land high on the leg can
cause knee injury. The Referee must assess the validity of any sweep-attack
to the leg; ineffectual but painful attacks of this son should be immediately penalized.
The face is defined as covering an area which begins one centimeter
above the eyebrows, extending down and including the temples, narrowing
from the cheekbones and finishing just under the chin.
The two open hand techniques referred to are merely examples of the
class of prohibited techniques.
Different Karate-Ka have different abilities at controlling techniques
and for this reason, there is no actual classification of "dangerous
techniques". The contestant must perform all techniques with control
and good form. If he/she cannot, then regardless of the technique misused,
a warning or penalty must be imposed.
The point at which "Yame" is called is helpful in determining if Jogai has occurred. If Aka delivers a successful technique and then exits immediately afterwards, "Yame" should occur at the instant of score and the exit therefore occurs outside of bout time and may not be penalized. If Aka's attempt to score is unsuccessful, "Yame" will no be called and the exit will be recorded. If Shiro exits just after Aka scores with a successful attack, then "Yame" will occur immediately on the score and Shiro's exit will not be recorded. If Shiro exits, or has exited as Aka's score is made (with Aka remaining remaining the area). then both Aka's score will be awarded and Shiro's Jogai penalty will be imposed.
Movements which waste time include pointless circling, where one or
both contestants do not engage in combat. It is expected that they will
initially test each other but within a short time, deliberate and effective
attacks and counters should occur. If for any reason this does not happen
after a reasonable interval, the Referee must stop the bout and caution
the offender(s). The contestant who constantly retreats without effective
counter, rather than allow the opponent an opportunity to score must be
penalized. This often occurs during the closing seconds of a bout.
An example of Mubobi is the instance in which the contestant launches
a committed attack without regard for personal safety. Some contestants
throw themselves into a long reverse punch, and are unable to block a counter. Such open attacks constitute an act of Mubobi and cannot score. For the contestants own safety, he/she must be warned at an early stage.
As a tactical theatrical move, some fighters turn away immediately
in a mock display of dominance to demonstrate a scored point. They drop
their guard and lapse awareness of the opponent. The purpose of the turn-away is to draw the Referee's attention to their technique. This is a clear act of Mubobi. In order to score, Zanshin must be preserved.
Feigning of an injury which does not exist is a serious infraction
of the rules. Exaggerating an injury which does exist is less serious. Shikkaku can be imposed on the contestant feigning injury i.e., when such things as collapse and rolling about on the floor are not supported by evidence of commensurate injury as reported by a neutral doctor. A warning or penalty can be imposed for exaggerating injury.
The Coach will be assigned a specific place by the Referee Council
in conjunction with the tournament organizing officials. This area will
be close to the competition area and the Coach allowed a free and uninterrupted access to contestants between bouts. To assist the contestants, a visible scoreboard must be employed. Which can be clearly viewed by Coach and contestants.