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International/The Gathering of Warriors (Metro-Manila, Philippines) Tournament

• General Spectator Entry Fee $5 / PP250
• Children (13 years and under) $3 / PP100

A match will be composed of a single two (2) minute round. Only attacks with the padded stick(s)/sword and/or padded knife are allowed.
Live Stick Option:Optional use only. Must be mutually agreed on by participants.

FINAL match for 1st or 2nd Elimination Level (for 1st and 2nd place - in cases where there are only 2 or 3 competitors for the division/event) will be based on the Best of 3 Rounds. Each round will be scored according to the specified scoring method. The participant winning 2 rounds of the scheduled 3-round match wins. If a competitor is unable to continue or declines to fight the remaining round(s), then any remaining round(s) will automatically be awarded to the other participant.

A REST PERIOD between each round not to exceed half of the specified duration period of each round will be monitored by the timekeeper.

Primary Targets are:

• Top, Front and Sides of the Head/Helmet
  (Thrust attacks to the head and neck areas are absolutely prohibited and may result in disqualification)

• Front and Side of the Thighs and Body;
• Both Arms and Hands.
  Each successful unobstructed strike to the Primary Targets score a Full Point.

• Punching, Kicking or Kneeing
• Grappling or Wrestling
• Thrusting to the face & neck areas
• Throwing or Footsweeps
• Strikes to the Knee and below
• Strikes to the back of the neck
• Locking and holding
• Use of foul or abusive language

Witik and Abaniko strikes are legal but are regarded as set-up techniques and do not, by themselves, score any point. However, any Power/Primary technique delivered successfully after the strategic use of witik/abaniko techniques will be awarded a Full Point.

Counter-strikes - Any counter-strike delivered after receiving a Full-point strike will not count. However, successful counter-strikes delivered after an equally successful parry, block or evasion may be given an additional Point subject to the Judges' majority consensus. This prioritizes and gives high value to a strong defense combined with fast and precise counter techniques. This is either verbally declared or indicated by raising both flags in tandem with the scoring flag at the top.

Jamming with the free hand is allowed. Jamming is defined as controlling by interception the opponent's weapon arm or hand. However, any interception that comes in contact with the opponent's weapon will be considered a hit or a cut and the opponent will be awarded a Full Point.

Disarms must be immediate. Only impact strike and leverage disarms using wrist, arm and hand grips will be allowed. Any disarm caused by grabbing and pulling the opponent's weapon by its blade portion will considered a hit or a cut and the opponent will be awarded a full point. The participant persisting in illegal and unrealistic tug-of-war disarms that take advantage of the prohibited punching, kicking, throwing, wrestling and grappling techniques will be penalized with a point penalty at the referee's discretion.
Joints may not be locked or twisted for a disarm.
To facilitate scoring, a Disarm will be result in a point deduction, if applicable, or a point awarded to the opponent if a deduction can not be applied.
Therefore each disarm or loss of weapon (see details for each specific event) within the Match will result in a point loss, if applicable, or a point awarded to the opponent.

Loss of Weapon/Grip due to the successful execution of a powerful full-point attack or counter-attack is technically NOT a disarm and must be declared as such by a majority of the judges and referee. Otherwise, a point penalty will be applied in default as previously stated. The Referee or Judge(s) must call attention to this fact when scores are checked and/or awarded.

Broken Weapon(s) are not disarms. The Referee will allow the broken weapon to be replaced and the match continued.

Scoring is based on the total combination of the following:

• Technique,
• Power,
• Accuracy,
• Defense,
• Offense,
• Aggressiveness, and,
• Overall Ring Performance.

Scoring - ALL weapons matches will be scored by 3 judges, using either the "First Blood/Best of 12" or, optionally, the "Ten Point" system.

FIRST BLOOD/BEST OF 12:
In this category, the Referee temporarily stops the match after each successful first cut/first blood (either attack or counter-attack) within each engagement. The judges indicate their assessment of the skirmish by raising a flag to indicate which participant scored the point or by crossing the flags to indicate an indefinite result. A point is awarded if 2 or more judges raise flags of the same color. The match continues using this stop-and-score procedure until one of the participants wins by garnering 7 points out of the possible 12 per match OR the 2-minute limit has been reached resulting in a win by the participant with the highest score. Should the score be even (draw) at the end of the 2-minute period, a single-point first blood match will decide the winner. This method of scoring is the standard for all events. See TEN POINT below for optional method of scoring for Single and Double Stick events.

TEN POINT: (Optional use only. Must be mutually agreed on by participants.)
A winner or draw will be recorded on each of the judges' card to be tabulated at the end of the match.
In case of a draw, a single one-minute extension round will be allowed to decide a winner. At the referee's discretion, the extension round may be changed to a single-point "sudden-death" match.
The results of each round will be recorded on each of the judges' card. The final results can be any of the following:
W-L-D
3-0-0 - Unanimous decision
2-1-0 - Split decision
2-0-1 - Split decision
0-0-3 - Draw
1-1-1 - Draw

This method of scoring is optionally used for the Single Stick and Double Stick events.

In the Single and Double stick events, the Tournament Director will allow the participants the right to select and mutually agree on either the FIRST BLOOD or TEN-POINT system of scoring. Should there be no mutual agreement on the type of scoring to be used, First Blood/Best of 12 will be the default method of scoring. Similar to a boxing match, clinches or holding will be called "break" and the match resumes from ready position.

Out-of-bounds. Participants must remain within the boundaries of the designated ring. Repeated out-of-bounds will result in a point deduction. Out of bounds is declared when a player's both feet are outside the official match area.

Match-ups. All match-ups will be pre-drawn and arranged prior to the event lottery-style. The initial drawing will be adjusted, whenever possible, to avoid pairing participants from the same organization or style.

TEAM event match-ups: TEAM competitions are OPEN (NO Weight categorization) in nature and match-ups will be according to the list of participants prepared by the Team Captain/Coordinator. Example:, player 1 of Group A Team will fight against player 1 of Group B Team, player 2 against player 2, etc. All other methods of scoring will follow the rules for the specific event. The TEAM garnering BEST of 5 Matches wins the event. Each TEAM Registration is for only one (1) sparring event.

The Referee will monitor the general progress of the match. He will determine the observation of and adherence to the rules, the legitimacy of disarming techniques and all point deductions for any foul action or behavior.

For each foul, the Referee may progressively issue:

• A casual Warning
• An Official Warning (Notify Judges)
• A point deduction (Notify Judges)
• A FINAL Warning
• A Disqualification

For any blatant, malicious and dangerous offense, the Referee can and should immediately issue a final warning or disqualification.