PHILOSOPHY & COMPETITION POLICY.
THE AMERICAN WARRIOR IS A TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
The word traditional, as it applies to the ‘Kang Do Won’ Martial Arts Institute and the ‘American Warrior’ Tournament, means that the educational and competitive focus is on ART, which is comprised of two elements that are absolutely essential to every martial ART student and competitor. The first is healthy personality and character traits. The second is the proper understanding of the realistic application and effectiveness of the concepts and techniques learned while studying a martial ART.
I have witnessed too many sad examples of the result of superficial training, a few of which are… When a black belt competitor lays on the floor and cries because he didn’t win a trophy OR utters vulgarities because he disagrees with a call, something is seriously wrong with how that individual has been trained and educated. When a competitor enters a ring with an obvious lack of personal hygiene OR a uniform that is wrinkled, torn or dirty OR is wearing a belt that is in disarray and poorly tied OR addresses the judges with weakness and/or impoliteness, someone has neglected to educate that competitor about the power of personal presence and the impact it will have upon his/her potential for a successful future.
Being concerned about winning an award becomes a serious handicap to a competitor. Concentrating on what you have been educated and trained to do and just giving your best effort eliminates much of the ‘end result’ distraction and the stress associated with it. Focusing on effort rather than results, and direction rather than destination makes everybody a winner, in competition and in life, with or without awards. This is the way of ART… this is the American Warrior way.
We are true to our beliefs and because of this, since 1989, the ‘American Warrior’ Tournament has promoted the traditional values of ART, and will continue to do so. In an effort to more clearly define the competition parameters, based on those traditional values, the judging panel process at the ‘American Warrior’ Tournament has become more comprehensively detailed. Each member of a judging panel is responsible for evaluating each competitor’s performance, based on each of the following five (5) Performance Elements and Point Scale:
Element 1 – Appearance Cleanliness and Neatness (Body, Hair, Fingernails, Toenails, Uniform & Belt)
Element 2 – Spirit Presence, Intensity and Loudness (Body Language, Facial Expressions & Shout)
Element 3 – Technique Performance, Quality and Difficulty Factor (Balance, Power, Focus & Control)
Element 4 – Application Realism and/or Effectiveness of the Techniques if Performed in Reality
Element 5 – Etiquette Politeness, Attitude and Respect (Behavior in the Ring & the Tournament)
JUDGING POINT SCALE
0 = Not Acceptable 1 = Poor 2 = Fair 3 = Good 4 = Very Good 5 = Excellent
Each competitor’s performance shall, in the mind of each judge, be broken down into the five elements. A numerical score, based on the Judging Point Scale, shall be awarded for each of the five elements and totaled to establish the competitor’s Performance Score. Each competitor has the potential to achieve a possible high Performance Score of 25.
Element Score alterations are not permitted, but Performance Score addition errors may be corrected. Judges print their names and the division number they are judging on each sheet. Immediately upon completion of each performance, scores are entered for each element and all five scores totaled. The Chief Judge shall then wait for each judge to announce that their Performance Scores have been calculated, at which point the Chief Judge will direct them to voice their scores to the scorekeeper. With 5 judges, the high and low Performance Scores are dropped and the remaining three are totaled together by the scorekeeper to establish the competitor’s Competition Score. With 3 judges, all three Performance Scores are totaled. The highest Competition Score is awarded 1st Place and so on.
Judging for all competitors shall be based on reality. If a warrior drops his/her weapon during real combat, that warrior is dead. When a weaponless warrior defends against a weapon, it is highly probable that he/she will be hit, cut, stabbed and/or shot, but with the proper skills, that warrior will be able to minimize those injuries so that they are non-fatal. In an ideal combat situation, no warrior would choose to be injured, but real-life combat is anything but ideal, so non-fatal injuries, even though not desired, are expected and acceptable. Obviously in reality, and as an extension of reality as judging policy at the ‘American Warrior’ Tournament, sustaining a FATAL wound means you’re dead… and that is Not Acceptable.
In Weapon Form and Synchronized Weapon Form divisions, dropping a weapon shall result in a mandatory Performance Score of 0.
In Interactive Combat Weapon Form divisions, dropping a weapon due to competitor error, that is not part of the planned performance, shall result in a mandatory Performance Score of 0.
In Self-Defense divisions, if in the opinion of a judge, a competitor sustains a FATAL wound at any point during his/her performance, the resulting mandatory Performance Score from that judge shall be a 0. Dropping a weapon and/or sustaining a fatal wound, and the resulting Performance Score of 0, takes precedence over all elemental scores.
Creative/Extreme competitors are welcome at the ‘American Warrior’ Tournament, and based on the new judging process, have the potential to score well on all the judging elements except application.
Training in basics and fundamentals and their proper application, and education that nurtures the growth of inner-strength is what true martial ART was… and should continue to be.
Martial ART lives on at the American Warrior Tournament, where the guiding ideal is to exemplify ART through competition. So, if you would like to enjoy an afternoon of safe and fair competition in an ART environment that is governed by healthy human values and traditional martial ART principles, then we’ll see you at the American Warrior!