ARTICLE 10: INJURIES AND ACCIDENTS IN COMPETITION
1. KIKEN or forfeiture is the decision given, when a contestant or contestants fail to present themselves when called, are unable to continue, abandon the bout, or are withdrawn on the order of the Referee. The grounds for abandonment may include injury not ascribable to the opponent's actions. Forfeiture by KIKEN means that the contestants are disqualified from that category,
although it does not affect participation in another category.
2. If two contestants injure each other, or are suffering from the effects of previously incurred injury, and are declared by the Tournament Doctor to be unable to continue, the bout is awarded to the contestant who has amassed the most points. In Individual Bouts if the points score is equal, then a vote (HANTEI) will decide the outcome of the bout, unless one of the contestants has SENSHU. In Team Matches the Referee will announce a tie (HIKIWAKE), unless one of the contestants has SENSHU. Should the situation occur in an extra bout for deciding a Team Match, then a vote (HANTEI) will determine the outcome, unless one of the contestants has SENSHU.
3. An injured contestant who has been declared unfit to fight by the tournament doctor cannot fight again in that competition.
4. An injured contestant who wins a bout through disqualification due to injury is not allowed to fight again in the competition without permission from the tournament doctor.
5. When a contestant is injured, the Referee shall at once halt the bout and call the doctor. The doctor is authorised to diagnose and treat injury only.
6. A competitor who is injured during a bout in progress and requires medical treatment will be allowed three minutes in which to receive it. If treatment is not completed within the time allowed, the Referee will decide if the competitor shall be declared unfit to fight (Article 13, Paragraph 8d), or whether an extension of treatment time shall be given.
7. Any competitor who falls, is thrown, or knocked down, and does not fully regain his or her feet within ten seconds, is considered unfit to continue fighting and will be automatically withdrawn from all Kumite events in that tournament. In the event that a competitor falls, is thrown, or knocked down and does not regain his or her feet immediately, the Referee will call the doctor, and at the same time start a verbal count to ten in the English language indicating his count showing a finger for each second. In all cases where the 10 second count has been started the doctor will be asked to examine the contestant before the bout can resume. For incidents falling under this 10 second rule, the contestant may be examined on the mat.
EXPLANATION:
I. When the doctor declares the contestant unfit, the appropriate entry must be made on the contestant's monitoring card. The extent of unfitness must be made clear to other Refereeing Panels.
II. A contestant may win through disqualification of the opponent for accumulated minor Category 1 infractions. Perhaps the winner has sustained no significant injury.
III. The Referee should call the doctor when a contestant is injured and needs medical treatment by raising his hand and verbally call out “doctor”.
IV. If physically able to do so, the injured contestant should be directed off the mat for examination and treatment by the doctor.
V. The doctor is obliged to make safety recommendations only as they relate to the proper medical management of that particular injured contestant.
VI. The Judges will decide the winner on the basis of HANSOKU, KIKEN, or SHIKKAKU as the case may be.
VII. In team matches, should a team member receive KIKEN, or be disqualified (HANSOKU or SHIKKAKU), their score for that bout, if any, will be zeroed and the opponent’s score will be set at eight points.