Philisophy and Competition Rules in Wa Shin Ryu Jujutsu

Wa Shin Ryu Jujutsu is first, and foremost, a martial art (focusing on the skills of combat and the practice of a particular Way ("Do"). However, it may be played as a martial sport when certain rules are put place to control the action, assign points and determine winners. Our primary goal in Wa Shin Ryu is not to turn out competitors. Rather, the main reasons for engaging in WSR include the attainment of higher goals, the development of combative skills and empowerment. On occasion, however, it is of interest to students to test their skills against other jujutsuka in a context of playful competition. Playful competition implies an atmosphere of friendship, camaraderie and mutual support. In playful competition we do not stress the acquisition of medals and trophies, nor do we adjust our training schedule to specifically prepare for such competition. It is simply an extension of how we train, except that in competition we also assign points and determine victors. Students will soon become aware of the fact that as in regular kumite, competition-style jujutsu stresses similar combative actions and rewards these with points. Thus, competition-style Wa Shin Ryu Jujutsu is to be seen as an extension of the realistic combative skills we develop in the dojo and the scoring system is intended to reflect the combative nature of the art.

In WSR we anticipate having two in-class tournaments a semester, one about the middle of the semester and another near the end.

Scoring System and Requirements

  • Striking/contact with the head/face or groin constitutes an immediate disqualification, regardless of intent
  • All tournamanents will last three minutes
  • To win a contest a jujutsuka must score 12 Grand Points, obtain a submission or outscore the opponent when the bout times out
  • Throws, and strikes to the head and groin count as 4 Grand Points each. A student may win a contest by executing a high impact throw (4 points), following through with a strike to the face (4 points) and finish the action with a groin attack (4 points). Alternatively the bout is terminated when one contestant wins with three strikes to the head/face or the groin. Three high impact throws also constitute a win
  • All low impact take-downs are worth 1 point each
  • Unblocked strikes/kicks to the legs, the torso or the back count as 1 point each. Light to moderate contact is permitted
  • On the ground if one contestant srikes the head/face or groin of the other and scores 4 Grand Points, Uke will lose one move, cease the action and raise his/her hands up in the air until Tori chooses to restart the action

    NOTES:

    1. A high impact throw has Uke striking the mat with considerable force. He/she may be thrown on the back, the side or the front. This is worth 4 points. All other takedowns are worth 1 point each
    2. All action is continuous even after points are scored. That is, if one contestant throws the other with a 4 point throw, the action is permitted to continue until one of the competitors amasses 12 points, the action is stalled or one person submits
    3. If no appreciable progress is made for approximately 20 seconds the referee may stop the fight and caution one, or both of the contestants. Then the referee may restart the bout
    4. In the unlikely event that a bout ends with no score the contest will be judged on superiority. That is, the referee and two judges will award the fight to the contestant who clearly controlled and dominated the contest for most of the time

    5. Holding the opponent on the ground carries no points
    6. To gain points strikes and kicks must be executed crisply and with sufficient force and must be within 3-5" of the target area to count
    7. When applying joint locks or strangling techniques tori must allow uke sufficient time to submit. If Tori chooses to disregard this rule and injures the opponent he/she will immediately forfeit the match 8. Grand Points may be obtained from high impact throws and strikes to the head/face and groin. These are worth 4 points each. 9. While Grand Points and regular points may be added together for a final score a match will still go the distance even if one contestant accumulates a combination of Grand Points and regular points totalling 12 or more points. The point is that only 12 Grand Points terminate a bout before it times out.