What is this tournament? And why should I enter anyway?

Twice yearly, our club competes in the national Hung Kuen UK championship. The tournament is a great way to test your stamina, timing and ability. It's great fun to boot, and FREE to Leeds Met students(to a degree). Up until now, this competition is been reserved exclusively for Hung Kuen UK members, however the competition has now been opened up to other martial arts also. The main events are -

Individual Sparring

Competitors are placed into groups based on height, weight and ability. The groups normally consist of four people, depending on the amount of competitors. Each group will have 2 bouts, with the winners of each bout then competing against eachover in the group final. Each bout will conist of two 2 minute rounds, a third if there is a draw. This event is for grades up to 2nd brown only.

Open Sparring

This category is open to all grades, including blackbelt. The open event is conducted regardless of height, weight and ability. All competitors are paired together randomly and the winner will go through to the next round, then quarter finals, semi finals and eventually the final round. Each bout will consist of a single 2 minute round, a second if there is a draw.

Forms

This category is open to all grades. Sub categories include Tan Tui forms, Animal forms, Advanced forms, Weapons forms (long and short).

2 Man Sets

In this category, two competitors will perform a combat application. Eg Tan Tui applications, Animal applications or 2 man weapon sets.

Sparring competition Rules

Both the open and individual categories are conducted as Semi-Contact. This basically means that each competitor will wear protective equipment. Namely, headguard, chest pads, gloves, shin proectors and most importantly a box! All the equipment is provided for you, although if you have your own thats fine.

With the sparring being Semi-Contact the following restrictions apply ;

-No punches to the face/head
-No kicking below the belt (kicking to the head is allowed)
-No grabbing or floor grappling
-No use of elbows
-No use of knees

Breaking of the rules will result in warnings, point deductions and maybe disqualification.

The winner will be determined on a points system, awarded by four judges, positioned in each corner of the sparring area. Points are awarded for effective use of techniques. For example a kick executed to the head, or effective punches to the torso area. A point will only be awarded if the technique is deemed effective, for example a light tapping kick to the torso which does not seem to have any effect on the opposition would not score.

Technique, aggresion and control are also taken into account.

To download an entry form click here

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Best of luck to all who enter, lets see if we cant give the other Uni's a good bashing!