Tournament Season 2023-2024 is now under way and hopefully you all had a great time at our first
regional tournament.
Lets run through a few tips, pointers, questions that Team Howard may have.
Who can compete?
EVERYONE! Master Howard trains all his students to be competition ready. You will hear some schools
say they are on a “competition team”. All students at Howards ATA are approved to be on the
competition team.
Please make sure you are up to date and current with your membership and fees
with ATA AND ATA OFallon.
What do I have to wear?
If you are planning to compete in the Traditional events (forms, weapons, combat weapon and
sparring), you must have a traditional white ATA uniform. You can wear a white t-shirt underneath, but
no colored or printed shirts (even if they are ATA shirts). You will also need your belt. If you are sparring
you will want to have all sparring gear in good condition, a mouth guard, and a protective cup for male
competitors.
If you also want to compete in creative and extreme events, then you can wear your black or red
uniform. If you do not have the black or red uniform, you can always wear the traditional white.
regional tournament.
Lets run through a few tips, pointers, questions that Team Howard may have.
Who can compete?
EVERYONE! Master Howard trains all his students to be competition ready. You will hear some schools
say they are on a “competition team”. All students at Howards ATA are approved to be on the
competition team.
Please make sure you are up to date and current with your membership and fees
with ATA AND ATA OFallon.
What do I have to wear?
If you are planning to compete in the Traditional events (forms, weapons, combat weapon and
sparring), you must have a traditional white ATA uniform. You can wear a white t-shirt underneath, but
no colored or printed shirts (even if they are ATA shirts). You will also need your belt. If you are sparring
you will want to have all sparring gear in good condition, a mouth guard, and a protective cup for male
competitors.
If you also want to compete in creative and extreme events, then you can wear your black or red
uniform. If you do not have the black or red uniform, you can always wear the traditional white.
I have seen other colored uniforms worn around the school. Can I wear those?
You cannot wear those to competition, but they are welcome to be worn to class. If you are interested
in a colored uniform, please see Mrs. Howard at the front desk to see what is available through ATA.
You cannot wear those to competition, but they are welcome to be worn to class. If you are interested
in a colored uniform, please see Mrs. Howard at the front desk to see what is available through ATA.
Competition Opportunities
ATA has regions that they are divided into. Howards ATA is a part of Region 115. There are multiple
tournaments hosted in region 115 each year. Most of those are divided between STL and KC. However,
we occasionally have some in Columbia, Rolla, etc. There are multiple tournaments in other regions that
you can attend as well. You can find those on the ATA website. You can register yourself for out-of-town
tournaments. The tournaments hosted in Region 115, Mrs. Howard will provide a sign up at the front
desk.
School Code: 3516
Classifications:
The ATA provides many opportunities for members to compete at a variety of levels. Currently, there
are five classifications of tournaments. All Tigers, color belts and black belts can compete at all
tournaments.
The classifications are:
● Class AAA Tournament: World Championships hosted in Pheonix, AZ in July
● Class AA Tournament: Fall and Spring Nationals
Fall: Pittsburg, PA October 2023
Spring: Dallas, Tx March 2024
● Class A Regional Tournament: Regional Tournaments
● Class B Regional Tournament:
● Class C Tournament: In-School Tournaments
**The ranking categories are based on the size of the tournament and how many “Points” a competitor
can earn. We will talk about points later in this message**
What categories/events can I complete in?
There are currently eight different competitive events in which a student can compete at every ATA
sanctioned tournament.
Those events are:
1. Traditional Forms.
2. Traditional Weapons. (For color belts, weapon forms must be under 30 seconds)
3. ATA-Combat Weapons Sparring.
4. Traditional Point Sparring
(We call these the traditional 4)
5. ATA-Creative Forms.
6. ATA-Creative Weapons.
7. ATA-Xtreme Forms.
8. ATA-Xtreme Weapons.
This is also the order in which the competition is ran. They start with traditional forms sparring
Then they begin the creative and extreme competition to follow
What division should I complete in?
The divisions are separated into “recreational” and “Champion” OR "Tiger Division4"
Recreational: Formerly novice, no points awarded, but there is still a 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd place competitor. Genders will not be combined for sparring
Champion: higher more competitive level and in this division, students can earn “points”. Points
accumulate throughout the tournament season. At the end of the year, whoever has the most points in
state for each event is state champion. Genders will not be combined for sparring. If you plan on
competing in the Champion Division you MUST do your entire color belt form. If you do not, the center
judge has to give you a ZERO.
Please make sure if you are wanting to go for state, district, or world champion that you are
signed up for the ATA leadership program (currently meets every Saturday morning)
You must be a black belt or compete in the black belt ring to go for World Champion
Please see Mrs. Howard for more information on the Leadership program if you are interested in going
for titles. We will talk more about “Titles” later in the message
Tiger Division:
Tiger Age and Rank Guidelines
● The recommended ages for ATA Tigers are from 3 to 6 years old.
Tiger division of an ATA tournament regardless of the age of the competitor.
Tiger Divisions Breakdowns
The following are guidelines for Tiger divisions:
● It is strongly recommended that a tiger division have no more than 8 participants with a maximum
number of 10.
● At regional events, it is preferable to keep tiger white belts in a separate division from orange and
yellow belts. However, it is sometimes not possible.
● It is recommended, but not required, that no more than three rank groups be combined.
● In Tiger rings, male and female participants may be in the same ring. This is true for all ranks, including
those that spar or combat spar.
Tiger Ring Staff
Since ATA Tigers do not actually “compete” for a place, the ring staff can be different from the normal
tournament guidelines. Only one judge and one helper are required in each ring.
● Every effort will be made to ensure that Tiger judges have experience working with this age group.
● The helper will be a leader through forms and one-steps. These leaders will be available if the child
needs help with any of he material they are performing and must know the material for which they are
providing help.
● The helper may be a junior leader, younger trainee instructor, or specially trained color belt that
knows the material.
● Leaders will only be used for those participants that have indicated they need help on their
registration card or if the Tiger gets stuck during the demonstration of their form
● Leaders will perform each form and one-step in such a manner that the Tiger, whose instructor has
indicated that he needs help, will be able to follow along.
Tiger Traditional Forms
The decision of what material the ATA Tiger will participate with will be left up to their instructor and
should be indicated on their registration card.
Tiger Judging Criteria & Scoring Format
Since this is an introduction to competition, scoring for forms, one-steps, and sparring will be totally
different from other divisions.
Judging of Tigers will be as follows:
● A tiger will not receive a numerical score. Instead, the judge will make a positive comment about the
performance of the student.
● For free sparring competition, points will not be issued. Instead, when the judge sees something
special to comment on, he/she should call "break" and make a positive comment about the move. Free
sparring rounds for Tigers will be 1 minute each.
● Each tiger will do two rounds of one-steps or free-sparring. If there is an odd number of tigers, one of
them will do three rounds. The judge should pick a good positive reason for having that tiger perform an
additional time.
Categories of ATA Tiger Awards
Once the Tigers have completed their demonstration, the judge will decide on which participant will
receive an award in each of the following suggested categories:
● Best Kicks.
● Strongest Punches.
● Loudest Yells.
● Amazing Power.
● Best Black Belt Attitude.
● Fantastic Focus.
● Best Memory.
● Fastest Moves.
● Awesome Blocks.
● Most Energy.
A separate set of awards are given to those Tigers who compete in Traditional Weapons, ATA-Xtreme
Forms, ATA-Xtreme Weapons, Creative Forms or Creative Weapons competitions. The categories will be
very similar to the categories for forms and sparring.
The following are suggested categories:
● Incredible Control.
● Super Speed.
● Black Belt Weapon Demonstration.
● Powerful Weapon Handling.
● Terrific Twirling.
● Cool Creativity.
● Best ATA Spirit.
● Amazing Combos.
● Strongest Strikes/cuts.
● Weapon Super Star.
● Xtreme combos.
Tigers compete with each other NOT against each other. The judges smile, clap and help them (if needed) with their forms. Their weapons can be freestyle. This is introducing our tiniest members to show off all their hard work and earn fun medals for being brave. Tigers can spar at the discretion of their instructor. They must be in Tiger BBC and have all appropriate gear. They do not spar to win or lose; they spar to show off their sparring moves. There is no 1 st , 2 nd or 3 rd place. All tigers get medals for participating. Boys and girls mixed.
Competition Age
A competitor's competition age is determined by their age as of 11:59 pm, December 31st of the tournament season. The age that they are at on that date will indicate the division in which they should compete in throughout the entire tournament season.
8 and under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-17, 18-29, 30-39, etc
Ring Divisions:
At Regional Tournaments rings are divided if there are 13 or more in the ring
At Large tournaments ( Nationals and Worlds) rings are not split until there are 16 or more
What are points?
Points are awarded to competitors who are competing in the CHAMPION DIVISION and apart of LEADERSHIP.
How are points tallied?
“AAA-Worlds” 1 st place 20 pts, 2 nd place 15 pts, 3 rd place 10 points
“AA-Nationals” 1 st place 15 points, 2 nd place 10 points, 3 rd place 8 pts
“A” 1 st place 8 points, 2 nd 5 points, 3 rd 2 points, less than 5 competitors 5,3, 1 points
“B” 1 st place 5 points, 2 nd place 3 points, 3 rd place 1 point
“C inner school” 1 st place 3 points, 2 nd place 2 points, 3 rd place 1 point
One little caveat to this is at an A tournament there MUST BE 8 competitors in your ring to earn full points, other wise only “B” tournament points are awarded
The maximum point total is 99 for State and World Top Ten standings:
● World Championships - max of 20 points
● Best National event ( You may count 2 out of 3 class "AA" events) - max 30 points
● Best five regional tournaments - max 40 points (Assuming 1st place, full ring @ 5 "A" tournaments)
● Best three “Class C” events - max 9 points
Judging?
We will not get into specifics about judges as there is a lot of information about who can judge what division, testing, etc. However, it is important to know who is judging and what. Judges can give up to a 9.
There are 3 judges.
Corner Judge A:
Will grade only stances and kicks.
For stances, the judge should look for:
● Proper Base to include correct
For kicks, the most important things to judge are proper:
● Trajectory
● Follow through
● Joint position
● Balance
● Power
Note:
● The height of the kicks should match the competitor'ss body dimensions. (i.e. their solar plexus for
mid-section kicks and head level for high section kicks)
● Judge A will only judge the techniques that are shown and will not make point deductions
for moves left out, the wrong type of kick or an incomplete form. Those areas are the
responsibility of the center judge.
Corner Judge B:
Will grade only hand techniques.
For hand techniques, the most important things to judge are proper:
● Trajectory
● Joint Position
● Speed
● Reaction Force
● Power
Judge B will only judge the techniques that are shown and will not make point deductions for moves left out, the wrong type of block or strike, or an incomplete form. Those areas are the responsibility of the center judge.
The Center Judge:
Will grade the overall form presentation.
The center judge will score the overall presentation of the form. In addition to the criteria of Judge A
and B, the additional criteria for the center judge are proper:
● Memory (Automatic Reflex)
● Rhythm & Timing
● Attitude & Enthusiasm
Score Keeper / Time Keeper
Please remember this is a broad overview of the ATA Tournament Rules. You can visit the ATAmaritalarts.com for the official 2023 tournament rules and regulations.
ATA has regions that they are divided into. Howards ATA is a part of Region 115. There are multiple
tournaments hosted in region 115 each year. Most of those are divided between STL and KC. However,
we occasionally have some in Columbia, Rolla, etc. There are multiple tournaments in other regions that
you can attend as well. You can find those on the ATA website. You can register yourself for out-of-town
tournaments. The tournaments hosted in Region 115, Mrs. Howard will provide a sign up at the front
desk.
School Code: 3516
Classifications:
The ATA provides many opportunities for members to compete at a variety of levels. Currently, there
are five classifications of tournaments. All Tigers, color belts and black belts can compete at all
tournaments.
The classifications are:
● Class AAA Tournament: World Championships hosted in Pheonix, AZ in July
● Class AA Tournament: Fall and Spring Nationals
Fall: Pittsburg, PA October 2023
Spring: Dallas, Tx March 2024
● Class A Regional Tournament: Regional Tournaments
● Class B Regional Tournament:
● Class C Tournament: In-School Tournaments
**The ranking categories are based on the size of the tournament and how many “Points” a competitor
can earn. We will talk about points later in this message**
What categories/events can I complete in?
There are currently eight different competitive events in which a student can compete at every ATA
sanctioned tournament.
Those events are:
1. Traditional Forms.
2. Traditional Weapons. (For color belts, weapon forms must be under 30 seconds)
3. ATA-Combat Weapons Sparring.
4. Traditional Point Sparring
(We call these the traditional 4)
5. ATA-Creative Forms.
6. ATA-Creative Weapons.
7. ATA-Xtreme Forms.
8. ATA-Xtreme Weapons.
This is also the order in which the competition is ran. They start with traditional forms sparring
Then they begin the creative and extreme competition to follow
What division should I complete in?
The divisions are separated into “recreational” and “Champion” OR "Tiger Division4"
Recreational: Formerly novice, no points awarded, but there is still a 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd place competitor. Genders will not be combined for sparring
Champion: higher more competitive level and in this division, students can earn “points”. Points
accumulate throughout the tournament season. At the end of the year, whoever has the most points in
state for each event is state champion. Genders will not be combined for sparring. If you plan on
competing in the Champion Division you MUST do your entire color belt form. If you do not, the center
judge has to give you a ZERO.
Please make sure if you are wanting to go for state, district, or world champion that you are
signed up for the ATA leadership program (currently meets every Saturday morning)
You must be a black belt or compete in the black belt ring to go for World Champion
Please see Mrs. Howard for more information on the Leadership program if you are interested in going
for titles. We will talk more about “Titles” later in the message
Tiger Division:
Tiger Age and Rank Guidelines
● The recommended ages for ATA Tigers are from 3 to 6 years old.
- If a student trains as an ATA Tiger in their school, then they will be allowed to participate in the
Tiger division of an ATA tournament regardless of the age of the competitor.
Tiger Divisions Breakdowns
The following are guidelines for Tiger divisions:
● It is strongly recommended that a tiger division have no more than 8 participants with a maximum
number of 10.
● At regional events, it is preferable to keep tiger white belts in a separate division from orange and
yellow belts. However, it is sometimes not possible.
● It is recommended, but not required, that no more than three rank groups be combined.
● In Tiger rings, male and female participants may be in the same ring. This is true for all ranks, including
those that spar or combat spar.
Tiger Ring Staff
Since ATA Tigers do not actually “compete” for a place, the ring staff can be different from the normal
tournament guidelines. Only one judge and one helper are required in each ring.
● Every effort will be made to ensure that Tiger judges have experience working with this age group.
● The helper will be a leader through forms and one-steps. These leaders will be available if the child
needs help with any of he material they are performing and must know the material for which they are
providing help.
● The helper may be a junior leader, younger trainee instructor, or specially trained color belt that
knows the material.
● Leaders will only be used for those participants that have indicated they need help on their
registration card or if the Tiger gets stuck during the demonstration of their form
● Leaders will perform each form and one-step in such a manner that the Tiger, whose instructor has
indicated that he needs help, will be able to follow along.
- The leader may also verbally lead the student. They should use the proper names for each technique and include a descriptive term that will remind the child how to do the technique.
Tiger Traditional Forms
The decision of what material the ATA Tiger will participate with will be left up to their instructor and
should be indicated on their registration card.
Tiger Judging Criteria & Scoring Format
Since this is an introduction to competition, scoring for forms, one-steps, and sparring will be totally
different from other divisions.
Judging of Tigers will be as follows:
● A tiger will not receive a numerical score. Instead, the judge will make a positive comment about the
performance of the student.
● For free sparring competition, points will not be issued. Instead, when the judge sees something
special to comment on, he/she should call "break" and make a positive comment about the move. Free
sparring rounds for Tigers will be 1 minute each.
● Each tiger will do two rounds of one-steps or free-sparring. If there is an odd number of tigers, one of
them will do three rounds. The judge should pick a good positive reason for having that tiger perform an
additional time.
Categories of ATA Tiger Awards
Once the Tigers have completed their demonstration, the judge will decide on which participant will
receive an award in each of the following suggested categories:
● Best Kicks.
● Strongest Punches.
● Loudest Yells.
● Amazing Power.
● Best Black Belt Attitude.
● Fantastic Focus.
● Best Memory.
● Fastest Moves.
● Awesome Blocks.
● Most Energy.
A separate set of awards are given to those Tigers who compete in Traditional Weapons, ATA-Xtreme
Forms, ATA-Xtreme Weapons, Creative Forms or Creative Weapons competitions. The categories will be
very similar to the categories for forms and sparring.
The following are suggested categories:
● Incredible Control.
● Super Speed.
● Black Belt Weapon Demonstration.
● Powerful Weapon Handling.
● Terrific Twirling.
● Cool Creativity.
● Best ATA Spirit.
● Amazing Combos.
● Strongest Strikes/cuts.
● Weapon Super Star.
● Xtreme combos.
Tigers compete with each other NOT against each other. The judges smile, clap and help them (if needed) with their forms. Their weapons can be freestyle. This is introducing our tiniest members to show off all their hard work and earn fun medals for being brave. Tigers can spar at the discretion of their instructor. They must be in Tiger BBC and have all appropriate gear. They do not spar to win or lose; they spar to show off their sparring moves. There is no 1 st , 2 nd or 3 rd place. All tigers get medals for participating. Boys and girls mixed.
Competition Age
A competitor's competition age is determined by their age as of 11:59 pm, December 31st of the tournament season. The age that they are at on that date will indicate the division in which they should compete in throughout the entire tournament season.
8 and under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-17, 18-29, 30-39, etc
Ring Divisions:
At Regional Tournaments rings are divided if there are 13 or more in the ring
At Large tournaments ( Nationals and Worlds) rings are not split until there are 16 or more
What are points?
Points are awarded to competitors who are competing in the CHAMPION DIVISION and apart of LEADERSHIP.
How are points tallied?
“AAA-Worlds” 1 st place 20 pts, 2 nd place 15 pts, 3 rd place 10 points
“AA-Nationals” 1 st place 15 points, 2 nd place 10 points, 3 rd place 8 pts
“A” 1 st place 8 points, 2 nd 5 points, 3 rd 2 points, less than 5 competitors 5,3, 1 points
“B” 1 st place 5 points, 2 nd place 3 points, 3 rd place 1 point
“C inner school” 1 st place 3 points, 2 nd place 2 points, 3 rd place 1 point
One little caveat to this is at an A tournament there MUST BE 8 competitors in your ring to earn full points, other wise only “B” tournament points are awarded
The maximum point total is 99 for State and World Top Ten standings:
● World Championships - max of 20 points
● Best National event ( You may count 2 out of 3 class "AA" events) - max 30 points
● Best five regional tournaments - max 40 points (Assuming 1st place, full ring @ 5 "A" tournaments)
● Best three “Class C” events - max 9 points
Judging?
We will not get into specifics about judges as there is a lot of information about who can judge what division, testing, etc. However, it is important to know who is judging and what. Judges can give up to a 9.
There are 3 judges.
Corner Judge A:
Will grade only stances and kicks.
For stances, the judge should look for:
● Proper Base to include correct
- Length
- Width
- Weight distribution
- Foot position
For kicks, the most important things to judge are proper:
● Trajectory
● Follow through
● Joint position
● Balance
● Power
Note:
● The height of the kicks should match the competitor'ss body dimensions. (i.e. their solar plexus for
mid-section kicks and head level for high section kicks)
● Judge A will only judge the techniques that are shown and will not make point deductions
for moves left out, the wrong type of kick or an incomplete form. Those areas are the
responsibility of the center judge.
Corner Judge B:
Will grade only hand techniques.
For hand techniques, the most important things to judge are proper:
● Trajectory
● Joint Position
● Speed
● Reaction Force
● Power
Judge B will only judge the techniques that are shown and will not make point deductions for moves left out, the wrong type of block or strike, or an incomplete form. Those areas are the responsibility of the center judge.
The Center Judge:
Will grade the overall form presentation.
The center judge will score the overall presentation of the form. In addition to the criteria of Judge A
and B, the additional criteria for the center judge are proper:
● Memory (Automatic Reflex)
● Rhythm & Timing
● Attitude & Enthusiasm
Score Keeper / Time Keeper
Please remember this is a broad overview of the ATA Tournament Rules. You can visit the ATAmaritalarts.com for the official 2023 tournament rules and regulations.