Competition

General Information

NihontoDo competition is held annually, when all the different training centers will come together for a grand competition.

The weapons used in the competition are the Kodachi and the Choken.

CATEGORIES

REQUIREMENTS

SEP Swordplay Kodachi

Male Primary
Female Primary
Male Secondary
Femal Secondary

SEP participants in that current year only

Entry Level Kodachi

Male U13
Female U13
Male 13-16yrs
Female 13-16yrs
Male >16yrs
Female >16yrs

Red belt and below(inclusive) only in NHTD

Must be current practitioners

*Note that participants can only participate in 1 competition each

Sports Kenjutsu Choken

Male U13
Female U13
Male 13-16yrs
Female 13-16yrs
Male >16yrs
Female >16yrs

Red Belt to Brown Belt(inclusive) only in NHTD

Must be current practitioners

*Note that participants can only participate in 1 competition each

Sports Kenjutsu Choken (Black Belt)

Male
Female

Black belts and above in NHTD

Attire and equipment

• Only sports attire or Gi is allowed in the competition.

• No footwear is allowed when competing.

• No accessories that may cause physical harm during the match are allowed. E.g. hairpins, rings, watches, earrings etc.

• Only ActionFlex equipment is allowed in the competition.

• In the event that the participant does not have their own equipment, the equipment can be loaned from the organisers.

General Rules / Scoring or Points

• Each match is umpired by 3 referees. For any decision to be finalised, 2 out of the 3 referees must agree.

• Each match consists of 5 bouts; each bout allows a maximum of 1 point.

• Each bout will last a maximum of 2 minutes.

• A point is given when any part of the blade strikes the opponent.

• Any hits made after the first point given in a bout are not counted.

• First player to score 3 points wins the match.

• The referees’ decision is final.

Penalties / Disqualifications

• Penalties are awarded in the following scenarios:

Clash (Both players strike each other at the same time),
Out of bounds (A player's feet are completely outside the area of play).

• For a clash, both players are awarded one penalty each.

• Any player to accumulate 2 penalties will be disqualified.

• In the event that both players received their second penalty simultaneously, both players are disqualified regardless of accumulated points.

• Throwing of the equipment or unsportsmanlike behaviour such as verbal or physical abuse will result in immediate disqualification.

• In the event that a player does not show up for his/her match, the opponent will be given a walk-over to the next match.

Semi-Final and Final matches

• All rules and regulations as stated above apply in the semi-final and final matches, with the exception of those mentioned in this section

• Both parties cannot be disqualified simultaneously in semi-final and final matches.

• In the event that both players receive their second penalty simultaneously, the next point or penalty will determine the winner of the match.

Sports Kenjutsu Choken

• All abovementioned sparring rules apply on top of the rules mentioned here, unless otherwise stated.

• In this category, players are not allowed to attack with the Choken while holding it with only one hand. Doing so will result in a penalty for the offender.

• Hitting of the legs in this category, where the legs is denoted as below the hip bone, will NOT be counted as a point and the bout will carry on in such cases

• Players may block the opponent’s strike while holding the Choken with one hand.

Area of Play