World Sport Arnis Championships 2026: Official Rules

Welcome to the official rules section for the World Sport Arnis Championships 2026 in Dublin. Here you'll find the essential guidelines to ensure fair play, competitor safety, and the integrity of the sport. These rules are designed for both athletes and officials, promoting a thrilling and equitable competition for all.

Crucial rules for every participant

To ensure a smooth and fair competition, all athletes and coaches must be familiar with these fundamental rules. Adherence to these guidelines guarantees a level playing field and prioritizes competitor safety. Key rules include:

Weapon control and striking areas: Competitors must maintain control of their rattan or padded sticks at all times. Legal striking areas are clearly defined to ensure safety and emphasize technical skill.
Protective gear requirements: Mandatory protective gear, including headgear, gloves, and body armor, must be worn correctly during all sparring matches. This is non-negotiable for the safety of all athletes.
Fair play and sportsmanship: Any unsportsmanlike conduct, including excessive force, illegal strikes, or disrespect towards opponents or officials, will result in penalties or disqualification.
Match duration and scoring: Understanding the duration of each round and the scoring criteria for valid strikes is essential for effective strategy and fair judging.
Weight divisions and age categories: Competitors must compete within their designated weight and age categories to ensure fair matchups and prioritize safety.

Goals of our championship rules

Beyond fair play, our championship rules are meticulously crafted to achieve several key objectives:

Ensuring competitor safety: The primary goal is to minimize risks and prevent injuries, allowing athletes to compete at their best without undue harm. This includes strict regulations on protective gear and prohibited techniques.
Promoting traditional Sport Arnis techniques: The rules encourage the execution of authentic and skillful Sport Arnis movements, fostering the true spirit and artistry of the Filipino martial art.
Maintaining integrity and fairness: Clear guidelines for judging and scoring ensure transparency and impartiality, guaranteeing that the best athletes are recognized for their performance.
Enhancing the spectator experience: Well-defined rules make the matches easier to understand and more exciting for the audience, showcasing the dynamic nature of Sport Arnis.
Developing global standards: These rules contribute to establishing consistent international standards for Sport Arnis competitions, aiding in the sport's global growth and recognition.

Rules for athletes and officials

The rules serve as a comprehensive guide for everyone involved in the championships:

For athletes: The rules dictate legal techniques, prohibited actions, protective equipment, and match conduct. Understanding these is vital for effective training and competition strategy.
For judges and officials: The rules provide clear criteria for scoring, penalties, and disqualifications, ensuring consistent and fair adjudication of matches. Specific sections detail their responsibilities and protocols for handling disputes.
Shared understanding: A common understanding of the rules between athletes and officials promotes respect and minimizes disagreements, contributing to a positive and professional competition environment.

For a complete and detailed rulebook, please refer to the official www.worldsportarnis.co.uk or contact guruliam@hotmail.com for further clarifications.

Information

World Sport Arnis Rules

Forms must not be longer then 2 minutes. No "Live" weapon will be allowed.
National Teams mush have only 25 Adult members as a maximum (Male / Female) in their squad. This does not include children. This makes it a level playing field for all teams.
Only two fighters from each country can enter one weight division.
All fighters must show respect by a handshake or fist bump at the start and end of each fight.
All disciplines of WSA will be continuous fight of 2 minutes.
Scoring in the Padded Single and Padded Double Stick, will be decided a three person panel of judges who will decide on the skills and points score by quality hits.
In Padded Blade the referee will call out the fighter who strikes, slashes and stabs to a panel of 3 Judges, who after will stop the fight when one fighters gets to 10 points. The referee will call point to red fighter or blue fighter. After a slash or a stab the referee will stop the fight and bring the fighters back to the middle to start again.
Live rattan single and double stick will be a 2 Minute Round, unless there are 3 disarms. The fight will be judge by a panel of three. If it goes to a second round of 1 minute and can be won by a disarm or if no disarm, then by the judges.
In the event of malfunction of equipment, the timekeeper will be asked to stop the clock, so the fighter can be seen and their equipment put right.
Ring etiquette for all disciplines. You must have the proper equipment for the format you are taking part in. You must stay stay in the ring, if you keep stepping outside the ring, you may lose points. All fights are continuous, but you must not stand face to face and hit each other. After 4 seconds you must move around the ring. In all formats 3 disarms the fight will be stopped and the winner declare.

Padded Weapon Sparring - World Sport Arnis

Padded Stick Competitors will each use a Padded Stick of 28 inches (Provided).
All Divisions will consist of a 1 round of 2 minutes in duration, for all age groups. Competitors are required to wear a Padded Helmet and Gloves, Groin Guard, and Female Chest Protector, WEKAF Helmets or Fencing Helmets are ok.
Points will be given for clean shots to any of the following targets - Head, Hands, Arms, Body and Legs down to Knee. Not the Knee Joint or below. 2 or more vindictive strikes will get 1 point deducted.
A disarm is defined by the loss of a weapon due to it be taken by the opponent or it falling to the ground. In the event of any disarm, accidental or intentional, a point will be awarded to the opponent who is disarmed. In double padded padded sticks divisions with the use of two weapons, if one weapon is disarmed, the competitor will continue with one weapon for the duration of the fight. If both weapons are disarmed this will be TKO.
Scoring for single and double padded sticks will be a panel of 3 judges, who after 2 minutes, who is the winner by the skill and quality strikes to their opponent. If they cannot decided and its a draw a 1 minute extra round will take place. If there is a disarm in this extra round the fight will be over, and the winner declare.
In all formats in World Sport Arnis where there is a panel, the referee must not approach the panel until they decided on the fight. A referee must only talk to the panel, if they ask him/her advice on the present fight.

Full Armour Rattan Stick Sparring.

All fighters must show respect to each other before and after the fight and show respect to judges and all officials.
Competitors will each use single / double 28 inches rattan blue or red sticks, which will be provided.
Each match will consist of 1 round of 2 minutes in duration. Competitors are required to wear Full Armour, Gloves,, Groin Guard and Female Chest Protectors, WEKAF Helmets.
Engagement Rules: Points will be given for clean shots to any of the following targets, Head, Hands, Arms, Body, and legs down to the Knees, but not the Knee Joint. No vindictive strikes to Knee Joint or below. All WSA fights will be continuous. Two or more Vindictive strikes will get 1 point deducted, if this continues on your third warning you will be disqualified.
A disarm is defined by the loss of a weapon due to it been taken by the opponent or it falling to the floor. In the event of any disarm, accidental or intentional, a point will be awarded to the opponent of the competitor who is disarmed. Three disarms in any single stick match will result in an immediate TKO and end of match. In Double Stick if you are disarmed you must continue with single stick, until the referee decides to return the stick. If you lose both sticks it will be TKO and the fight is over.
Scoring will be done by a panel of 3 Judges who will decide who has done the most to win the fight. This means very effective striking to Hand, Body and Arms. In the event of a draw they will fight for 1 minute to decide the winner. In the event of a disarm during this extra 1 minute round a winner will be decided.
In double Sticks you must show skill with the double sticks, this means footwork, blocking, hitting your targets and retreating, If you stay in front of your opponent and just keep hitting the referee will stop the fight, and tell you to move around or loose points. The referee will give you two warnings then deduct a point after the third warning.

Bylaws for Trainers and Corner Personnel

Only one person will be allowed in the fighter corner before, and after the fight. The fighter knows the rules for fighting and should be given all his or her instructions before the fight begins. The fights in WSA are only 2 minutes in duration except for extension of a draw. So continuous shouting at the fighter is not very professional.
There will be NO derogatory remarks like "hit their legs" or "kill him" or any remarks like this at any of the WSA tournaments.
Spectators come to see a tournament and some top class fights, but not to listen to some person shouting loud at his or her fighter. So please refrain from doing this.
Any excess shouting from the corner person that is perceived loud will get a first warning from the referee, a second warning will lose his or her fighter a point and a third warning will result in the corner person being asked to leave the fight area.
The only people who may cheer their fighter will be the spectators. Other team members may cheer their fighter on from outside the fighting area, but no derogatory remarks ,
If the trainer or corner person continues to shout derogatory remarks they will be banned from future WSA events.
We are trying to bring this sport into the mainstream of martial arts sports, and to do this we must present ourselves as the being at the top of our game. If we all act professionally we can do this and make this a World Class Sport.

Equipment

Can all fighters who are taking part in WSA squad training or Championships, please make sure you have all the right equipment to take part. Helmet is in good order, Body Armour which is clean and gloves band arm pads and elbow pads. Safety is our first and last concern.
All children up to 16 years who want to participate in Padded Single / Double Sticks and Padded Knife must wear full Body Armour and Helmets plus arm pads and gloves in all championships.