All videos of the recent Town Vs. Gown 2023 fights were edited and published on the CARISMA YouTube channel. Please follow the following link to view them, leave comments and thumbs up (if just possible) and share them with others!

We are pleased to finally announce the matches for our annual Town vs Gown fight. Matches were made taking into account weight and experience. The fights will happen in the order as listed below; last minute changes could occur, caused by unforeseen circumstances:

Will all fighters please read carefully this post and ensure to understand it in its entirety. Any question please comment the post so the answer can be seen by everyone.  All fighters will have to be on site not later than 1:30PM for weigh in and briefing. Spectators will be allowed in from 2pm.

Matches

All fights are pre-matched by gender, weight and experience, with the best intentions to pair athletes from different clubs in each match.  All fighters will be weighted in before the event start and if the fighter’s weight is substantially higher than their expected weight it might be disqualified or given the decision to their pre-matched opponent to forfeit the fight.

Fights

All fights will have 3 rounds with 60 seconds breaks; matches where at least one of the fighters has less than 6 months experience will have 1 mins rounds.  Fighters with up to 12 months experience will fight 1.5 minutes rounds. The others will fight 2 mins rounds.

Scoring

Clubs Scoring

Each club will receive 3 points for each won fight and 1 point for each lost fight; at the end of the tournament the club with higher score will be nominated the winner.

Scoring Areas

• Side of Head
• Face
• Under Chin
• Front Torso
• Side Torso

Illegal Areas

• Back of Head
• Top of Head
• Neck
• Arm
• Hand
• Back
• Kidney Area
• Below the Belt (other than below the ankle sweeps)

Sweeps

All Sweeps must be boot to boot and no higher than the ankle. For a sweep to score, the sweep must incur either a complete grounding, or a stumble leading to the fighter touching the ground with any part of the body other than the soles of the feet. Even the slightest of touches to the ground by the fingers for example, will result in the sweep being deemed successful.

Legal Techniques

• Jab (landing with knuckle part of the glove)
• Reverse Punch (Back Fist, landing with knuckle part of the glove)
• Hook Punch (to the body and head)
• Uppercut Punch (to the body and head with control)
• Front Kick (to the body and head)
• Side Kick (to the body and head)
• Hook Kick (to body and head) including Spinning Back Hook Kick
• Jump Spinning Hook Kick (to the body and head)
• Spinning Back Side Kick (to the body and head)
• Jumping Spinning Back Side Kick (to the body and head)
• Roundhouse Kick (to the body and head) including Jump Round Kick
• Inside & Outside Crescent Kick (to the body & head) including Jump
• Internal & External Axe Kick (to the body & head) including Jump Axe
• Front Sweep (performed with inside of foot to below ankle), both legs front sweep can be to the inside and outside of the opponent’s boot

Illegal Techniques

• Any open handed strike with the inside of the hand (slap)
• Ridge Hand
• Drop Sweep
• Reverse Drop Sweep
• Palm Heel Strike
• Strikes with the elbows
• Any Throw
• Any take down
• Pushing with arms
• Leg Kicks
• Strikes with the knee
• Strikes with the Head
• Use of the thighs
• Touching the ground with any other part of the body than the soles of the feet.
• Any Blind Technique

Illegal Actions

• Swearing
• Verbal attacks to the Opponent or Officials
• Accusations of cheating to any Official or Competitor
• Uncontrolled Strikes and Kicks
• Any strike or kick to a joint
• Strike to top or back of head or to the back of the body
• Strike or Kick to the groin
• Scratching, biting or spitting
• Punching or Kicking after the Referee calls stop
• Leaving the fighting area
• Falling down
• Running around the area
• Using faulty or ill-fitting safety equipment
• Wasting time in an unsporting fashion
• Talking
• Causing offence by inappropriate apparel, gestures or words
• Excess power
• Refusing to touch gloves or any other unsporting behaviour

All of the above offences may be punishable by the Referee. The Referee may decide to verbally warn, officially warn, deduct a point or disqualify the competitor depending upon the severity of the offence.

Fighter’s Equipment

• Headguard Must cover the top of the head. Must be a Martial Arts type Headguard in good condition which fits well. A full-face or semi-face visor may be worn if it can be proven that a medical condition requires it. This must be authorised by the organiser prior to the start of the Tournament.
• Gumshield Martial Arts or Boxing type. No football / rugby type.
• Boxing Gloves Must be 10 ounces for everyone.
• Kick Boots Must cover the Instep and heel. Must be full boots and not shin-guards with instep pads. Must cover the whole foot.
• Groin Guard. Must be worn under clothing, and not on top.
• Shin Guards Must be worn under clothing and not on top. Must not be worn higher than the knee
• Chest Guard Must be worn under clothing and not on top. Essential for female Juniors and Adults.

Clothing

Fighters must be clean and dressed in an appropriate outfit. Toe nails should be clean and cut short. Fighters should wear a clean club’s T-Shirt that ensures that the top half of the arm is covered by a sleeve.

Martial Arts style trousers must be worn. The trousers should cover the Velcro fastening on the boots and should be full length. There should be no zips, pockets or buttons on the trousers at all. Track suit style trousers are not allowed. Hand bandages are allowed, maximum length 2.5 meters. Tape on the fist or the knuckles is allowed, but must not be excessive. The Referee can deem any hand-wrapping to be excessive.

Long hair should be tied back. No Metal/Plastic objects to be worn by any competitor, including earrings, eyeglasses, rings, watches, hair grips, chains, piercing jewellery etc. Soft contact lenses are allowed at the Fighter’s risk.

The Coach must wear appropriate clean sports clothing, and sporting shoes.

Equipment Check

Each Fighter is subject to an equipment check prior to the start of the fight. The checks are to be done by the Center Referee. Groin guards and chest guards are not to be touched by the Referee. The Fighter should be asked if they have the relevant equipment on, and they should reply in the affirmative. If injury occurs, and the Fighter has lied about the presence of such safety equipment, the Center Referee must disqualify the Fighter for breaching the safety rules. This is a compulsory disqualification regardless of how the accident happened.

What the Referee can do

The Referee is the only person who can stop the bout. The Medic must signal to the Referee if he/she wants the fight stopped. The Coach can retire the Fighter.  The Referee may change any or all of the officials in his area if he wishes. This must not happen during a fight unless an Official is ill. A Referee can deduct a point, or disqualify a Fighter, for any unsporting behaviour or dissent.

A Referee can disqualify a Fighter if he/she fails to be ready to fight after being called. (This includes not having the correct safety equipment, the right outfit or not turning up at all). One minute should be called, and the Timekeeper should indicate when the minute has expires. The winner will be the Fighter who is ready to fight, and the win shall be recorded as a Walk Over.