Martial arts has been practiced as a combat sport for ages and is widely used for self-defense, army training and law enforcement purposes. Although martial arts has its roots embedded in ancient civilization, it became a prominent and highly competitive game only during the era of the 1960s – 1970s. Hong Kong was referred to as the homeland of martial arts as it started producing numerous martial-arts-oriented movies starring Bruce Lee.
With the rise of cut-throat martial arts tournaments, including the most prominent World Open Martial Arts Championship (WOMAC), it attracts enormous attention from millions of viewers from all over the world. While the last few decades have witnessed an incredible growth of eminent martial arts athletes including, Vidyut Jammal, Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes and many more, the referees have also played a pivotal role in restructuring and rebuilding the integrity of the game and successfully anchoring the game’s transition from the tradition “kicking and punching” format to the modern mixed martial-art format. To maintain the rules and regulations of the game in intensely competitive mixed martial arts tournaments, the referees require an array of equipment.
Whistle
Just like other prominent sports, including wrestling and football, the referees use a whistle while officiating martial arts tournaments. It is considered mandatory for the referees to use whistles for multiple purposes including, indicating the start and conclusion of the match, issuing warnings, point deductions and rule violation penalties to the player during the ongoing match. The whistle is designed with precision so that the sound of it can cut through the defeating noise of the ring and grab the attention of players right away.
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Digital Stopwatch
The referees use digital stopwatches to regulate timing and ensure unbiased fair play in the matches. The referees precisely monitor the duration of each round through their stopwatch and ensure that the prescribed time limit is being followed, without any errors. Additionally, the referees also use their digital stopwatch to monitor the holding positions of the players during the ongoing matches.
Red and Blue Paddles
The red and blue paddles are simply flags that are used by martial arts referees to signal a scoring point for the player in the ring. The contrasting colors, red and blue, are used deliberately to enhance the visibility of both players and viewers. Just by taking a look at the blue or red paddles that are assigned to the players, the spectators can easily guess which player has scored a point in a specific round, thereby eliminating the potential chances of confusion or biases in any tournament.
Scorecards
Almost similar to other competitive sports like football, martial arts also requires the referee to use scorecards in the ring. These scorecards serve an array of purposes, including, registering the points scored by players in each round and monitoring the point count to determine which player takes the lead. With the extensive use of scorecards, the referees eliminate the risk of making errors while registering the scoring points of players competing against each other in the ring.
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Rulebook
The referees officiating the martial arts tournaments are often seen carrying a rulebook for each match. Contrary to the beliefs of numerous viewers, carrying a rulebook is considered to be mandatory for referees in martial arts tournaments. The rulebook acts as an indispensable tool during the most uncertain situations, including player injuries and misconduct. As the name suggests, the rulebook of martial arts carried by the referees includes all the regulations and protocols of the sport, assisting the referees in dealing with the most serious conflict situations in the ring.
Communicating Equipment
Similar to other sports like football and wrestling, the referees officiating the arts tournaments use headsets and wireless walkie-talkies to communicate with their officials during the match. In addition to coordinating with their teams, the referees also use communication equipment for communicating about health emergencies and injuries. Furthermore, the communication equipment is also used by the referees to tackle communication for security breach issues in case it takes place during the match.
Protective Gear
As mentioned earlier, martial arts is practiced as a combat sport that involves physical alterations to a great extent. Therefore, to safeguard the referees from any serious injuries, it is considered mandatory for the organizing committees to provide referees with a protective gear kit that includes a wide array of protective equipment including chin guards and gloves.
