Spirit of the Smoker
– The in-house smoker is NOT a fight. This is a sparring exhibition match. In terms of intensity, consider it a level above sparring with your teammates, but one level below an out of house smoker. NO KNOCKOUTS ALLOWED.
– The goal of the event is to gain experience and deal with the nerves of competition! THIS IS NOT A FIGHT. This is a sparring exhibition match. No winners and no losers, just experienced gained!
– The goal of these matches should be to go all 3 rounds. We want athletes to gain the most amount of experience possible during these events.
– This is considered an exhibition bout: no winners or losers, but will be graded on performance so athletes have areas to improve on.
– The goal is to prepare for competition on a larger scale for those that want to pursue fighting at a higher level.
– coaches and teammates: Do not taunt or cheer against the other side (she’s tired! She’s hurt! Go for the finish! etc.) Instead, cheer FOR your teammate or student. Cheer for both! Encourage both athletes to give their best

Referees
The referees are here for the SAFETY of the athletes.
Our referees will be more involved than in a typical sanctioned fight, their job is to control the pace and flow of the matches and make sure both athletes make it all 3 rounds.
They will be consistently communicating with the athletes (turn it up, bring it down, just go to the head, work your defense, etc.) as well as with the coaches in between rounds.
The referee is in charge of the match.
They will issue warnings for fouls (takedown, uncontrolled strikes, etc.) If, after multiple warnings, the athlete is not listening, the match will be stopped.
Referee commands: CHOK (fight), YOOT (stop), YAK (break)
No 8-counts in exhibition matches. If an athlete takes a body shot or needs time to recover, the referee will give them time at their discretion to allow the athlete to recover and come back into the match.

Rules & Fouls
– No teeps to the face and no teeps directly to the knee. Teep to thigh or hip is ok.
– No knees to the head. It is the responsibility of BOTH athletes to ensure this doesn’t happen. Do not drop your head in the clinch! Be in control of your weapons.
– No elbows of any kind.
– Catch and sweep must be a kicking motion.
– Throws in the clinch must be over the hip. No grapevine, no judo throw, no wrestling takedowns.
– No dirty boxing in the clinch.
– No grabbing of the lower back and hyper extending the spine.
– If a kick is caught, the catcher is only allowed one step per strike. No plowing.
– Spinning backfist must be with the large backside of the glove and not the side of the glove.
– If you are going to throw a spinning strike (ie, spinning back kick) throw it with control!

Coaches
– 2 coaches in a corner at a time please.
– Please make sure you are coaching FOR your athlete and not coaching AGAINST the other athlete! Keep the event positive, we are not coaching to win, we are coaching for our athletes to gain experience.

Score Reports
The objective of the score reports are to give athletes direct and constructive feedback right after their matches. The score reports can be used as an opportunity to improve strengths and address weaknesses.

What Are Judges Looking For?
– Demonstrating balance on offense and defense
– Clean Technique
– Accuracy
– Composure
– Control
– Variety of attacks