Rules & Regulations

WAI KRU REQUIREMENT: 

Before the start of the 1st round, the athlete must seal the ring and bow to the canvas three times while wearing a Mongkon. While we respect the tradition and customs of the sport, we ask all athletes not to perform a Wai Kru over one minute. This is due to the time constraint of a tournament. 

 

ATHLETE EQUIPMENT:

GLOVES: Athletes shall wear the gloves which the organizer of the competition has placed at their disposal and which have been approved by MTO. The gloves must be red and blue and coordinate with the colour of the Athlete’s corner. Athletes are not allowed to wear their own gloves.

SPECIFICATION: The gloves shall weigh 10 ounces (284 grams) the leather portion shall not weigh more than half of the total weight and the padding not less than half the total weight. The padding of the gloves shall not be displaced or broken. All Athletes in any one contest must wear exactly the same gloves from the same manufacturer, and only clean and serviceable gloves of red and blue colour may be used.

BANDAGES & HAND WRAPS: A soft surgical bandaging not longer than 2.5m and whose width does not exceed 5cm or a “Velcro” hand wraps not longer than 2.5m on each hand should be used -no other kind of bandage may be used. Only one or the other one will be use at one time, never both on the same time. Hand wraps may be inspected at anytime.

TAPE INSPECTION: The bandages / hand wraps of the Athlete shall be inspected before being provided their competition equipment. The hand wraps may be inspected at any later time by the Referee or Jury, including after a decision has been rendered.

HEAD GUARD: The use of the head guard mandatory in all classes of experience and competition. The head guard shall have no cheek protectors, chin guard or face shield. Athletes must come into the ring without their head guard only after having been presented to the audience, sealing the ring, and Wai Kru has been completed should they put it on. The head guard shall be taken off immediately after the contest is over and before the decision is announced.

SHIN GUARDS, ELBOW GUARDS, MOUTHGUARD: all athletes in all experience classes (A, B and C) must wear shin guards, head gear, mouthguard and elbow guards throughout all competition.

BODY PROTECTOR: The use of a corner colour coordinated body protector is mandatory for all Athletes competing in the Youth 8-9, Youth 10-11, Youth 12-13, Youth 14-15, Youth 16-17,

ANKLE PROTECTION: In tournament format competition No ankle protection (cloth anklet, tape, etc) may be worn.

GROIN GUARD: The use of a groin guard by Athletes is mandatory for both male and female Athletes. Male Athletes shall wear a metal or polycarbonate  groin guard, and a jock strap may be worn in addition. For female Athletes, a polycarbonate or foam groin guard shall be worn. To observe hygiene, all athletes male and female must have their own groin protectors.

FEMALE CHEST PROTECTION FOR TOURNAMENT: The use of chest protection is Mandatory for all female Athletes Youth and Seniors where Body Protector are not used, to guard against hematoma formation within soft tissue areas of the breast proper. Each chest protector must pass inspection prior to competition.

SHORTS: Muay thai shorts must be worn for competition and the belt line clearly demarcated. No substitutes are permitted. No Tights, no MMA shorts.

SHOES: Athletes are not permitted to wear shoes. Or socks. Trimmed toe nails is a must in order to compete.

LINEAMENT & VASELINE: Rubbing lineament is permitted in moderation and may only be used on the body of the Athlete. A reasonable amount of Vaseline is permitted only on the face for the purpose of reducing the risk of cuts. A mixture of Vaseline and lineament is not permitted.

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ADMINISTRATION OF DRUGS:

DOPING: The administration to an Athlete of drugs or chemical substances not forming part of the usual diet of an Athlete is prohibited. The doping regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) shall be applied.

PENALTIES: Any Athlete or official violating this prohibition shall be liable to disqualification or suspension by MTO.

LOCAL ANESTHETICS: The use of local anesthetics is permitted only by the MTO Medical Doctor.

PROHIBITED DRUGS: The current World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CSES) lists of prohibited substances shall constitute MTO’s list of prohibited substances. Any Athlete taking such substances or any official administering such substances shall be subject to the penalties. MTO may ban additional substances upon the recommendation of the Muay thai Canada or IFMA Medical Commissions.

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AWARDING OF POINTS:

SCORING: A Muay thai skill is punch, kicking, knee or elbow applied with force and intend to cause effect, One score will be awarded for each Muay thai skill that strike against a scoring target without being blocked, guarded against, or infringing the rules.

NON SCORING TARGETS: The gloves, forearms, foot, and shin are not scoring targets, unless a strike is applied with enough force to have an effect on a scoring target (e.g. a high kick against the gloves of a blocking opponent off- balances them.)

ILLIGAL TARGETS: The groin is not a scoring target and intentional strikes against the groin may be considered fouls.

TEN POINTS MUST SYSTEM: Each round 10 points shall be scored individually, in which at least one Athlete shall be awarded 10 points for each round. No fraction of points may be given. At the end of each round, the better (more scoring Muaythai skills) Athlete shall receive 10 points and the opponent proportionately less. When Athletes are equal in merit, each shall receive 10 points.

STEPS FOR AWARDING POINTS:

First: An Athlete wins the round when utilizing more scoring Muay thai skills than the opponent;  

A difference of 7 or less scoring Muay thai skills between the athlete is a small margin;

A difference of 8 -14 scoring Muay thai skills between the athlete is a clear margin;

A difference of 15-21 scoring Muay thai skills between the athlete is a total domination

 

If the Athletes are equal in scoring Muay thai skill...
Second: An Athlete wins the round when using a more forceful Muay thai skills than the opponents;

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NON-AWARDING OF POINTS:

• Hitting with lack of Muaythai skills;

• Hits which are appropriately blocked by the opponent’s (forearms /gloves) or shins/feet;

• Hitting with lack of force even when those hits have landed on target;

• Throwing the opponent without hitting; and

• Hitting while infringing any of the rules.
  When an Athlete receives an 8-count for a tournament Provincial;

  The 8 count is administered only to protect the Athlete for unnecessary punishment. The 8 count in a tournament format will not change the score. It will still be a limit of CCL (Compulsory count limit base on the age group. Or an RSC(Referee Stop Contest) could also terminate the fight earlier due to safety of the Athlete.

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SCORING SYSTEM:

• 10 points will be awarded to the Athlete who wins the round, and the opponent proportionately less (9-8-7 respectively);

• 10 points will be awarded to each Athlete if they are even in the round;

• The Athlete who wins the round by a small margin will receive 10 points, the opponent will receive 9 points;

• The Athlete who wins the round by a clear margin will receive 10 points, the opponent will receive 8 points

• The Athlete who wins the round by a total domination will receive 10 points, the opponent will receive 7 points;

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FOULS:

TREATMENT OF FOULS: The Athlete who commits fouls can at the discretion of the Referee be cautioned, warned, or disqualified without warning.

CAUTIONS: A Referee may caution with or without stopping a contest. A caution shall be accompanied by the appropriate physical signal for the offense committed. Three cautions of the same type of foul will mandate a warning be issued. An Athlete receive any caution for a different types of fouls the Referee may apply a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.

WARNINGS: If the Referee intends to warn an Athlete for a repeated or serious infraction of the rules they shall stop the contest, send the opponent to the neutral corner, and demonstrate the infringement. The Referee will then lead the Athlete to the centre of the ring and signal to each of the 3 Judges that a special warning has been given.

A Referee having once administered a warning for a particular foul cannot issue a caution for the same type of offense. If an Athlete is given three warnings in a contest they will be disqualified.

DEDUCTION OF POINTS: If the Referee provides a Warning to one of the Athletes the Judges may award a point to the other competitor. When a Judge decides to award a point to an Athlete in agreement with a Referee Warning they shall place a “W” in the appropriate column against the points of the warned competitor to show that they have done so.

The Athlete receiving the Warning will be deducted one point from their total points.

DISQUALIFICATIONS: For major/dangerous infractions of the rules the Referee may opt to immediately disqualify an Athlete.

TYPES OF FOULS:

• No elbows to the back of the head

• No intentional kick to the back (spine)

• Intentionally spitting out mouth guards;

• Bending the back of opponent

• Intentionally smothering an opponent by covering the mouth and nose;

• Intentionally removing, unfastening, or displacing equipment;

• Intending to impact the opponent with canvas using a non-Muaythai technique, such as but not limited to;

     Tripping an opponent without using a Muaythai skill when making 3 points of contact with the body; o Throwing an    opponent using the hip (Judo or Wresting techniques)
    Tackling the opponent’s body or legs

• Using the bottom of the foot to trip an opponent;

• Hooking or immobilizing the opponent legs using calf, ankle or heel of the foot to trip them;

• Lifting an opponent by the body;

• Locking /hyper-extending of the opponent’s joints in the arms, legs, head/neck or back.

• Attacking while holding the ropes or making any unfair use of the ropes;

• Falling on to an opponent who is lying on the floor;

• Attacking the opponent who is down or who is in the act of rising;

• Striking while having any part of the body other than feet touching the floor;

• Obstructing an opponent from re-entering the ring;

• Completely passive defense by means of double cover and intentionally falling to avoid a hit;

• Striking the groin of the opponent, if the Athlete is unintentionally hit by Muaythai skill and unable to

  continue the fight, the Referee will pause the fight for up to 5 minutes to allow the hit Athlete to take a rest. If Athlete refuses to resume the fight after 5 minutes rest they will be declared as “loser” and opponent will be declared the“winner”.

• Holding the opponent’s leg and pushing forward more than two steps in any direction without striking with any one of the Muay thai skills (Plowing);

• Striking an opponent after the round has ended;

• Not following the Referee’s command to “YOOT” (“Stop”) or “YAEK” (“Break”) and take a step back;

• Attempting to strike the opponent before the Referee has ordered “CHOCK”(Fight) following the command

  to “YOOT” or“YAEK”;

• Useless, aggressive, or offensive utterance during the contest;

• Assaulting or behaving in aggressive manner towards the Referee at any time;

• Applying, water to an Athlete by means other than a water bottle or spray bottle;

• Use of excessive water during the rest period between rounds causing a delay starting the next round;

• Using any kind of forbidden substance acknowledged by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) or MTO Anti- Doping Code.

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LENGTH OF ROUNDS:

Senior A bouts will be 3 x 3 minute rounds with a 1 minute rest. 

Senior B and C Class bouts will be 3 x 2 minute rounds with a 1 minute rest.

Youth 16-17, 14-15 will be 3 x 2 minute rounds with a 1 minute rest.

Youth 12-13 will be 3 x1.5 minute rounds with a 1 minute rest.

Youth 10-11yrs will be 3 x 1 minute rounds with a 1 minute rest. 

Youth 8-9 will be 3 x 1 minute rounds with a 1 minute rest. 

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DIVISIONS: 

Senior 18-40 yrs: C Class is 0-5 bouts. B Class is 6-14 bouts. A Class is 15+ bouts. 

Youth 14-15 & 16-17: C Class is 0-5 bouts. B Class is 6-14 bouts. A Class is 15+ bouts.

Youth 8-9, 10-11 & 12-13: C Class is 0-5 bouts. B Class is 6-14+ bouts.

 

*** All youth divisions compete with a body protector provided at the tournament

*** Youth 8-9 and 10-11 divisions are NO HEAD CONTACT (NHC)

 

TYPES OF EXPERIENCE CONSIDERED: An Athlete’s experience across all full contact, striking based combative sports (Muaythai, Kickboxing, Sanshou, MMA, etc) is considered when determining their experience class. All levels of competition are considered, including but not limited to judged contests, demonstrations, smokers, and exhibitions (full contact). Light contact contest, with no had head contact, will not score as record (Ex: Kids Youth Movement with No head contact)

 

Please include all ring experience! If you are unsure if a bout counts, please ask us. 

If you have had more ring experience since submitting your registration and need to update your record, please do so here.

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Athletes with professional combat sports experience must compete in A Class regardless of their accumulated number of bouts. An Athlete with minimal low level professional experience (e.g. tourist stadium competition in Thailand) and a cumulative experience of less than 15 bouts may submit an online Request for Professional Reclassification to participate in B Class - subject to review and approval from the MTO board.​

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ILLEGAL STRIKES BY DIVISION:

Youth 8-9 & 10-11: No strikes to the head (NHC)

Youth 12-13: Punch & kick to the head legal. No knees or elbows to the head

Senior Division, Youth 14-15, Youth 16-17: C class, no knees or elbows to the head. B class, no knees or 12-to-6 elbows to the head. A class, all legal Muay Thai techniques. 

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