Ishinryu Officials

In the past it was a requirement that anyone grading to an Ishinryu Dan grade must also be a qualified competition official. While that requirement has since lapsed, the need for Ishinryu to be represented by competition officials has not.

Starting August 2025 the following structure for Ishinryu Association officials has been introduced. Qualifications are attained following a written and practical examination.



	Senior (16 and over)	Junior (under 16)	Summary

1	Table official ‘B’	Table official ‘B’	Ability to score and time a bout and communicate with the Referee.
2	Table official ‘A’	Table official ‘A’	Ensure categories run smoothly by organising competitors and bouts so as to minimise delay.
3	Judge ‘B’	Judge ‘B’	Demonstrated ability to flag scores correctly and to effectively support Referee decisions.
4	Judge ‘A’	Judge ‘A’	Demonstrate full knowledge of Referee actions in giving penalties when required.
5	Referee ‘B’	Referee ‘B’	Demonstrated ability to run a bout, awarding points and giving penalties.
6	Referee 'A'	Referee 'A'	A full understanding of all WKF rules in relation to running any bout.

Skills are accumulated and added to through stages (1) to (6) which is why each qualification must be taken in order. After passing the Judge ‘B’ qualification official dress is required.

Table Officials do not need to be graded Karateka (although a good knowledge of Karate will help). Association Judges must be graded to at least 4th Kyu or above. Association Referees must be graded to at least 1st Kyu or above.

Judge ‘A’ and Referee ‘A’ can only be reached following practical experience at a minimum of three open competitions.

Why qualify?

An official’s qualification adds an additional side to your Karate knowledge and skills. It boosts the reputation of our Association and helps our squad entry into competition (because the limiting factor on many competitions is the number of available officials).