Section 7: Violations & Penalties
7.1 Warning (Kyong-go) Offenses
The following actions result in a verbal warning. Two warnings in the same category result in a penalty point deduction:
- Attacking a fallen opponent
- Intentionally stepping out of the ring to avoid combat
- Grabbing, holding, or pushing the opponent
- Turning the back to the opponent to avoid engagement
- Feigning injury to gain an advantage
- Excessive stalling or time-wasting
- Coaching from a competitor's second during active rounds
- Knee attacks or deliberately using the knee as a striking weapon
- Attacking below the belt line
7.2 Penalty (Gam-jeom) Offenses
The following serious violations result in an immediate penalty point deduction (1 point awarded to the opponent):
- Excessive contact — delivering techniques with force beyond controlled contact, particularly to the head. This is the most common penalty and reflects ITF's emphasis on control.
- Attacking the back of the head, spine, or throat
- Throwing or sweeping the opponent to the ground
- Headbutting (outside designated breaking events)
- Attacking after the referee's stop command (goman)
- Repeated or deliberate violations after warnings
- Verbal abuse, intimidation, or disrespectful conduct toward officials or opponents
7.3 Disqualification (Sil-gyeok)
A competitor is disqualified from the match or tournament for:
- Accumulating a specified number of penalty deductions (typically 3 full penalties, equating to -3 points)
- Intentionally injuring an opponent through excessive or reckless contact
- Refusing to comply with the referee's instructions
- Competing under false identity, rank, or weight class
- Testing positive for prohibited substances under anti-doping regulations
- Any conduct that brings the sport or the ITF into disrepute
7.4 Protests and Appeals
A coach may lodge a formal protest with the jury president if they believe a procedural error or incorrect decision has occurred. Protests must be filed immediately (typically within 1 minute of the disputed decision) and may require a protest fee. The jury reviews the protest, may consult video replay where available, and issues a final ruling. Points awarded by the consensus scoring system are generally not subject to protest, as they reflect the collective judgment of the corner judges.