Goals of Martial Arts Judging
Judging a test or a tournament is an important function in any martial arts system. It helps maintain a balance of tradition, progression, and training. To be an effective judge, it’s essential to understand the purpose behind judging.
Judging a Test
Whether it’s a Kyu test or a Dan test, the goal of judging isn’t to deliver your personal verdict to the candidates. Instead, your role is to provide an informed assessment to the instructor and offer useful, constructive feedback for the candidates.
To do this effectively, writing notes is essential. Typing or handwriting is fine, but it’s difficult to keep everything in your head while watching a candidate perform. These notes are for you alone, not for others to read.
From your notes, select the most important points to share with the candidate. Look for ways to offer constructive criticism and clear action steps they can take to improve. It’s always easy to list every flaw, but true judging is about distilling those observations into something cohesive, positive, and actionable for the candidate.
Feedback for Instructors
When giving feedback to teachers, first make sure you understand what the instructor values or is specifically looking for during the test. Once that’s clear, simple yes/no assessments or concise observations are often all that’s needed/desired.
Just as with candidates, don’t overwhelm instructors with every detail you wrote down. Too much criticism can come across as personal bias rather than helpful evaluation. Your goal is to be precise and constructive. As the saying goes, “You get more with honey.” The more positively feedback is delivered, the more likely it is to be heard.
Judging Tournaments
In a tournament setting, it’s crucial to stick strictly to the established guidelines.
For example, in sparring events, scoring is based on a straightforward point system. A competitor either earns the point or doesn’t—there shouldn’t be coaching, commentary, or extra interpretation beyond the scoring criteria. Anything more risks creating the appearance of bias.
Even the appearance of bias will undermine your effectiveness as a judge, because people will tend to dismiss your feedback.
The same applies to kata or kumite judging. Make sure you clearly understand what you’re looking for before assigning a score. Some judges keep their notes mentally; others prefer to jot things down. In a fast-paced tournament, handwriting may not always be practical. As such, clarity of criteria becomes even more important when keeping mental notes.
Professional Appearance and Conduct
Proper attire is another key aspect of judging. Whether wearing formal clothing for a black belt test or a clean dojo uniform, how you present yourself reflects your professionalism. Clean attire, proper grooming, and an organized appearance show you take your role seriously.
Candidates perform their best when they feel the judges are both SERIOUS and SUPPORTIVE. Presenting yourself well helps create that environment.