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National Martial Arts Organization
Tournament League

The Rubric & Rating System

How every performance is scored, and how competitors are rated across a season. Transparent by design.

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The rubric

Six criteria, every performance.

Every performance is judged on six criteria, each scored 0–100 and weighted. The weights shift by style — traditional events reward foundation, open events reward difficulty.

Trad · traditional forms & weaponsOpen · open forms & weapons
Technical ExecutionClean, correct, precise technique
2520
Power & Focus (Kime)Power delivered with control and focus
2015
Balance, Stability & RootingA grounded, stable, rooted base
2015
Timing, Rhythm & FluidityFlow, pacing, and command of tempo
1515
Spirit & PresentationIntensity, confidence, and presence
1215
Difficulty & CompositionThe challenge and design of the routine
820
Total weight
100100
Two profiles

Judged for the style.

Traditional events prize foundation — clean technique, power, and a rooted base carry the most weight.

Open events open the door to difficulty and composition, rewarding what a competitor dares to attempt.

Scoring

From judges to a final score.

1
Each judge scores all six criteria. Those combine into one weighted score for that judge, out of 100.
2
One judge, or a panel of three. Beginner and intermediate divisions are scored by a single judge; any division including the advanced tier by a panel of three.
3
Panels are averaged. Three judges' scores are averaged straight — no high or low dropped.
4
Placement. Highest score places first. Ties break by the single highest judge score, then by who submitted first.
Two different things

Rank and rating aren't the same.

Rank

Your belt tier

Set by your school — beginner, intermediate, advanced. The tournament never changes it. Rank is how you're grouped for a fair division.

Rating

Your skill number

A 0–100 number computed as you compete. It tracks your growth and matches you with competitors at your level — not your belt, not the standings.

The rating

How your rating moves.

Every competitor starts at 50. After each round, your rating adjusts by how you placed against competitors of your same rank. The system expects the higher-rated competitor to come out ahead — so beating a stronger one moves you up more, and an upset is rewarded.

Your first three rounds move faster, so you find your level quickly; after that, steadier steps. Ratings always stay between 0 and 100, and only ever move you against same-rank competitors.

# expected result vs one opponent
expected = 1 / (1 + 10 ^ ((opponent − you) / 40))
# your change, summed over opponents
change = (K / opponents) × Σ (result − expected)
# result = 1 win · 0 loss · ½ tie
# K = 8 for your first 3 rounds, then 4
The season

What carries the season.

Standings come from your best five of nine rounds, by placement — computed independently of your rating. They're what carry you toward the semi-finals and Grand Finale.

The weights and rating settings shown here are the current season's configuration, and may be tuned between seasons to keep competition fair. Scores are computed on our servers from the judges' inputs — never on a competitor's device.