Tameshiwari (Breaking) Tournament Official Rules 2024

The rules for competing in Tameshiwari (breaking) have been maintained by Goju Karate for more than a decade and are used in competitions globally. This is the latest revision for 2024.

The latest version (the October 2024 release) of the Tameshiwari Tournament Rules has been announced and is available for download.

The standard set of Tameshiwari Tournament rules has been maintained by Goju Karate since 2012. They were first published on August 3, 2012, and in the intervening years, have been used by a number of dojo and tournament organizations to conduct traditional tameshiwari tournaments worldwide.

The official rules are always located here: Tameshiwari Tournament Rules.

Periodically, we revise these rules to better conform to feedback we receive from other dojo, and based on our experience in hosting tournaments. The purpose of these revisions is to maintain comparable scoring and process from year to year, and to assure both fair competition and competition in accordance with the spirit of karatedō.

This year, a few modifications were made to better specify the requirements for cinder blocks (which support boards that are broken) and to add more detail to a few elements of scoring and board material used. In general however, no major changes were made.

For Competitors

If you are competing in a tameshiwari tournament, you should familiarize yourself with these rules. While there are few changes between this release and the previous release in November 2022, check with the tournament officials of your tournament to make sure they are using this version of the rules.

The most important part to understand in these rules has to do with the scoring procedures and mechanism in the "Creative Break" rounds of tournaments. Use the specifications in the rules for that round to help you plan your break and how it will work.

For Tournament Organizers, Directors, and Officials

If you are a tournament organizer or official, you should be very well-versed in these rules. If you are planning a tournament, always check the official rules page for the latest version of the rules (there is a PDF version of the rules available on that page which can use or distribute to your competitors).

We always appreciate comments and feedback on these rules. To submit feedback, please use our Contact Us page or our Errata page.