- XARM Overview: XARM is a hybrid sport combining kick boxing, jiu-jitsu and arm wrestling – contested across a 28” x 16” table adjustable for height from 34” to 46”. Bouts consist of three one minute rounds with a one minute rest period between rounds. Athletes are allowed one second to accompany and assist them table-side.
- Clothing: Only XARM approved equipment and apparel may be worn in bouts. Athletes must wear approved elbow and knee pads and a professionally-fitted mouthpiece. Shoes are an elective, but laces must be securely taped. Athletes may not wear or display sponsor’s names or logos during a bout on their bodies or clothing. Athletes must be ready to compete: no jewelry is permitted and all athletes will trim their fingernails and toenails if not wearing shoes.
- Grip: Athletes must utilize the XARM grip in all bouts: a “full hand grip”, not a “thumb grip”. Both athletes’ shoulders must be square to the table before a round can begin. An athlete’s shoulders must not be less than the width of the referee’s fist from his side of the “XARM Grip” at the start of the round. The grip hands must be straight, still and in the center of the table at the beginning of a round. The referee, in his sole judgment, will determine the equalization of pressure applied before the start of a round. The referee will utilize a strap and/or duct tape to ensure that the athlete’s grip hands stay locked during the bout. Athletes may grab/grip the table with their free hand. Which arm is contested in the first round is determined by the referee’s toss of a coin before the round. The second round is contested with the opposite arm and the third round utilizes the coin toss again to determine the grip hand. “Heads” designates a right-arm bout. “Tails” designates a left-arm bout.
- Stance: Athletes must start each round with one foot, their choice, on the mark. The table top height will be adjusted by the referee before the start of a bout to position the table so it accommodates, in his sole opinion, both athletes. Athletes have to “toe the mark” before each round.
- Pins: An arm wrestling pin occurs whenever an athlete’s fingers, the back of his hand or his wrist is pinned to the table for a full count by the referee of “one-thousand”. After an athlete scores a pin, his arm must come up to the “north” position to be able to score another pin. An athlete cannot use two hands to pin his opponent or avoid a pin. Either will incur a warning. Subsequent infractions will incur a foul.
- How to Win: Bouts are won by a clean knockout, a TKO, or a decision.
- How to Lose: An athlete can quit by verbal submission or tap-out or his corner may throw in the towel. The referee or the doctor can call a stoppage of any bout if they feel the athlete cannot intelligently continue to compete or faces serious injury if allowed to continue. An athlete loses the bout if he accumulates three fouls or is disqualified by the referee. Failure to “toe the mark” at the beginning of a round will result in a loss of the bout. There is a five minute recovery period, in the event of an incapacitating foul. If the referee determines the foul was unintentional, and the injured athlete does not recover in the five minute recovery period, he forfeits the bout. But, if the referee determines the foul was intentional, and the injured athlete does not recover in the five minute recovery period, the athlete wins the bout, but cannot advance if the bout is part of a tournament.
- Decisions: In the event a bout goes the distance, a decision will be rendered by three (3) judges on the basis of the XARM “10” point must system. Each foul will cause a point to be subtracted from that round. A strike count, either manual or electronic, will be utilized by the judges as an aid in rendering a decision. 10/9 = Most effective striker that round. 10/8 = 2 to 1 strikes over the opponent during the round. 10/7 = 3 to 1 strikes over the opponent during the round. Who controls the action, aggressiveness, effective strikes, pins and damage done all count in determining the winner. In the event the fight is tied after three rounds there will be consecutive “tie-breaker” rounds until a winner emerges, either by stoppage or decision.
- Bouts Set in Motion: The following count and cadence will be addressed to both athletes by the referee at the beginning of every round:
- “Step Up.” (Athletes must toe the mark.)
- “Lock It Up.” (Athletes must hook themselves to the table, clasp hands in the XARM grip so the referee can strap their hands together.)
- “Are You Ready?” (Addressed to each athlete individually.)
- “Fight.” (Athletes begin competing.)
- Legal Techniques: Athletes are allowed to strike with the shoulder, either their free fist or the knuckles of the grip hand, the hand, forearm, foot, shin or knee to an opponent’s head or any part of the body - visible above the table. Neck cranks, fist chokes and collar ties are permitted; but defensive grappling to stall will incur a warning from the referee. Grappling is permitted only if it advances, in the opinion of the referee, an offensive technique and/or a strike. An athlete may strike his opponent’s grip hand elbow or arm to avoid a pin with any part of his open hand, but not with his fist, elbow or forearm.
- Prohibited Techniques: Strikes to the back of the head, the back of the neck (a two-inch wide zone from the top of the head to the base of the neck) or the front of the throat are not permitted. All head butts are illegal, as are fingers to the eyes or fish-hooking the nose or mouth. To use the fist, elbow or forearm to strike the opponent’s grip arm or elbow constitutes a foul. “North-south” elbow strikes are prohibited.
- Jeopardy Arm Positions: If the athlete is in a position that may cause serious damage to his grip arm, the referee may stop the action to reposition the athlete(s). If the fight has to be stopped a second time because of the “Damage-to-the-Arm” position and the referee decides the athlete is intentionally putting his arm in jeopardy to avoid a pin, a foul will be assessed.
- Athlete’s Table Conduct: An athlete must continue competing until the bell sounds signaling the end of the round; his opponent is knocked out or submits; the referee stops the fight; or a corner throws in the towel. Athletes will conduct themselves in a sportsman-like manner at all times. The referee has the option to assess a foul for any conduct that he, in his sole judgment, deems unsportsmanlike. However, a certain amount of “Trash Talk” is permitted at table with the exception of references to relatives, relationships, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion.
XARM Legal Techniques/Blows/Strikes:
1. Right Cross.
2. Push/Palm/Heel Strike.
3. Left or Right Jab.
4. Straight Right.
5. Right Uppercut.
6. Left Hook.
7. Hammer Fist - to the shoulder or the top of the head.
8. Back Fist.
9. Forearm Cross.
10. Back Forearm Cross.
11. Ridge Hand.
12. Knee Strike
13. “Meet & Greet” - Pull down head and strike w/knee.
14. Shin Strike.
15. Foot Kick.
16. Triceps Cross/Trap.
17. Fist Choke.
18. Neck Crank.
19. Collar Tie.
20. Arm Bar.
21. “Over the Top” – Jump up on the table on one knee and strike with the fist or forearm.
XARM Warnings:
1. Any failure to heed the referee’s instructions.
2. Defensive grappling.
3. Failure to fight aggressively.
4. Grip arm is in a jeopardy position.
5. Using two hands to pin an opponent or avoid a pin.
6. Accumulation of any three (3) warnings in the bout constitutes a foul.
7. The referee may issue a warning for the first use of any foul technique if the referee feels it was not intentional. A second infraction will automatically earn a foul whether intentional or not.
8. Warnings / fouls can be assessed on a second. If the second enters the fighting area during a bout his athlete will be disqualified. Seconds must stay inside their designated area. If they leave this area to coach their athlete, they will be warned by the referee. Subsequent infractions will incur a foul.
XARM Fouls:
1. Unsportsmanlike conduct.
2. Striking or going for a pin before the referee says, “Fight”.
3. Fingers to the eyes or fish-hooking the nose or mouth.
4. Putting the grip arm in a jeopardy position intentionally, in the referee’s opinion, after receiving a previous warning.
5. Head butts.
6. Using a fist, elbow or forearm to strike the arm or elbow of an opponent’s grip hand to avoid a pin.
7. Blows to the back of the head, the back of the neck or the front of the throat.
8. “North-South” elbow strikes.
XARM Grounds for Disqualification:
1. Putting the grip arm in a jeopardy position after receiving a foul for a previous infraction.
2. If any single foul results in an athlete’s incapacitation the athlete committing the foul is automatically disqualified and the bout awarded to his opponent.
3. Accumulation of any three (3) fouls by an athlete will result in the bout being stopped and awarded to the opponent on a disqualification.
XARM 10 — Point Must System
The XARM 10-point must system allows for scoring a bout. In XARM bouts, there is one (1) referee to insure the athletes’ safety and three (3) judges to score the bout. The judges must give the winner of a round 10 points, and the loser 9 points or fewer. If the bout progresses through all three rounds, the sum of the scores for each round are tallied for all three judges to determine the winner. If a athlete is unable to continue the fight, or the referee stops the bout; it is ruled a "TKO”.
Rounds are scored by judging three areas of performance:
- Effective aggressiveness – scoring clean strikes and blows.
- Arm wrestling pins.
- Table generalship and defense.
Effective aggressiveness means being aggressive while landing clean blows. If an athlete moves against his opponent but can't land clean shots, he does not have effective aggressiveness. Table generalship is a measure of who is controlling the bout and able to defend himself against strikes and pins.
Deducting Points for Pins
When an athlete’s arm is pinned a ½ point is deducted from his score. If the athlete is pinned once in a round and is dominated by his opponent the score would be 10-8½.
If the athlete who was pinned dominates the round by being the more effective striker the score would be 9½ to 9. If an athlete is pinned twice in a round and was dominated as well the score is scored a 10-8 round. If three pins occur it’s a 10-7½ round, etc.
If the winner of a round thoroughly dominates his opponent, a strike count, either manual or electronic, will be utilized by the judges as an aid in rendering a decision. 10/9 = Most effective striker that round. 10/8 = 2 to 1 strikes over your opponent during round. 10/7 = 3 to 1 strikes over the opponent during the round. This is to reward the athlete who completely dominates a round in terms of strikes, effective aggressiveness and generalship. Under the system it is possible for an athlete to win two rounds, but still lose the bout due to having fewer points.
Deducting Points for Fouls
Penalty point deductions for rule infractions/fouls are determined by the referee. Each foul substracts one point from an athlete’s total and is determined by the referee. If an athlete draws three fouls total in the bout, the match is awarded to his opponent on a disqualification. In the event of a foul, the referee will notify the judges to make the deduction. Penalty points are always deducted from the final score for a round. If an athlete scores 2 pins in a round and dominated his opponent, the score would be 10-8. But, if the winner committed a foul, the round would be scored a 9-8 round.
Determining the Winner
Scorecards are collected at the end of each round, and judges are not allowed to change their score after it is turned in. At the end of the fight, the athlete with the most points on each scorecard wins. In the event the judge’s scorecards show different results, this is a "split decision". The winner is the one who leads on the majority of the cards. If 2 of the 3 judges score the bout a draw, there will be consecutive “Tie-Breaker” rounds until a winner emerges, either by stoppage or decision.