Martial Code

The Martial Code is a set of laws and regulations that the Association of Martial Arts executes for all National Martial Arts Associations and professional events. The Martial Code is enforced by the Emperors and held by the Martial Family. The laws in the code must be followed by all professional tournaments and fighters.

## Law Process

A bill can be proposed by an Emperor who might take it from a proposition by a MAA Chairman or individual. The bill sent to all the Chairmen who vote by majority. If it passes the vote, the bill is sent to the Emperor for final review. Should the Martial Family veto this, the Chairmen must get a 2/3 majority vote to pass the veto. The Martial Family must finally approve/disapprove the bill to become a law by checking its legality, and to see if it breaks or contradicts the Code. If it passes this test, the bill becomes a law and part of the Code.

Rewriting the code or amending any current laws requires an additional law to be added. This process rarely succeeds, and takes years of process.

## List of laws

1. **Martial Family Will: The will of the current head of the martial family is absolute. Any attack on the family is an attack on martial arts.**
2. **Role of the Emperor:** The Emperor serves as the representative and leader of one or multiple martial arts nations. The emperors are chosen by the martial family, the global ten, and the international guild of masters. A standing emperor must not compete at any level of professional fighting. An emperor swears to protect the martial family first and foremost in any conflict that affects the family.
3. **Role of the Chairperson:** The Chairpersons are the administrative leaders of the country-by-country Martial Arts Associations. They also serve as the legislative branch of the AMA. They can propose a bill to become an international/national law.
4. **Moral Code of the Tournament Organizer:** A Tournament Organizer (TO) follows safety and health laws by hosting a tournament in an appropriate location. They are responsible to holding the monetary funds, should there be a monetary prize. They are responsible for keeping the safety of the participants and the audience.
5. **Belt Ranking System****:** A Belt is meant to represent the growth of a martial art student and current ranking will remain with the student until the next step or death. A belt can only be given by a Sensei who by judgement and by the traditional law of Belt ranking, or it is determined by the Emperor and the council of Senseis in a territory should the student be declared a Ronin .
6. **Professional Dojos**
	1. A Dojo attains professional status by following the regulation of the Martial Arts Association it registers under.

1. **Professional Martial Artist** **regulation**
	1. Amendment: Ronin Status
	2. A PMA can fully commit to an international career after the age of 19. After this age, a PMA can hire a manager and accept sponsors. A PMA is responsible in handling or is responsible for having his/her manager handle sponsors.
2. **Tournament Age bracket**
	* Senior: Tournaments for all ages over 15 and follow the law for Professional Equipment
	* Junior: Tournaments for all ages under 18 and follow the law for Professional Equipment
	* Cadet: Tournaments for all ages under 15 and follow the law for Professional Equipment
3. **Professional Gi:** A professional fighter must wear a form of combat Gi that meets standards of professional ethics in national law. The Gi must not have any vulgar symbols and in some shape/form, represent that Dojo/team a fighter represents. If a fighter is declared a Ronin, the fighter must have the emblem of the national martial arts association of the nation the fighter currently registers in.
4. **Professional Equipment: The following are rules for required equipment for professional tournaments in the international level and senior national level.**
	1. Appropriate attire for competitive gi must not show any genitals and follow health and safety regulations. The attire
	2. A groin cup is required for all combat sports at all ages except for specific grappling tournaments, such as BJJ.
	3. A mouth piece is required for all combat sports at all ages.
	4. Gloves that weigh 4-6 ounces and have 35-40mm of padding are required for all combat sports of all ages.
	5. Headgear is required for the Junior and Cadet level of all combat sports, but follow national rules for senior and amateur levels. Padded shin guards are required for all ages for combat sports except specific grappling sports, such as BJJ.
5. **Illegal moves: The following are considered illegal moves and behaviors that are subject to punishment**
	1. A hit to the opponent's groin during an official bout is subject to a warning to the perpetrator. If the referee sees the groin shot or the fighter react to the groin shot, the referee must stop the fight, pausing the round timer. The referee must request a video review should the groin shot be legitimate. The referee must check if the fighter is able to compete after receiving the groin shot and give the fighter at least a minute to recover. If a fighter cannot compete by conclusion from the doctor on station, neither fighter moves on to the following round. If the bout in question is the final bout, no winner is determined. A fighter who repeats a groin shot gets significant point deduction determined by the judges. A fighter who repeats the groin shot a third time is disqualified and the other fighter is declared the winner.
	2. If a fighter feigns a groin shot injury, that fighter receives
6. **Death in competition**
	1. Should an individual die in a tournament, the other fighter involved is not to be charged for crimes. A criminal case can be opened if there is suspicion of foul play or intent.
	2. The tournament organizer and referee must address the death publicly and address the victim's family or legal guardian.
	3. Any monetary earnings achieved during the tournament where the individual died is directly given to the victim's family or legal guardian.
7. **Suspension and banishment**
	1. A fighter can be suspended for violating the Martial Code, violating national laws, or for failing registration and the law of Professional Martial Artist.
	2. A fighter can be banished from a tournament by a TO should they violate national law or the Martial Code. A fighter can be banished by competition for life by an Emperor. Any attempt to return to competition will result in a fine and criminal charges. A ban can be lifted by a vote by the Emperors
8. **Format of individual ranked tournaments**
	1. An individual tournament EDIT
9. **Registering a tournament for international ranking**
	1. A tournament organizer or MAA Chairperson can request an existing tournament to qualify for international ranking. The existing tournament must be in the region/country under a National MAA. If a tournament organizer requests a tournament to qualify, they must get approval from the above Chairperson. If the Chairperson approves or prematurely decides to request a tournament to qualify for international ranking, the Chairperson must request an in-person meeting with the Emperor who administers the territory the said tournament is located in. If the Emperor approves of the request and allows the tournament to be recognized as an international tournament, the qualification will be official for the next season. This is mandatory if the approval is done in between seasons, during the beginning, middle, or end of the current season; the tournament will not be recognized as an international tournament until the next season.
10. **Determining the result for an individual bout**
	1. A winner of a bout is determined through knock out, submission, referee, or judges' decision.
	2. A knock out or technical knock out is determined if a fighter is unable to defend him/herself from an attacker after receiving a significant blow. If the fighter is unable to recover within two seconds, the bout is finished.
	3. A submission is determined if a fighter taps out from receiving a submission. This is performed if a fighter taps him/herself, the opponent, or the fighting mat at least three times simultaneously.
	4. A referee can end a bout and declare a winner by determining a fighter is unable to compete in the next round or the referee disqualifies a fighter. A referee's declaration must be reviewed by the judges, the medical team on station for that current bout and approved.
	5. A fighter is allowed to concede to end the bout.
	6. A fighter's corner Sensei or coach is allowed to concede the bout if they are the approved person at the corner and if the referee approves of it.
	7. Should a bout end with none of the reasons above, a fight is determined by the set of judges for the fight. Each judge tallies up all the points they believe each fighter received. The judges then compare the scores to each other to reach a decision:
		1. A unanimous decision is reached if all judges score the same fighter higher than the other.
		2. A split decision is reached if the same amount of judges score the two fighters equally and the odd numbered judge's score determines the result.
		3. If the judges cannot reach a verdict, the fight is considered a draw. If one fighter is expected to move to the next round, the winner of this bout is determined through coin toss and after a ten minute review of the fight from outside judges. If the bout that is considered a draw is the last fight, then the bout remains a draw and the two fighters are both winners.