The rules of

OFFICIAL RULES OF POWER SLAP

1. Promoter 

Schiaffo LLC.

2. Matches & Participants

Power Slap matches (each a “Match”) consist of two unarmed combatants (each a “Participant”). The Promoter determines the number of rounds per Match, but no Match may exceed ten (10) rounds. 

Participants must be at least 18 years of age. 

The Promoter may permit Participants to have at least one corner or coach beside the stage during the Match, or, in lieu thereof, provide a neutral corner or coach for the Participant. Corners and coaches may only provide verbal instructions to the Participant during the Match and may use a towel to wipe chalk from the Participant’s face.

3. Participant Weight Classes

Power Slap weight classes and weight allowances are the same as set forth in the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Catchweight Matches are permitted. Participants must weigh-in prior to the Match. Any Participant who does not weigh-in within the weight class limit by the weigh-in deadline set by Promoter, will forfeit 20% of their purse to their opponent on the first offense, and 30% of their purse to their opponent for each additional offense thereafter. 

The Promoter has the sole discretion to determine Participant compensation, championship and title structure, rankings, and performance bonuses, if any.

4. Participant Equipment & Appearance

All Participants must wear a mouth guard and cotton inner ear protectors. No Participant will be permitted to participate in a Match if he or she refuses to wear the requisite safety commitment. No body grease, gels, balms, lotions oils, or other substances may be applied to the hair, face or body by the Participant. This includes the use of excessive amounts of water. However, petroleum jelly may be applied solely by an authorized cutman if the cutman or supervising physician determines that it is necessary for the safety of the Participant.

No head, facial, neck, arm, hand or finger jewelry of any kind is permitted. Fingernails must be cut below the fingertips and must be rounded without any sharp edges. Hair must be pulled back such that it is not in the Permitted Target Area. Facial hair is permitted.

No head gear or hats are permitted. Additionally, no equipment is permitted on the hands, arms or shoulders (such as braces or wraps). 

Promoter may permit the use of any equipment if Promoter, in consultation with the Executive Director and/or the Commission, determines that the equipment has a health and safety function or is to collect performance data.

Chalk provided by the Promoter must be used by Participants to put on their hands prior to their first strike and the cutman / inspector may apply chalk to line the heel of hand (but additional chalk is only required thereafter at the instruction of the referee). Towels provided by the Promoter are permitted to be used by Participants and referees to wipe excess chalk from hands or face. Referees retain the discretion to determine when the use of chalk is excessive and should be reduced.

5. Match Pacing

A coin toss (or other alternative method determined by the Promoter, such as seeding) determines which Participant is to strike first in Round 1 (Promoter may grant the coin toss winner an election to defend first, or may determine that any coin toss winner must strike first, so long as it is applied consistently for all matches in the applicable event).

Match pacing is as follows:

1. Prior to commencement of Round 1, the referee instructs both Participants to their designated blue and red boxes marked on the Power Slap Stage adjacent to the Power Slap Table. 

2. The referee instructs the Defender to take a Permitted Defensive Position.

A “Permitted Defensive Position” is:

• Standing parallel with the Power Slap Table, with shoulders square and feet grounded, facing the Striker.
• The Defender’s feet must be aligned next to each other parallel to their shoulders and with at least a portion of each foot within the Defender’s designated colored box.
• The Defender must hold the Power Slap Stick (or Power Slap towel) behind their back with both hands, with their arms extended towards the ground. 
• The Defender’s chin must line up with the edge of the Power Slap Table.
• Shoulders must not be raised and head, neck and chin cannot be tucked into body

3. When the Defender has established their Permitted Defensive Position as per Section 2, the Referee will instruct the Striker to announce their intended strike as per section 3. The Referee will then announce the start of the Round, and instruct the Striker to begin their Wind-Up and Strike sequence.

A “Permitted Slap” is a flat, open-handed strike of the palmar side of the hand to the Permitted Target Area. The palm, fingers and heel of hand (carpal bones), must make contact and impact simultaneously, with the palm (above the heel of the hand) landing on the cheek, and the heel of the hand landing on or past the chin but not deeper than the chin. Strikers may not make first impact with the heel of hand or strike the heel of hand to the cheek or outside the Permitted Target Area.  The fingers may be in their natural open position or closed, and may contact anywhere on the Defender’s face or head (other than to a facial orifice) as a natural extension of a Permitted Slap. Strikers may not form a “cup” shape with their hand. Strikers may use either their left or right hand and may switch hands during the match. 

The Striker must have two feet in contact with the ground at the strike’s moment of impact. A minor heel lift of either foot caused by the momentum of the strike is not a stepping foul. 

The Striker’s feet must be parallel to the Power Slap Table and the Striker’s shoulders must be square to the Power Slap Table and the Defender. A portion of each Striker’s foot must be within the designated boxes marked on the Power Slap Stage.

The “Permitted Target Area” is limited to the vertical plane on the side of the Defender’s face, starting above the point of the chin and ending at the eye-line. The Permitted Target Area excludes the eyes, ears, mouth, and temple, as well as the horizontal plane under the mandible. If the Striker’s palm lands in the Permitted Target Area but the fingers incidentally contact the Defender’s head or face outside the Permitted Target Area, the slap is not a Foul pursuant to section G.

The “Wind-Up Rule”: Prior to completing the Permitted Slap, the Striker must elect (verbally and with hand signals and referee confirmation), the hand the Striker will use to strike and the number – 1, 2 or 3 – in which the strike will land. Each number has the following meaning: “1” means no wind-up; a line-up is permitted but not required. “2” means after the hand is lined up, 1 practice motion is taken, then a strike lands on 2. “3” means after the hand is lined up, 2 practice motions are taken, then a strike lands on 3. The hand may not make any substantial contact with the Defender’s body during the practice motions or it will be deemed to be the Striker’s strike for that round. The hand may touch the face for alignment purposes prior to any wind-up. Practice motions must be executed at similar pace and with the hand they announced they will be slapping with, the Striker cannot use the wind-ups to intentionally induce a flinching foul.

4. When the first strike of the First Round has landed and been declared clean/without foul, the :60 match clock will begin counting down. Before the :60 second match clock expires: (1) the Defender must return to their designated colored box, demonstrate their ability to continue to the referee and be declared by them to be “Recovered”, they then become the Striker; (2) the Striker now becomes the Defender and must establish their Permitted Defensive Position within their designated colored box; and (3) the new Striker must announce his wind-up count and execute their strike.  

Knockdowns: If the Defender is knocked down (any part of the body makes contact with the ground other than the feet) and does not immediately return to his or her feet (i.e., a “flash knockdown”), the referee will conduct a verbal 10 count. During this 10 count, the Defender must rise to their feet and establish their fitness to continue as determined by the referee. If the Defender does not establish their fitness to continue, the Striker wins the Match by knockout. A Referee’s administering a 10 count does not effect the Match Clock.  The Match Clock will only be stopped for a physician to examine and triage a potential injury. When such examination has been completed, if the examined Participant has been determined fit and able to continue, the Match Clock will resume from the point at which it was stopped, and the competition will continue under the Match Pacing rules in Section E.

• [THIS RULE IS NOT CURRENTLY IN EFFECT] The Promoter may but is not obligated to incorporate the following rule: (A) if a Participant was the first Defender in Round 1 and did not elect such position, and (B) there is a KO or TKO finish of such Participant in Round 1, then, after the referee declares the finish, a clock of two minutes begins. During this time, the Defender is given two minutes to recover, establish their fitness to continue as determined by the referee and must be examined and cleared by the supervising physician. If cleared within such two minute period, the referee will instruct the Striker to complete one Permitted Slap of their opponent. If the return strike results in a KO or TKO finish of their opponent, the match is declared a Draw. If the return strike has any other result, then the Match result stands.

5. The :60 second match clock will continue to switch between Participants as the Participants repeat the actions contemplated by subsection 4 above. After each Participant has completed a turn as a Striker and Defender, the round is over, and the next round begins. 

The Promoter retains the discretion to change the length of time for each clock referenced above, including for example, adding break time in between rounds (for example, without limitation, if open scoring is used), in consultation with the Executive Director and/or the Commission.

6. Timeouts

The match clock will be paused during (1) a replay review or challenge (if challenges are implemented by Promoter) or (2) a supervising physician review, or (3) in the event of a Striker foul, at which point the Defender will be allowed two (2) minutes (but may be increased by Promoter to five (5) minutes) of recovery time. If and when the fouled Participant has recovered and demonstrated their ability to continue before the Recovery Time expires, the Match Clock will start for the subsequent turn or round.

7. Fouls

Defender Fouls:

• Flinching: Bodily movement (such as blocking by a shoulder raise or otherwise) or head movement that adversely affects a strike and occurs after setting a defensive position (minor movements that do not affect a strike are not a flinch) 
  • If the Defender commits a flinching foul and a strike does not land, the Striker clock is reset, and the Striker can attempt another strike
  • If the Defender commits a foul and a strike lands, then: 
    • If the fouling Defender is not knocked down or out by that Round’s Strike, and the Striker elects to take another turn, the Match Clock is reset. If the fouling Defender is knocked down or out, by a clean strike, such result will stand. 
  • The first infraction results in a warning; for subsequent infractions, the referee may deduct one point from the Defender in the applicable round (in addition to the consequences above).
  • If a flinching foul results in the Striker being unable to continue due to injury as determined by the supervising physician (i.e., the Striker is unable to strike again after the Defender flinching foul), and the Striker does not land a strike thereafter, then the Striker will win the match by disqualification of the Defender.
  • It shall not be a flinching foul if the Defender moves to evade or defend a strike being thrown inconsistent with the Wind-Up Rule.

Striker Fouls:

• Illegal Wind-Up: A strike inconsistent with the Wind-Up Rule, at Section E(3), including number or hand announced.
• Clubbing: Any strike other than a Permitted Slap to the Permitted Target Area.
• Stepping: One or both of the Striker’s feet did not stay in contact with the ground through the completion of the Strike, including pivoting the foot. Minor heel lifts caused by the momentum of the strike are not a stepping foul. 
  • First and second infractions: The above Striker fouls will result in the deduction of a point and the loss of value of the landed Strike for that round
  • Third infraction: Upon accrual of a third of any combination of the above Striker Fouls, the offending Participant is automatically disqualified.

Match Fouls (Either Participant):

• Delay of Match: any action that deliberately stalls the match, with the intention or reasonable expectation of using the delay to its advantage (such as faking injury, engaging with Officials, failure to follow referee instructions, etc.).
• Failure to follow referee instructions
• Use of abusive hate-based language
  • Match Fouls result in either a warning, point deduction, or disqualification, or any combination thereof, as determined by the Referee based on the severity of the violative conduct, and quantity of such violations.

8. Scoring

Matches are scored on a 10 point-must scoring system. Open scoring may be used if elected by Promoter, in consultation with the Executive Director and/or the Commission. Criteria for determining points is (1) damage and effectiveness of the Striker and (2) reaction and recovery of the Defender. No criteria are weighed more than the other.

When, in the same round, a Participant lands a strike while committing an illegal wind-up, clubbing or stepping foul, and the opposing Participant completes a legal strike without fouling, the fouling Participant will lose such round by the score of 10-8. This is due to the loss of value of the landed illegal strike and the loss of a point for the intentional foul. If each Participant lands a strike while committing a Striker Foul in the same round, such round will be scored a 9-9 draw.

9. Decisions

• Points – If a Match finishes at the end of the scheduled Rounds without a KO/TKO, injury stoppage, or disqualification, the Participant with the most points in the Match is declared the winner
  • A Winner will be declared by Unanimous Decision, Majority decision, Split Decision, Unanimous Draw, or Majority Draw 

• Knockout – The referee stops the Match after a Participant is knocked down and either (1) the Participant does not return to their feet within the 10 count or (2) the Participant returns to their feet but does not establish their fitness to continue.

• Technical Knockout 
  • The referee stops the Match after a determination (including in consultation with the supervising physician) that the Participant is not intelligently participating or does not have the ability to intelligently participate in the continuation of the Match (which can include failure to return to the Defender box after receiving a strike)
  • Voluntary stoppage 
  • Medical stoppage not caused by foul

• No Contest
  • When a Match is prematurely stopped due to accidental injury or foul and less than a majority of the rounds have been completed.

• Technical Decision
  • When a Participant is prematurely stopped due to accidental injury or foul and at least a majority of the rounds have been completed, a technical decision will be awarded to the Participant who is ahead on the score cards at the time the Match is stopped.

• Disqualification 
  • Intentional foul or a series of reckless fouls, that result in the non-fouling Participant being declared unable to continue
  • Striker fouls of Illegal Wind-Up, Clubbing or Stepping can result in a disqualification, even if such a foul was not intentional, if such foul adversely impacts (as reasonably determined by the referee) the Participant who was fouled, and therefore inequitably affects the fitness of such Participant to continue (as confirmed by the supervising physician)
  • Any other rules infraction described in these rules that can result in a disqualification
  • Referee retains the discretion to determine whether a Participant is intentionally acting in bad faith for purposes of receiving a win by disqualification, in which case a disqualification will not be awarded

10. Challenges / Replay Review

The Promoter retains the discretion to implement Participant (or corner’s) challenges and Replay Official initiated reviews. Promoter will determine all rules governing such challenges and replays and the scope thereof, in consultation with the Executive Director and/or the Commission. 

Replay reviews are conducted: (1) to confirm match-ending sequences, (2) review specific determinations made the referees (under a clear and convincing evidence standard), and (3) to make a determination that was not made by a referee (under a clear and convincing evidence standard).

11. Referees / Judges

There will be three judges, two referees, and, if replay is in effect, one replay official for each Match. The primary referee is granted all authority over the Match, unless these Rules state that express authority is granted to the secondary referee or the replay official. 

• The secondary referee’s sole authority is to call Stepping fouls, to confer with the primary referee and to assist in lower body positioning instructions (for example, setting a Permitted Defensive Position). 

• The replay official’s sole authority is to observe the Match, on their dedicated monitor, to identify instances in which a Referee’s call or non-call requires a replay and review. When such a clear and convincing incident arises, the replay official will alert the Referee of such, pause the Match to conduct their replay review, and deliver their determination based on a clear and convincing standard. All Match ending sequences will be reviewed. 

12. Medicals & Safety

All Participants will submit the following pre-test medicals and cannot participate in a Match unless cleared by the supervising physician: (1) blood count and results of medical tests performed by a laboratory no earlier than 30 days before the athlete license is submitted and which shows that the Participant is not infected with the human immunodeficiency virus or the hepatitis virus; (2) physical exam by a licensed physician at least 7 days before the date of the first Match in which the Participant plans to compete in the calendar year for which the license is valid, (3) a dilated ophthalmologic eye examination at least 7 days before the date of the first Match in which the Participant plans to compete in the calendar year for which the license is valid, (4) a brain magnetic resonance imaging scan performed within the 5 years immediately preceding the date on which the applicable for a license is submitted and (5) a cerebral magnetic resonance angiography performed within the 5 years immediately preceding the date on which the applicable for a license is submitted. Female Participants must provide the results of an appropriate test, not later than 10 days before the date of the Match, demonstrating that they are not pregnant. 

Promoter will ensure that the following safety protocols are in place: (i) supervising physician and one additional physician or licensed physician assistant, (ii) emergency medical technicians (3) & ambulances (3), (iii) a suture and (iv) at least one local hospital arrangement.

An injury to one hand or arm of a Participant will not disqualify a Participant from competing if such Participant agrees to use their uninjured hand or arm for the remainder of the match.

Participants may not compete in a Match unless:

• Six days have elapsed since his or her last Match if the Match was not more than three rounds
• Eight days have elapsed since his or her last Match if the Match lasted four to six rounds
• Ten days have elapsed since his or her last Match if the Match lasted seven or more rounds

13. Power Slap Stage and Power Slap Table

The Promoter retains discretion over the Power Slap Stage and Power Slap Table, provided that each shall meet the following minimum requirements: Power Slap Stage: Surface of at least 15 feet by 15 feet, with padding that is at least 1 ¼ inches thick.  Power Slap Table: Diameter or width of at least 12 inches. Height may be adjustable based on Participant height.

14. Catchers 

For each Match, at least two stage catchers must be present on the Power Slap Stage. The authority of the stage catchers is to use efforts to limit the impact of a Participant’s head to the Power Slap Stage and to protect the participants from falling off the Power Slap Stage.

If a Participant falls off the Power Slap Stage, the Match clock will be paused for up to two (2) minutes, as determined by the primary referee and the supervising physician. If there is an injury that causes the Participant to be unable to continue in the Match, and the fall was caused by a strike, then the Match will be declared a TKO finish for the Striker. 

15. Version of Rules

This is Version 1.02 of the Power Slap Rules. The Promoter retains the discretion to modify or amend these rules with the approval of the Commission (or the Executive Director if the authority to make such approval has been delegated by the Commission to the Executive Director).