How to be a timekeeper

Note: Everything time-related is displayed in a yellow color.

Time keeping

Keeping track of the time is important for the smooth running of the matches as players have to score points within the match duration to win. The shushin do not monitor the time themselves and thus it is the responsibility of the timekeeper to tell them when the time is up by shouting "Jikan desu!" loudly and clearly so that everyone can hear it.

Below is a detailed explanation of how the timer works in fight.ooo!

Note that timers will count down, unless they are configured with an unlimited duration, in which case they will count up instead.

1. Before the match starts

1.a Ensuring everything and everyone is ready

Ensure that the timer is properly configured with the correct match duration and enshō.

Once the players are near the shiai-jo and mostly ready, press the Ready! button to indicate that the match is about to start.

The Ready! button does not actually start the timer.
It only indicates that everyone is ready and the match is only waiting for the shushin's signal to start.
It also creates a buffer time so users may be able to properly calibrate an upload of the match video later on.

1.b Waiting for the judge to start the match

Shushin will give the signal to start the match by shouting "Hajime!".
As soon as you hear the signal, press the Hajime! button to start the timer, which will start counting.\

Physically put the time flag up until the match starts.

2. During the match

2.a Pausing the match

Shushin may decide to pause the match for various reasons by shouting "Yame!".
As soon as you hear the signal, press the Yame! button to pause the timer, which will turn yellow and stop counting temporarily.

For convenience, any score button will also pause the timer as well.
If you're not sure what Shushin will announce next, it is preferable to use this button to pause the timer first.

Physically put the time flag up until the match resumes.

2.b Resuming the match

Shushin will then give the signal to resume the match by shouting "Hajime!" again.
As soon as you hear the signal, press the Hajime! button to resume the timer, which will start counting again.

Physically put the time flag down as soon as you resume the timer.

When a point is scored, the Shushin signal to resume the match may slightly differ if the match is running under sanbon-shobu ruleset.

They will call either Nihon-me! or Shobu! to resume the match after the first or second point is scored respectively.
The timer buttons will reflect these different signals even though they behave the same way.
The example displays both buttons but it will actually only show the relevant button.

2.c Time's up!

When the timer runs out, the Jikan desu! message will be blinking and the timer will turn red on a yellow background to indicate that you are expected to announce to Shushin that the time is up by shouting "Jikan desu!" loudly and clearly.

Shushin after hearing you will then give the signal that the match is over by shouting "Yame!".
As soon as you hear the signal, press the Yame! button to stop the timer completely.

The overtime is displayed as purely informational does not actually count in the actual match duration, however everyone will see you are doing a bad job if you let the timer run for too long so don't sleep on the job!

2.d Enshō (if applicable)

In case of a tie at the end of the regular match duration, an additional time called enshō may be allocated for players to score a point.

If this is the case, Shushin will give the signal to start the extension time by shouting "Encho-Hajime!".
As soon as you hear the signal, press the Encho-Hajime! button to start the extension timer.

The extension timer works exactly the same way as the regular timer, except it is displayed below the regular timer for clarity.

3. In case you mess up...

If the timer is not reflecting the actual time of the match for any reason, you can use the debug controls to manually adjust the timer and try to fix the situation.

These controls are available in the Advanced controls section.

How to be a scorekeeper

Note: Everything score-related is either displayed in a red or white color, depending on the player.

Score keeping

Keeping track of the score is important because the _shimpans and organizers may rely on you to confirm the current state of the match, although shushin is normally supposed to be aware of it at all times as well.

Below is a detailed explanation of how the scorekeeping works in fight.ooo!

Note that the score button panels are presented in a symmetrical way to provide a better ergonomy.

0. Scoreboard overview

The scoreboard is auto-updated after every registered event so you don't have to manually update it, but it is important to understand how it works to be able to properly verify that the score is properly recorded.

This notation is based on the International Kendo Federation handbook and has been extended to support the specificities of each discipline.

Scoreboard example

A scoreboard of a completed tie could look like this:

The first row indicates the names of the shimpans

• Shushin is placed in the middle
• Both Fukushushins are placed on the sides

The second row indicates the names of the dantai, and are colored according to the tasuki color that should be worn by each shiai-sha (either red or white).

Each subsequent row represents a match in the tie indicating respectively for each shiai-sha:

• Whether they won the match
• The weapon they used
• Their name
• Their hansoku marker ▲
• Their points history

The border separating the red and white section can contain:

• An hikiwake marker X
• An enshō marker E

The final row indicates the final result of the tie indicating respectively for each dantai:

• Whether they won the tie
• The total number of matches won
• The total number of points scored

1. Before the match starts

If this is an isshujiai, ensure the weapons are properly selected for each shiai-sha as it will determine the available target areas buttons for each one.

If the tie has been configured to only accept a single type of weapon, the weapon selection panel will be hidden and the available target areas buttons will already be adjusted accordingly.

You can fiddle with the weapon selection above to see how the available target areas buttons change in the next section!

2. During the match

2.a After a point is scored

When a point is scored, the Shushin will announce which target area has been hit and will raise the flag which has the same color as the player who scored the point.

As soon as you hear the announcement and see the flag, press the corresponding target area button.

For convenience, any score button will pause the timer if it is pressed despite the timer being currently active.

There might be situations in which a generic Ippon is awarded, in which case the corresponding button should be pressed.
If you are organizing a friendly match, you can also use this setting to give an advantage to a player.

While two hansokus will make Shushin shouts "Ippon-ari!", the button Hansoku nikai! must be pressed instead because it is handled differently in the scoreboard. These are two different types of points.

2.b After a point is revoked

In the rare case a Shushin decides to revoke a point that was just awarded, they will announce Torikeshi!.
As soon as you hear the announcement press the corresponding button to mark the last awarded point as revoked.

You should not revoke a point by cancelling it through the match event history interface.
A point revocation is its own separate event and as such it should be registered properly.

2.c After a foul is committed

When a foul is committed, the Shushin will announce the foul by pointing down the flag which has the same color as the player who committed the foul, and will call either Hansoku ikkai! or Hansoku nikai! (the latter followed by Ippon-ari! to the other player).

As soon as you hear the announcement press the corresponding foul button.
Only the relevant buttons will be enabled.

In the rare case both players commit a foul at the same time, the Shushin will announce Sōsai! by pointing down both flags at the same time, in which case you should press the corresponding shared button.

Sōsai! is a tricky event, because while the usual rules of two hansokus awarding a point to the opponent still applies, if both players reach the threshold to win the match simultaneously, no point will actually be awarded and Onajiku-Sōsai! will be called instead.
The Sōsai! button will reflect this situation accordingly.

2.d After a judges conference

Shushin will shout Gogi! when they want to have a talk with Fukushins.
These are actually not required to be registered and can be omitted, but you can decide to record them to have a more complete history of the match.

2.e After the result announcement

In a typical match, Shushin will either announce Shobu-Ari! and raise the adequate flag towards the winner of the match, or Hikiwake! by crossing both flags in front of them if the match ended in a draw.

When you press the final Yame! button to stop the timer, the match result will be automatically computed.
If for some reason it is incorrect, you can manually adjust it by selecting another result button.
Switching the match result automatically cancels the previous match result.

In some cases, the match may end with a more specific result, in which case you should press the corresponding button.

In rare cases, the match may end with one of the player being unable to continue (e.g. injury, disqualification, no-show, etc.), in which case you should press the corresponding button. The win will be automatically awarded to the opponent.

3. In case you mess up...

If the state of the match is corrupted for any reason, you can use the debug controls to manually adjust the result of the match and try to fix the situation.

These controls are available in the Advanced controls section.

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