The Rules
I. Concept
Iron Fists is an organization committed to furthering competition in the
sport of unarmed team combat. In each match, the teams present
four fighters that are pitted against four fighters from the opposing team
based on team-designated strength classes. The higher the strength class
of a bout, the more points are awarded to the winner. The team to earn
the most points wins the match.
II. Rosters
Each team will have a roster of five to seven fighters, including a captain.
The captain will be responsible for submitting lineups and making sure all
bouts are scheduled and conducted in a timely manner as far as his or her
teammates are concerned. Another member of the team may be named assistant
captain to act in the captain's absence.
As an alternative to having an assistant captain, each team, if it desires,
may choose to have a manager who will perform the responsibilities of the
captain. The manager will not fight. The captain of the team will act in
the manager's absence.
Please take note OOC that players will be limitted to two characters actively
contracted to team play, though may also have alternates in the free-agent pool.
No player may captain/manage more than one team. Also, when a player has a character
on both teams in a given matchup, s/he must sit at least one of them for the week to
avoid any potential for them being matched against each other.
III. Weekly Schedule
Each fighting week will span ten days, beginning on Monday and continuing
through Wednesday of the following week. Any fighters needing to
schedule their bout after the designated week should request an
extension from the league office prior to the designated week's end.
One team will be designated as the "home" team for each match,
and that team's manager will set the default date and time for the match.
The default date is a suggestion of what is most convenient to the home
team to meet en masse. It is not a requirement, however, and all
scheduled contestants from both teams should reach out to their opponents
to schedule a day and time that works for them.
IV. Matchups
For each week of fighting, the manager has until 11:59:59 p.m. (Eastern)
on Sunday to submit their line-up for the week, which includes four
fighters and a sub. One fighter will be named the
iron fist
to fight in the main-event bout. The remaining three fighters
will be named for each of the three undercard bouts, commonly referred
to as the
push,
crutch, and
anchor bouts.
Neither team will know which fighters the other team is using until
both line-ups are submitted and locked in, at which point matchups
are set automatically based on class (iron fist vs. iron fist,
push vs. push, etc.).
Matchups are not locked until the Midnight deadline, so managers may make
alterations until that time. After the stroke of mightnight, matchups will
be set and revealed to the public.
Failure to submit a lineup on time will result in the league randomly assigning
fighters for you.
V. Match Scoring
For each bout, the first fighter to reach five points with at
least a one-point lead is considered the winner. The results
of a bout apply to the overall match score as follows:
Hit points:
1 point for each point earned in the bout, to a maximum of 5.
Win points:
5 points to the winner of the iron fist bout.
4 points to the winner of the push bout.
3 points to the winner of the crutch bout.
2 points to the winner of the anchor bout.
Shutout points:
3 points to the winner of a shutout in 5 rounds.
2 points to the winner of a shutout in 6 or more rounds.
Examples:
- An anchor bout with the final score of 7-6 would result in a 7-5
match score (5[hit points] + 2[win points] to the winner,
5[hit points] to the loser).
- A push bout with the final score of 5-0 in five rounds would result
in a 12-0 match score (5[hit points] + 4[win points] +
3[shutout points] to the winner, 0[hit points] to the loser).
- The team with more points after completion of the four bouts wins.
In the event of a tie, the match win will go to whichever team
took the win in the iron fist bout.
The substitute can fill in for any strength class but should only be
used when the original fighters have scheduling difficulties.
There are no ties and no overtime. Each bout will go on as long
as it has to in order to determine a winner.
VI. Standings
Order in the standings is based on team wins. In the result of
a tie, IFL officials will then look at total bouts won, then
the head-to-head match. Please note that this may not always
be captured correctly on the posted standings list when coming
to the second tie breaker.
A playoff will be held at the end of the season to determine a
league champion. The playoff format will be determined at the
start of each season.
VII. Free Agents
Fighters who competed in the previous season and who do not sign
to a team for the current season, as well as fighters who
request to join the free-agent pool, are considered free agents.
A manager wishing to use a free agent during the regular
season must first obtain consent from the free agent. EMail notification
of the free-agent usage, including the identity of the fighter to be used,
must be sent to both the opposing captain and
to the league office before 6pm the Saturday before lineups are due.
After this time, and until matchups are finalized, a free-agent may
be requested, however, the opposing captain must consent to the usage.
A team may not use the same free agent more than once during the
season. A team may not use a free agent that has already been
used against their opponent by another team during the season.
Fighters listed as free agents at the start of the regular
season may sign to a team's roster at any time. A fighter entering
the free-agent pool after the start of the regular season
must wait seven days before being eligible to join a team's
roster. A fighter who becomes a free agent as a result of
leaving a team is exempt from the waiting period, but may not
resign with the same team for the remainder of the season.
Free agents will not be added to team rosters on
Saturday or Sunday.
Free-agent use during playoff matches is prohibited.
VIII. Location
Bouts may take place in any official venue, so long as no other
scheduled event is also in progress in that location. eg: A fight
in the Outback is fine, as long as it is not a regular DoF night and
no tournament or challenge is scheduled to take place there.
This means: Any of the chat rooms on the RoH Chat list may be used, except
for cases of conflict as noted above.
IX. Individual Ranks
At the start of the season, each fighter is given one of
six ranks based on their past performance and experience in
the league:
Trainee (TR) [0 fancy/feint moves]
Flyweight (FY) [2 fancy/feint moves]
Middleweight (MI) [3 fancy/feint moves*]
Heavyweight (HV) [4 fancy/feint moves*]
Powerhouse (PO) [5 fancy/feint moves*]
Kiowa Belt Winner (KBW) [6 fancy/feint moves*]
*Fighters are restricted to two more fancy/feint moves than their opponent.
Only fighters who have minimal experience will be ranked as Trainee.
A Trainee is eligible for the rank of Flyweight immediately following
his or her first official win. The fighter or manager may submit a
rank-increase request to the league office once the win has been posted.
During the season, any fighter is eligible for a rank increase upon
earning a minimum number of wins, which number will be specified
at the beginning of each season. The minimum number of wins for
increase in rank will be equal to one less than half of the total
number of weeks in the regular season, rounded up (eg: in a 7 week season, the
number would be 3, since half rounded up is 4, less 1). The fighter or
manager may submit a rank-increase request to the league office
once the minimum number of wins has been posted.
Fighters may only advance 1 rank in this manner during the course of the season unless
they began the season as a Trainee. Trainees may advance 2 ranks, up to MiddleWeight,
by satisfying both advancement criteria. (eg: 1 win to make FlyWeight, plus the seasonal
criteria mentioned above. So a total of 4 wins in a 7 week season.)
Determining ranks between seasons: Fighters are ordered from best PDPB to worst from their
regular season performance (post season numbers do not count). The minimum number of fights
to qualify will be half of the possible fights divided by two, rounded down. (eg: 3 for a 7 week
season, 4 for an 8 week season, etc.). Fighters who do not achieve the minimum fight level will
have a 5-1 Push bout loss added to their record as an adjustment, for each fight they lack. Fighters with only
a single bout or two bouts but no wins will be ranked as Trainees. The winner of the PowerHouse Party
tournament will be awarded the Kiowa Belt. Everyone left will be ranked as follows:
- PowerHouse: Top 15% of fighters.
- HeavyWeight: Next 35% of fighters
- MiddleWeight: Next 35% of fighters
- FlyWeight: Bottom 15% of fighters.
Fighers who are new to the league will begin as Trainee, unless they have previous experience in
the Outback and have earned a rank of Ruby or higher, in which case they will be ranked
FlyWeight. Fighters returning to the league after a season or more of absense will also
begin at the rank of FlyWeight provided they have achieved two or more league wins in their
career. (And subject to increase based on the below LifeTime rules.)
LifeTime Rankings
Introduced in 2015, the lifetime rankings clause allows fighters with IFL experience to
receive a bump up from the baselines rankings set out above. LifeTime Rankings work as
follows:
- Fighters with 20+ IFL duels, or who have won the Kiowa Belt, and a career PDPB between
-2.00 and 0.00 will have a minimum rank of MiddleWeight.
- Fighters with 20+ IFL duels, or who have won the Kiowa Belt, and a career PDPB better
than 0.00 will have a minimum rank of HeavyWeight.
Career Records can be found in the
IFL Archives and will serve only as an
increase to a fighter's rank at start of season.
X. Powerhouse Party Tournament
The Powerhouse Party Tournament is a single-elimation
tournament consisting of sixteen participants that takes
place in the week following the Championship match. The
fighter with the top PDPB from each team will be invited to
participate, with the remaining participants being selected
from the overall PDPB leaders board. Fighters will be seeded
primarily by their team's current position on the regular
season standings and secondarily by overall PDPB. The winner
of the Powerhouse Party is awarded the coveted Kiowa Belt to wear
during the next season.
XI. No-Show Policy
Iron Fists adheres to a "second chance" policy in regards to no-shows.
A fighter is considered a no-show if they do not arrive within twenty
minutes of the time they agreed on with their opponent in email.
To report a no-show, the opposing fighter or captain must forward
a copy of the email showing the agreed-upon time and state that
their opponent did not arrive to the league office.
When a no-show is reported, the captain of the teams whose fighter
failed to appear has three options:
- They may ask for the no-show fighter to attempt to reschedule the bout.
- They may ask for the substitute fighter to schedule the bout.
- They may ask the IFL Commissioner to select a free agent and schedule the match for them.
If the manager or captain chooses (1) or (2) and a repeat no-show occurs,
the substitue shall step in if available or a forfeit shall be ruled if
not. A forfeit is scored as a regular shutout for the scheduled bout class
(5-0 in 6 rounds).
In all no-show situations, whether league intervention is required or not,
the event should be reported for tracking. If a manager or captain continues
to schedule a fighter who is known to no-show, the scheduled bout may (and most likely will)
be subject to immediate forfeit with the initial no-show,
depending on the circumstances of the prior no-show occurrences.
The IFL Commissioner must be copied on all emails involving rescheduling
as a result of a no-show.
NOTE: If you show up for the default and your opponent does not,
this does NOT count as a no-show unless your opponent agreed
to meet you at the default beforehand in email. All fighters
are encouraged to email their opponents prior to the default.
XII. Bout Scheduling
When arranging matchups a default date and time shall be submitted. This is not mandatory,
nor shall it be the assumed date and time for all bouts, but rather as a suggested
best time. All fighters scheduled for the week are required to make contact with
their opponents to arrange their individual bout times.
Fighters should be in contact with each other by no later than the third day of the
fighting week (typically Wednesday) and firmly scheduled by the fourth (typically Thursday).
If by day five the fighters have not resolved a specific day and time for their bout, team
managers or captains must step in to mediate or assign their substitute to the bout if
necessary.
If, by the end of day six, the bout remains unscheduled, the league administration
must be notified and shall take over the scheduling process at that time. All
relevant correspondence should be forwarded to the league office who will do their
best to achieve a fair resolution; giving preference to those who have made the
most obvious attempts to communicate and cooperate with the process. Ultimately,
however, the interest of the league is in getting the duel fought. As such,
free-agents or substitues may be assigned at the league's discretion.
Lastly, when making initial contact with your opponents,
please supply at least two specific dates and times that you
are available to fight the bout. General statements
to the effect of
"I'm available whenever"
or
"maybe sometime this weekend"
are not much help in moving along the process. Add them to
your communications (when appropriate) because they will notify your opponent
that you are not married to those options, but giving specific
choices can significantly help in accelerating things.
XII. Penalties
The league office reserves the right to issue penalties against
a team for reasons that include, but are not limited to, failing
to submit a lineup before the due date and failing to appear
for a scheduled duel. First offenses will receive a warning.