What happens if a wushu athlete falls or drops their weapon?
B · Beginner · How a routine is scored · 4 of 4Mistakes outside the technique standards have a fixed price. A sway of the body costs 0.05 point, a shuffle or skip of the foot 0.1, putting a hand or knee down for support 0.2 and a fall 0.3. Dropping a weapon also costs 0.3. Each is deducted every time it happens.
How it works
- Sway, 0.05: the upper body is displaced in two different directions.
- Shuffle or skip, 0.1: a supporting foot slides sideways or hops off the mat.
- Additional support, 0.2: a hand, elbow, knee, the free leg or the weapon is used to hold balance.
- Fall, 0.3: both hands, the head, upper arm, shoulder, torso or buttocks touch the floor. So is any two parts touching at once.
- Weapon touches the floor, the body or slips in the grip: 0.1.
- Weapon deformed: 0.1. Weapon broken: 0.2. Weapon dropped: 0.3.
- Clothing: 0.1 for a dropped tassel, ribbon, shoe or headwear and for a torn costume.
- Balance not held for two seconds: 0.1.
- Out of bounds: 0.1. Forgetting the routine: 0.1.
- Added up: several of these in one technique are each deducted.
The glossary has the quality of movements, the judge groups, the weapon events, the qiang and gun, duilian and the routine.
Tricky cases
An athlete lands a jump and puts one hand down. Fall or support?
Additional support, 0.2. One hand is support. Both hands, or two body parts at once, is a fall.
An athlete's knee and hand touch the mat together. What is the deduction?
0.3. Any two or more parts of the body touching the floor at the same time is a fall.
In duilian one athlete is thrown to the floor as part of the routine. Is that a fall?
No. In choreographed sparring, intentional falls "are neither considered as nor deducted for as falls".
The spear touches the floor during a spin, without the athlete leaning on it. Support or weapon contact?
Weapon contact, 0.1. It is additional support only if force is put through the weapon to hold balance.
Why the rule exists
Top routines are packed with jumps that spin two full turns and land in a split or a low stance. The landing is where the risk is. A fixed scale lets everyone see what a mistake cost, and its steepness makes athletes weigh a harder jump against the chance of sitting down.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sway | 0.05 | Judging Methods Table 10-1-6 (70A) |
| Shuffle or skip | 0.1 | Judging Methods Table 10-1-6 (70B) |
| Additional support | 0.2 | Judging Methods Table 10-1-6 (71) |
| Fall, or weapon dropped | 0.3 | Judging Methods Table 10-1-6 (72, 75) |
| Balance hold of two seconds | Changquan and its weapon events only | Judging Methods, other errors definitions |
From the rule book
International Wushu Federation, Wushu Taolu Competition Rules and Judging Methods (2024), Article 22, and the Judging Methods, Chapter 10, Section 1, Table 10-1-6 and its definitions. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: Wushu Taolu Competition Rules and Judging Methods (2024) (PDF, Chinese and English).