Imperial Academy Boxing

Imperial Academy Boxing, or IAB, was a martial art and combat sport practiced by cadets at Imperial Academies. The academic form was a required first-year course in the physical education program at all Academies, and formed the basis of further unarmed combat instruction. Cadets also had the option of competing in IAB as an intra- and inter-Academy sport after successful completion of the required IAB course.

History
Unarmed combat, as the most basic form of combat, existed for millennia before the founding of the Old Republic, and in organized forms for almost as long. Boxing was one of these organized forms, with the general focus on strikes performed with the closed fist. As a basic from of unarmed combat, boxing instruction was adopted into the military training of the Old Republic, and continued through the Galactic Republic era.

After the establishment of the Galactic Empire, such training was further expanded and codified for use at Imperial Academies.

Academic Procedure
Academic instruction in IAB was conducted over 20 standard weeks, and included teaching cadets about stances, types of movement, basic punches, and various tactics and strategies. Sparring and calisthenics formed a large portion of the course. The course culminated in a final graded bout against another cadet in the same class. A loss in this final bout did not constitute a failure of the bout or of the course.

General
For bouts, boxers were to be divided on the basis of weight and sex.

Competition Area
IAB bouts were conducted inside a circular area colloquially known as a "disc". The disc was 24 standard feet in diameter; a fighting area 20 standard feet in diameter and a border of 2 standard feet. Unlike in some versions of boxing (such as shockboxing), no ropes, wires, or other barriers were placed around the perimeter of the disc.

Two small areas called "edges" were to be designated on opposite sides of the disc. Edges were where boxers returned to during the rest period between periods of action.

In academic bouts, the disc could simply be a marked circle of the appropriate size directly on the floor. More commonly, however, the disc was raised platform 2 standard feet from the floor, on a plinth between one-half and three-quarters the diameter of the disc itself. The floor of the disc was constructed of tuffweave over a thin layer of padding.

The edges of this raised disc were to be designated with colored lights: one red, one blue.

This raised platform version of the disc was required for competitive forms of IAB, both intra- and inter-Academy.

Number and Duration of Phases
A "phase" was the period of action in a bout. Academic bouts consisted of 3 phases of 2.5 standard minutes, with 1 minute of rest between phases. In competition bouts, the process was identical, except bouts consisted of 5 phases.

Referee
While a biological referee could be used to officiate IAB bouts, it was much more common for a specialized repulsorlift droid to handle this duty to simplify the process, as the droid could also act as a scorekeeper, timekeeper, announcer, and camera. Usually, a Hologlide J57 cam droid was outfitted for this purpose; custom features of such droid referees included protocol chips, vocabulators, and holoprojectors to display the score and bout clock.

Legal Strikes
Strikes could be landed with any part of the closed fist; no other parts of the body could be used, and the open hand could not be used except to parry blows. Any part of the face, the sides of the head, and any area of the ventral portion of the torso between the belt line and the base of the neck were legal targets.

Attire and Equipment
Cadets wore their standard physical education uniform during bouts, consisting of a short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and athletic shoes. Groin protection was required for all cadets, and female cadets had the option of wearing breast protection if desired. Mouthguards and protective helmets were also worn.

The IAB glove was constructed of neo-leather and weighed approximately 4 standard ounces. Inside each glove was a soft contact plate covering the entire fist, used to determine scoring. Each connected blow scored 1 Phase Point.

Scoring System
At the end of each phase, the total Phase Points for the phase were used to determine the Phase Score:
 * If the boxers were tied or within 2 blows of each other, no point was awarded to either.
 * If the spread was between 3 and 5 blows, the boxer with more blows earned 1 Point.
 * If the range was 6 blows or higher, the boxer with more blows earned 2 Points.

The boxer with the highest total Phase Score at the end of the bout won the match.

Fouls
Each foul is worth a deduction of 1 Phase Point from the current phase. If a boxer earns three total fouls for the bout, they are disqualified.

Types of fouls:
 * Hitting below the belt line
 * Holding, tripping, or kicking
 * Hits or strikes with head, shoulder, forearm, or elbow
 * Throttling the opponent, pressing with arm or elbow in opponent’s face, shoving
 * Hitting with open glove or wrist
 * Hits landing on the back of the opponent, especially any blow to the back of the neck or head, and kidney punches
 * Wrestling
 * Attacking an opponent who is down or who is in the act of rising
 * Holding and hitting or pulling and hitting
 * Holding or locking on the opponent’s arm or head, or pushing an arm underneath the arm of the opponent
 * Ducking below the belt line of the opponent
 * Completely passive defense
 * Not stepping back when ordered to break
 * Attempting to strike opponent immediately after the referee has ordered “break” and before taking a step back
 * Assaulting or behaving in an aggressive manner toward the referee at any time
 * Spitting out the mouth guard intentionally without receiving a correct punch
 * Keeping the advanced hand straight in order to obstruct the opponent’s vision
 * Biting
 * Faking an injury
 * Any other unsportsmanlike conduct

Win Conditions
An IAB bout could be won in one of these ways:
 * Points. The boxer with the highest total Phase Score at the end of the bout was the winner.
 * Knock-Down (KD). A boxer who touched the surface of the disc with any part of the body besides the feet as a result of a blow was considered knocked-down. A boxer who was knocked-down 3 times within one phase lost the bout.
 * Count-Out (CO). A boxer who failed to rise after being knocked down within a count of 8 lost the match.
 * Disc-Out (DO). A boxer who was knocked or fell from the disc three times within one phase lost the match.
 * Knock-Out (KO). A boxer who was rendered unconscious by legal blows lost the match.
 * Disqualification by Referee Stoppage (DRS). Could occur due to fouls, one boxer being overmatched, or injury.

Branch Divisions
Though identical in practice throughout the Imperial Academy system, IAB was referred to by different names depending on the branch of service:
 * Air Corps Boxing (ACB) for Army Air Corps cadets
 * Imperial Forces Boxing (IFB) for Imperial Army Cadets
 * Naval Corps Boxing (NCB) for Imperial Navy cadets
 * Stormtrooper Corps Boxing (SCB) for Stormtrooper Corps cadets.

HoloNet Broadcasts
All inter- and intra-Academy IAB contests were broadcast over the HoloNet. In certain cases, usually for final graded bouts, academic bouts were also shown over the HoloNet.

Behind the Scenes
Imperial Academy Boxing is an expansion of Naval Corps Boxing, first mentioned in the novel Aftermath: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig. Some terminology was taken from the shockboxing short story "Fists of Ion" by Edward M. Erdelac and illustrated by Cat Staggs.

IAB is patterned after the boxing requirements at the primary service academies of the United States (the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, and the United States Air Force Academy), and its rules closely follow those of USA Boxing, the national amateur boxing governing body of the United States.