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Many criteria should be evaluated when choosing a martial art in which to train. One such criterion is the type of contact the art uses when students train or spar in class and/or in competition.

Sparring involves two martial artists who face each other in friendly combat to test their fighting skills against each other under certain rules and limitations. Some martial art styles or individual schools do not use sparring as a part of their curriculum, but most do. Before a sparring match, the level of contact to be used must be clearly established and agreed upon by the participants and the level of contact must enforced by an impartial observer. If this is not done, one or both of the opponents will get angry or injured due to not being prepared for the level of contact used or because a rule was not obeyed.

Three levels of contact are used by martial art schools that use sparring as part of their curriculum:

• No-contact

• Light-contact

• Full-contact

Potential martial art students have different levels of contact that they will be comfortable using while sparring. This comfort level may change after a few months or years of training, but the initial level must be within their comfort range or they will stop training after a short time. Therefore, when choosing a martial art, one should be sure to evaluate the level of contact used by the art and the school.

• The level of contact used in sparring may be classified by using the following criteria:

• The level of power used when delivering attacks. Ranges of power include:

  • Full-speed and power, with no-contact or with light contact or with full contact.

  • Reduced speed and power, with no-contact or with light contact or with full contact.

• Whether or not attacks are allowed to touch the opponent, and,

• If touching is permitted, level of force permitted when attacks touch the opponent, such as using a light force as with light-contact sparring or using a heavy force as with full-contact sparring.

Levels of Contact

Levels of contact may be evaluated by using the following criteria:

• Risk of injury

• Level of expertise required

• Usefulness in self-defense

• Who may participate?

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