No matter what discipline of martial arts you choose to study, there is a certain level of physical fitness you will find yourself attaining the higher up the belt ranks you go. As a test of students’ prowess, physical fitness, and mental conditioning, each discipline has their own methods of testing and evaluating their students. By successfully passing these tests and evaluations, students get to move up to a higher rank, earn a title, or even earn privileges such as sparring or weapons training because they have proven to their instructors that they are ready for this responsibility.
Many tests and evaluations will use sparring as a way for instructors to see if the student has mastered the techniques they have been taught. Physical fitness is important when it comes to martial arts sparring because contact is made under a set term of rules. Martial arts students must be able to handle any pain or discomfort that is brought on by sparring with another person. The amount of force used between the two sparring partners is determined by the instructor’s call of light-, medium-, or full-contact. Light contact sparring means that the opponents should barely touch each other with their punches and kicks. This is used when students are first introduced to the concept of sparring. Medium contact sparring allows for harder contact that is restricted. Students are not out to knock each other out, but with medium sparring a few bruised are normal. Protective gear is introduced with light contact sparring and used from then on.
Full contact sparring requires exceptional physical fitness on the parts of the two opponents and is reminiscent of a full contact fight between two unarmed combatants. All of the punches, kicks, and strikes are delivered at full force, and the object of full contact sparring is to knock out the opponent or force them to submit. The contact zones on the body are more plentiful, and the permitted attacks are of a larger variety than allowed in light and medium sparring.
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