Full Contact vs. Point Sparring

[MuayThai Fighter]

Please give me your opinions only on what you think about each one and why you find one more realistic then the other.Do this without Fighting Please.

 

As a muay thai fighter and ex-traditional artist having done point sparring at one time or another,I am more for full contact.

 

The limits of Full Contact:

 

Having to wear 16 ounce gloves.

 

Advantage to Full Contact:

 

1/.To get the feeling of the closest thing to a real fight you need to sparr full out,such as in MuayThai,Boxing,Shooto,Savate etc.

 

2/.Truelly tests your ability to fighting under higher levels of stress and adrenuline rush then in point sparring.

 

3/.Good test of stamina.

 

3/. Gives you more confidence then point sparring.

 

4/.You become a better fighter in less amount of time where as with point sparring it could take years.

 

I know some people think to be a good fighter you have to practice kata,which I totally disagree with,but this thread has nothing to do with it,so please avoid bringing it up.

 

Disadvantage of Full Contact:

 

Easier to get hurt.

 

Advantage of point sparring:

 

Less likely to get hurt than in full contact.

 

Disadvantage of point sparring:

 

1/.Does not allow you to get to the closest feeling of being in a real situation.

 

2/.No contact means,no true fighting experience

 

3/.False feeling of confidence.

 

4/.Does not test your true ability under stress.

 

5/.Doesn't test your stamina,power and speed.

 

Conclusion:

 

Have good technique,fight fast,hard or go home.

 

Remember these statements are my opinions.

 

As I expect no more then opinions whether agreeing or not.

 

Please give me your views on the two,I'd really like to know what you think.

[ninjanurse]

I don't think that either can be classified as better...I think that it all depends on the individual and why they study martial arts. Both can be of equal benefit depending on your position.

 

Not all martial artists study so they can go to tournaments and "fight"....after all that is not the original intent of martial arts in the first place. JMHO

 

[TJS]

If you want to learn how to fight, then point sparring is not going to cut it.

 

it does more harm than good in my opinion.

Not all martial artists study so they can go to tournaments and "fight"....after all that is not the original intent of martial arts in the first place.

 

true if you dont want to be able to fight in a competition or be able to defend youself in real fight then point sparring is ok.

 

persoanlly I study martial arts to be able to defend myslelf, maybe thats not everyones goal.

[Tombstone]

I fight NHB so you can imagine what my opinion is. As for point sparring, I've never done it so I can't say much about it.

[Mayur]

This article states the advantages of point fighting, mind you the article states that it highlights only the advantages

 

http://www.martialartsplanet.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=106

 

BTW, point fighting does'nt neccessarily mean semi contact, low kicks are still allowed, full power is allowed but I would agree that elbows are not allowed in most point fighting tourneys.

 

|Mayur|

[SBN Doug]

Point sparring, IMO, is good to start out beginners with, that have no "real" fighting experience. It's also what I would start kids on, no question.

 

That aside, even though I'm a "traditional" practitioner, that doesn't automatically mean I'm a fan of point sparring. Continuous point sparring, with take downs allowed, is about as point sparring as I can stand. Karate Kid style point sparring doesn't allow for the practice of executing a technique with the possibility of a counter coming back in you face.

 

My opinion only, of course.

[Stold]

Point sparring has only one advantage. You don't get messed up. Well, most of the time you don't, anyways...

 

I don't even get really messed up in full contact. Just get some closed cell headgear and NHB gloves.

[BKJ1216]

Well at first glance it would seem that actually fighting would be better. My idea of point sparring you get hit once and your finished. I don't think a real fight works like that, if you were to actually fight a true martial artsist woudln't they be able to take a lot of punishment? Plus your not really practicing hitting a human target, sure you may train with bags, but humans react a lot differently then heavy bags or makiwara boards. The only reason I even think dojos do point sparring is because they're afraid someone will get hurt. There is only one dojo in my area I don't know what there sparring situation is, but the rest are point sparring. I guess point sparring would be good for self defense, because the average person probably would be devistated by a good kick or punch. But a fellow martial artist woudlnt' be. So competition full contact sparring, self defense point sparring should be fine. Now before anyone goes and instults me this is purley a first glance no expirience theroy. BTW can you do full contact sparring effectivley with a friend, or do you need a instructor there? Or if your friend is a black belt could he count as an instructor?

[G95champ]

Full Contact or Semi Full Contact.

 

I hate point sparring. Everyone wants to label Shotokan as a point system because its a traditional art. Fact is Shotokan is very physical espically when it come to sparring.

 

Point Sparring IMO will get people hurt. Its one thing to land a back fist half a second before I land a elbow. You get the point but if we trade in real life I win. I think Point sparring builds false confidence.

 

Now with that said this is where Shotokan gets its critics. Because of the great power we work on developing we don't usually free spar until the later ranks because it is so eaisy to get hurt. We spend our early days learing control so we dont hurt each other.

 

Speed + Techinque = Power

 

Speed is all you need to be a good point fighter.

[MuayThai Fighter]

I don't think that either can be classified as better...I think that it all depends on the individual and why they study martial arts. Both can be of equal benefit depending on your position.

 

Not all martial artists study so they can go to tournaments and "fight"....after all that is not the original intent of martial arts in the first place. JMHO

 

 

I know not everyone trains to go to tournaments and to fight,but this discussion is for those who do,why else do you think I'm comparing the two types of sparring?

 

If you want to talk about intent of martial arts ,then go to my other topic called "what does it take to make a realistic martial arts?and give your opinion in there."