When I first started training in the Martial Arts it was with a school where only the blocks could make contact and you weren't allowed to attack the limbs or even to kick below the waist. Later on after I got my Black Belt I started to seriously question some of the techniques, training strategies and philosophies that were currently being employed. The one I'm going to discuss and give my own views on in this article is the need for at least contact training, if not indeed contact sparring.

First let me say that we still employ non contact sparring in my own club as this builds fast hand speed in both attacking and defence and also we have opened up all targets and empty hand weapons right from day one in the Dojo. The very areas that were banned are the ones that I feel a student should be targeting as a reflex, and that 95% of your kicks should be below the waist. In saying that, control of course becomes an issue and this is where the use of two man sets is superior to empty air training in everything from basics right through to self defence and on to weaponry. You start to learn about range, timing, reading you opponent, balance, etc while also building your own conditioning to impact both given and received. One of the things missing in non-contact sparring how ever is hitting for effect. This means you can get the ludicrous event of some one basically punching, striking or kicking out of range and with little power and maybe beating on points a much bigger and more powerful opponent. I've seen it happen at tournaments and sparring in clubs where only non-contact sparring is employed, but I've got news for you people, – size does count! It dictates to a certain extent how you fight and what tactics to employ. More on that in a future article.

From non-contact sparring and exercises we then move on to light contact training. This starts off with milling which is an exercise where two training partners are allowed to make light contact by just touching the other person with an open hand and kicks are not driven through. There are all sorts of variations to the theme though and the one I personally like is where grabs and takedowns are also allowed. This is the stage where full contact basics are also started utilising hit shields, Taekwondo body armor, Thai pads, and /or iron palm bags. At the end of this level you should be able to do the milling wearing body armor, head gear and mouth guard but still with bare knuckles and no shin pads, and be able to make and take full power blows to the body, lightish touches to the head and heavy kicks to the legs. You will also notice that the person opposite you has gone from being a training partner to an opponent. At this level in my club you will be around Green Belt, the first level of actual combat. Also because you can still target vital points like the throat and eyes, (non-contact though) this is the sparring that is probably the closest to a real fight.

Next we move on to full contact sparring which while optional in my club is encouraged and the full contact training is mandatory dependant on age.

The sparring will vary from full contact to the body and limbs only; (similar to Kyokushin except in this mode we don't allow kicks to the head and the safety gear employed varies on the occasion but we use fingerless mitts to cover the hands) to full contact sparring utilising 16 oz gloves, head gear, mouth guard and shin pads in what effectively becomes kick boxing. So what does contact sparring teach us that non-contact doesn't and what are its drawbacks?

Well, it teaches you to hit for effect rather than for someone's opinion of a point scored or not. This means that your follow up is also dependant on what your previous attack achieved if any thing. It also means that any gap or weakness in your own defense both in tactics and technique become painfully (no pun intended) obvious. It toughens you up, you learn where you are really vulnerable and after you've been hit there a couple of times you'll find yourself blocking or covering that area automatically. It teaches you that you can be both resilient to an attack in some areas and can take a full-blown punch or kick and how in other more vulnerable areas you can be stopped dead with little more than a touch, as in a blow to the throat. It teaches you about force, speed, timing, and body shifting, it's pretty hard to ignore a technique when its just given you a bloody nose and you learn that the first rule of self defence (don't be there) means its better not to be there when a blow lands. So don't just rely on a block, use some form of a body shift at the same time, (a simple duck or twist if nothing else). You learn to use your own body weight and momentum in a punch or whatever to increase the power. Good balance becomes obvious, it's pretty hard to deliver an effective technique if you are stumbling around and makes it even easier for your opponent to take the fight to you. It teaches you tactics that are more realistic because you can see the effect or lack of for your self. Remember the old adage if you want to attack the east, first attack to the west. It'll show you pretty quickly to attack from the sides if your opponent is bigger or to attack down the middle if he is smaller. You only have to look to Iraq to see these tactics being used albeit on a bigger scale. It also teaches you to keep on going even when you are hurt or winded and that your opponent will use any weakness shown, against you. (You can of course use this as in a feigned daze after a punch to the head for example, taking advantage as your opponent moves in to finish you off.)

There are other reasons of course but now for some of the drawbacks with injuries being the most obvious one. Most of us have to get up and go to work the next day so safety becomes an issue, so then we start donning gloves and safety gear and apply rules of engagement. The trouble with this is that it becomes more of a sport and less of a martial (military) practice. This means that we should be using a variety of training strategies to try and negate any gaps in a particular method.

To summarise; non-contact is useful in developing speed an accuracy and allows us to target the vital points of the body, it helps build the confidence necessary for contact training and is particularly suitable for lower ranks and new students as well as the juniors (under 16 yrs). Contact training and sparring enables us to build our power and to apply techniques for effect but does need the necessary safety gear and rules out the more vulnerable vital points. It also gets you used to being hit and still carrying on.

Now for those who say their art is too dangerous to be able to make contact, I would say that any good system should be deadly, it's the name of the game, but you still need to at least do contact training to keep yourself honest and to help prepare yourself for the brutality of a real fight.

I have based the afore mentioned views on my own experience in various Martial Arts including kickboxing and from my own experience in life including time as a Police Officer in Auckland and also of course in teaching my own version of Kempo Karate and Kobudo.

Bryan Goldthorpe.
Fudoshin Ryu Bujutsu Inc.
Osu.