Competition
From MartialTalk Online Martial Arts Encyclopedia Project
Competition, or sport martial arts, is a way in which a martial artist can test their skills in a relatively safe environment. Either against another opponent or by being judged by others (such as kata competitions).
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Combat Sports
Combat sports are where usually two opponents fight against each other within a certain set of rules of engagement. Usually, this includes a referee and judges. There a three general categories of these sports; striking, grappling, and weapons. Any mixture there of can apply to any given sport.
Full Contact
Full contact combat sports can easily described where you do not need to hold back when it comes to your strikes (still being within the rules of engagement). This usually includes some form of protective gear. Such as gloves, mouth guard and head gear. Boxing and kickboxing are prime examples of a full contact combat sport.
There are some forms of Kumite, or point sparring, which also allow full contact in certain target areas (such as full punches to the body). Some of the more extreme forms of this combat sport may not includes any protective gear at all.
Semi Contact
Semi contact, or light contact, combat sports are where you need to show control by pulling your strikes. This is usually the common theme for most kumite (point sparring) matches. You are awarded points based on your technique. Such as in many popular karate competitions, a kick may be worth 2 points while a punch may be worth 1.
Grappling
Grappling combat sports are where you use mostly wrestling type movements with little or no striking permitted. Winning a match is achieved differently dependant of the sport's specific rules. While in western style wrestling, you get points on reversals, escapes or you win if you pin your opponent. While in martial arts like Judo and sport forms of Jujitsu, you may receive points for throwing your opponent to the ground or having them submit (usually from a choke hold or joint lock).
No Holds Barred
No Holds Barred, is a term that was made popular by the UFC. This does not denote that there are no rules, or no holds barred, it usually refers to combat sports that allows both striking and grappling movements as a method of winning a match. What is allowed and not allowed is dependant on the organization running the event. Many of the practitioners of this method train in what is referred to as Mixed Martial Arts.
Weapons
This form of combat sport uses weapons as a method of competing. It can be full contact of just semi contact. In either case, there is usually a great deal of protective gear that the participants need to wear. Popular examples of this are western form of fencing and the japanese kendo.
Other Forms of Competition
Besides the combat sports, there are other forms of competition both empty-handed and weapons orientated martial arts that does not include any contact against your opponents. This will usually include a panel of judges that would score your performance. The most well known in the martial arts community would be kata (forms) competitions.
There are also what may be called precision and shooting sports. Such as archery, kyudo, knife throwing, or sharp shooting. Although these sports have combat applications, many are mostly used for hunting applications.
