Testing and competition

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Testing or evaluation is important to martial art practitioners of many disciplines who wish to determine their progression or own level of skill in specific contexts. Students within individual martial art systems often undergo periodic testing and grading by their own teacher in order to advance to a higher level of recognized achievement, such as a different belt color or title. The type of testing used varies from system to system but may include forms or sparring.

Various forms and sparring are commonly used in martial art exhibitions and tournaments. Some competitions pit practitioners of different disciplines against each other using a common set of rules, these are referred to as mixed martial arts competitions. Rules for sparring vary between art and organization but can generally be divided into light-contact, medium-contact, and full-contact variants, reflecting the amount of force that should be used on an opponent.

Light- and medium-contact

These types of sparring restrict the amount of force that may be used to hit an opponent, in the case of light sparring this is usual to 'touch' contact, e.g. a punch should be 'pulled' as soon as or before contact is made. In medium-contact the punch would not be 'pulled' but not hit with full force. As the amount of force used is restricted, the aim of these types of sparring is not to knock out an opponent; a point system is used in competitions.

A referee acts to monitor for fouls and to control the match, while judges mark down scores, as in boxing. Particular targets may be prohibited (such as the face or groin), certain techniques may be forbidden, and fighters may be required to wear protective equipment on their head, hands, chest, groin, shins or feet. In some styles (such as fencing and some styles of taekwondo sparring), competitors score points based on the landing of a single technique or strike as judged by the referee, whereupon the referee will briefly stop the match, award a point, then restart the match. Alternatively, sparring may continue with the point noted by the judges.

Some critics of point sparring feel that this method of training teaches habits that result in lower combat effectiveness. Lighter-contact sparring may be used exclusively, for children or in other situations when heavy contact would be inappropriate (such as beginners), medium-contact sparring is often used as training for full-contact.

Full-contact

"Full-contact" sparring or fighting is considered by many to be requisite in learning realistic unarmed combat. Full-contact sparring is different from light and medium-contact sparring in several ways, including the use of strikes that are not pulled but are thrown with full force, as the name implies. In full-contact sparring, the aim of a competitive match is either to knock out the opponent or to force the opponent to submit. Full-contact sparring may include a wider variety of permitted attacks and contact zones on the body.

Where scoring takes place it may be a subsidiary measure, only used if no clear winner has been established by other means; in some competitions, such as the UFC 1, there was no scoring. Due to these factors, full-contact matches tend to be more aggressive in character, but rule sets may still mandate the use of protective gloves and forbid certain techniques or actions during a match, such as punching the back of the head.

Nearly all mixed martial arts leagues such as UFC, Pancrase, Shooto use a form of full-contact rules, as do professional boxing organizations and K-1. Kyokushin karate requires advanced practitioners to engage in bare-knuckled, full-contact sparring while wearing only a karate gi and groin protector but does not allow strikes to the face, only kicks and knees. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo matches do not allow striking, but are full-contact in the sense that full force is applied in the application during grappling and submission techniques.

Sparring debates

Some practitioners believe that sports matches with rules are not a good measure of hand-to-hand combat ability and training for these restrictions may inhibit effectiveness in self defence situations. These practitioners may prefer not to participate in most types of rule-based martial art competition (even one such as vale tudo where there are minimal rules), electing instead to study fighting techniques with little or no regard to competitive rules or, even perhaps, ethical concerns and the law (the techniques practiced may include attacking vulnerable spots such as the groin or the eyes). Others maintain that, given proper precautions such as a referee and a ring doctor, sparring, in particular full-contact matches with basic rules, serves as a useful gauge of an individual's overall fighting ability, and that failing to test techniques against a resisting opponent is more likely to impede ability in such situations.

Martial sport

Judo and Tae Kwon Do as well as western archery, boxing, javelin, wrestling and fencing are currently events in the Summer Olympic Games. Chinese wushu recently failed in its bid to be included, but is still actively performed in tournaments across the world. Practitioners in some arts such as kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu often train for sport matches, whereas those in other arts such as Aikido and Wing Chun generally spurn such competitions. Some schools believe that competition breeds better and more efficient practitioners, and gives a sense of good sportsmanship. Others believe that the rules under which competition takes place have diminished the combat effectiveness of martial arts or encourage a kind of practice which focuses on winning trophies rather than a focus such as cultivating a particular moral character.

As part of the response to sport martial arts, new forms of competition are being held such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the U.S. or Pancrase, and the PRIDE in Japan which are also known as mixed martial arts (or MMA) events. The original UFC was fought under very few rules allowing all martial arts styles to enter and not be limited by the rule set.

Some martial artists also compete in non-sparring competitions such as breaking or choreographed techniques poomse, kata or aka. Modern variations of the martial arts include dance-influenced competitions such as tricking.

Some martial traditions have been influenced by governments to become more sport-like for political purposes. The central impetus for the attempt by the People's Republic of China in transforming Chinese martial arts into the committee-regulated sport of Wushu was suppressing what they saw as the potentially subversive aspects of martial training, especially under the traditional system of family lineages.[12]

Dance

As mentioned above, some martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settings for various reasons, such as for evoking ferocity in preparation for battle or showing off skill in a more stylized manner. Many such martial arts incorporate music, especially strong percussive rhythms.

Examples of such war dances include:

* Buza - From Russia.
* Panther Dance - Burmese Bando with swords (dha)
* Gymnopaidiai - ancient Sparta
* European Sword dance or Weapon dance of various kinds
* Haka - New Zealand
* Sabre Dance - depicted in Khachaturian's ballet Gayane
* Maasai moran (warrior age-set) dances
* Aduk-Aduk - Brunei
* Ayyalah - Qatar
* Khattak Dance - Afghanistan
* Brazil's Capoeira, as well as some similar Afro-Caribbean arts
* Dannsa Biodag - Scotland and Scottish sword dances
* Hula & Lua - from the traditions of indigenous Hawaiian
* Combat Hopak - From Ukraine
* Yolah - From Oman/UAE

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