Hello

What kind of contact levels do you have in your club? Also what techniques and targets are you allowed?

For dojo sparring it is hard but controlled. ie your sparring is guided by the higher grade but it must always have control. You can hit to any area but to the head is only with softer hits, no joint attacks, any takedowns allowed as long as they flow into other techniques. I have often seen 1/2 the class on the floor more like a BJJ class. No special safety equiptment. As we do lots of conditioning ie leg and arm pounding we get use to hard contact.

For our once a year Australian Tittles which is our only tournament as our style doesnt like unrealistic points(tag) kumite. They dont even like having one tournament but i guess it caters to a certain faction of the organisation.

Its like amateur boxing, headgear, gloves, box, shin protectors and mouthguard. Then you can punch and kick anywhere except joints ie knee attacks.
It is full contact but with padding, the decision to do this is some styles of full contact dont allow punches to the head and this seems to train a lower arm/ blocking position our feeling is dont train something different than you would do in real life. Though some people would argue you can still get knocked out with head gear?
All fights are continious, last 1 X 3 min round, with a 2 X 3 min final. Leg attacks are allowed but kicks below the waist dont score unless part of a combination. Takedowns are fine as long as the techniques continue ie sweep into lock etc.

I have never seen a injury from dojo sparring probably due to the conditioning, at the tournament a couple of broken noses (1 by me) and a few broken toes, lots of bruises but all good.


cheers
Freek

HI there

We are non contact for lower grades, but when you get into higher grades its kind of semi contact. Contact is allowd to the body etc but not to the face, the reason is we have a lot of professionals training with us eg lawyers, doctors and parents etc. We cant have these people going to work the next day with black eyes or going home to the kids with a broken nose.

As far as where are you allowed to strike, pretty much anywhere, we are really big on groin kicks and takedowns so a lot of our kicking is done down low, we are allowed to grab hold of the opponent and take him down that way as well. Also alot of our guys like to attack the hands as in knocking the opponents guard out of the way to make way for your technique to get in.

Rocket

Supposedly non contact but you wouldnt know it to watch people go for it sometimes.

In GKR, sparring is intended to be NON-CONTACT.
However, most people do contact. Especially black belts, and especially in tournaments. You are not allowed to do a forward back fist, as this is always intended to break the nose. You can not do open handed strikes either. No attacks on the eyes or throat. No grabbing or holding, no sweeping if only one leg is on the ground, and no round or rising elbow strikes.

So, pretty much, stomach and head level punches and kicks are what you're allowed to do. And side backfist (to the side of the head).

As for non-contact, I believe (for a lot of GKR students) it is simply a disclaimer. I have been at tournaments where people have walked (or limped) out of the Male Black Belt Open, bleeding or broken.

Yeah, but who's going to tell them off when the guy who's bleeding says, "that was a great punch, mate, I never even saw it coming"

It seems its only non-contact after you hit someone and they have a spazzy about it...