Editing Martial arts (section)

==Testing and competition==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}
Testing or evaluation is important to martial artists of many disciplines who wish to determine their progression or own level of skill in specific contexts. Students 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 (clothing)|belt]] color or title. The type of testing used varies from system to system but may include forms or [[sparring]].
[[File:Steven Ho Martial Arts Kick.jpg|thumb|[[Steven Ho (martial artist)|Steven Ho]] executing a Jump Spin [[Hook Kick]]]]
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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===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 usually to 'touch' contact, e.g. a punch should be 'pulled' as soon as or before contact is made. In medium-contact (sometimes referred to as semi-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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

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, certain techniques may be forbidden (such as headbutting or groin hits), and fighters may be required to wear [[Personal protective equipment|protective equipment]]<!-- We need a better article than this to link to --> on their head, hands, chest, groin, shins or feet. Some grappling arts, such as aikido, use a similar method of compliant training that is equivalent to light or medium contact.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===Full-contact===
{{further|Full-contact}}
Full-contact sparring or competition, where strikes or techniques are not pulled but used with full force as the name implies, has a number of tactical differences from light and medium-contact sparring. It is considered by some to be requisite in learning realistic unarmed combat.<ref name=SB>{{cite web|url= http://www.straightblastgym.com/aliveness101.html|title= Aliveness 101|access-date= 3 November 2008|publisher= Straight Blast gym|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090107052738/http://www.straightblastgym.com./aliveness101.html|archive-date= 7 January 2009}} – An essay on contact levels in training</ref>

In full-contact sparring, the aim of a competitive match is to [[knock out]] the opponent or to force the opponent to [[submission wrestling|submit]].
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, though most now use some form of judging as a backup.<ref name="UFC1">{{cite news|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AuvUi2TrSN_ILBVsuNLmsjk9Eo14?slug=dm-earlyufc111207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns|title=First UFC forever altered combat sports|author=Dave Meltzer|date=12 November 2007|work=Yahoo! Sports|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604072236/http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dm-earlyufc111207|archive-date=4 June 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=3 November 2008}}</ref> Due to these factors, full-contact matches tend to be more aggressive in character, but rule sets may still mandate the use of protective equipment, or limit the techniques allowed.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Nearly all mixed martial arts organizations such as [[Ultimate Fighting Championship|UFC]], [[Pancrase]], [[Shooto]] use a form of full-contact rules as do [[Professional Boxing|professional boxing]] organizations and [[K-1]]. [[Kyokushin]] [[karate]] requires advanced practitioners to engage in bare-knuckled, full-contact sparring allowing kicks, knees and punching although punching to the head is disallowed while wearing only a karate ''gi'', [[mouthguard]], [[Jockstrap|groin guard]] for [[Male|males]], or chest guard worn under the karate ''gi'' for [[females]]. Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo matches do not allow striking, but are full-contact in the sense that full force is applied in the permitted grappling and submission techniques. Competitions held by [[World Taekwondo Federation#Sparring|World Taekwondo]] requires the use of [[Headgear (martial arts)|Headgear]] and padded vest, but are full contact in the sense that full force is applied to strikes to the head and body, and win by [[knockout]] is possible.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===Martial sport===
{{see also|Combat sport}}
[[File:050907-M-7747B-002-Judo.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Several martial arts, such as [[judo]], are [[Olympic sports]].|left]]
Martial arts have crossed over into sports when forms of [[sparring]] become competitive, becoming a sport in its own right that is dissociated from the original combative origin, such as with western fencing. The [[Summer Olympic Games]] includes judo, taekwondo, western archery, boxing, javelin, wrestling and fencing as events, while [[Wushu (sport)|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]] 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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The question of "which is the best martial art" has led to inter style competitions fought with very few rules allowing a variety of fighting styles to enter with few limitations. This was the origin of the first [[Ultimate Fighting Championship]] tournament (later renamed [[UFC 1|UFC 1: The Beginning]]) in the USA inspired by the Brazilian [[Vale tudo]] tradition and along with other minimal rule competitions, most notably those from Japan such as [[Shooto]] and [[Pancrase]], have evolved into the [[combat sport]] of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Some martial artists compete in non-sparring competitions such as [[Breaking (martial arts)|breaking]] or choreographed routines of techniques such as [[poomse]], [[kata]] and [[Aka (Burmese martial art)|aka]], or modern variations of the martial arts which include dance-influenced competitions such as tricking. 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 (sport)|wushu]] was suppressing what they saw as the potentially [[subversion (politics)|subversive]] aspects of martial training, especially under the traditional system of family lineages.<ref name="Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan">{{cite book |last=Fu |first=Zhongwen | title=Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan |orig-year=1996|year=2006 |publisher=Blue Snake Books |location=Berkeley, California}}</ref>