by dspyrido on Sun Oct 07, 2018 7:08 pm
I can't see how martial arts can be trained without sparring.
Many beginners sports comps work off the tag to the body rules and add body protectors. TWD does it with 4+ year olds.
To add a bit of flavour tagging could be also done to the top of the head with 16oz gloves. Emphasises importance of head movement. Tagging the legs with kicks will open up leg movement.
If a little impact is desired but feared then add body protectors, head gear, bigger gloves (18oz+) & shin padding. Or get a sumo suit.
Progression for impact rules to get inspiration: TWD -> Karate point sparring -> Bubble suits like koshiki or fully padded sanda/twd/karate types -> Any no head kickboxing type -> Boxing -> Kickboxing -> Combat sambo, Shotokan, Amateur MMA (no head shots but no gloves/4oz gloves) -> MT -> Pancrase (if elbows included) -> Professional MMA rules