"Full-contact" sparring or fighting, is considered by many to be requisite in learning realistic unarmed combat. The phrase refers to several aspects which differentiate it from light and medium-contact sparring. One example is the reduced or eliminated use of protective gear. For instance, Kyokushin karate is a style of karate that requires advanced practitioners to engage in bare-knuckled, full-contact sparring while wearing only a karate gi and groin protector. Full contact may also refer to a wider variety of permitted attacks and contact zones on the body, excluding a limited number of forbidden techniques such as biting, finger breaking, groin striking or attacking the eyes. The phrase could also indicate the employment of full-force attacks in order to disable the opponent, either by knockout or direct submission of defeat. If a point system is utilized, (in some competitions, such as the UFC 1, there is none) there is often a lower emphasis on scoring points to win by judges' decision. Due to these factors, full-contact matches tend to be more aggressive in character. Nearly all MMA leagues such as UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, Shooto use full-contact rules, as do professional boxing organizations. Rulesets mandate the use of protective gloves and forbid certain techniques or actions during a match, such as punching the back of the head. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo matches do not allow striking, but are full-contact in the sense that full force is applied during grappling and submissions. Some practitioners believe that winning a sport match by rules is not an important matter in hand-to-hand combat. Many of these practitioners may prefer not to participate in most types of rule-based martial art competition (even one such as modern vale tudo), electing instead to study fighting techniques with little or no regard to competitive rules or, perhaps, ethical concerns and the law (the techniques practiced may include attacking perceived vulnerable spots such as the groin or the eyes). Nonetheless, others maintain that, given proper precautions such as a referee and a ring doctor, full-contact matches with basic rules could serve as a useful gauge of one's overall fighting ability, encompassing broad categories including striking, grappling and finishing hold.
