Sparring in wushu (sport) using a dao (sword) and gun (staff)

Sparring is a form of training common to many martial arts. Although the precise form varies, it is relatively free-form fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to make injuries unlikely. By extension, argumentative debate is sometimes called "verbal sparring". Image File history File links Sparring_dao_gun. ... Image File history File links Sparring_dao_gun. ... Gun (staff) event at the 10th All China Games Wushu (Chinese: ; pinyin: wǔshù; literally martial arts), also known as modern wushu or contemporary wushu, is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. ... Chinese Saber Dao (Chinese: 刀; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: tao1) is a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping (sabers), often called broadswords in English because some varieties have wide blades. ... The Chinese word gun (棍 pinyin gùn) refers to a long Chinese staff weapon. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ...

The physical nature of sparring naturally varies with the nature of the skills it is intended to develop; sparring in a striking art such as Savate will normally begin with the players at opposite corners of a ring and will be stopped if they clinch. Sparring in a grappling art such as judo might begin with the partners holding one another and end if they separate. Savate (pronounced ), also known as boxe française (French boxing) or French kickboxing, is a French martial art which uses both the hands and feet as weapons and contains elements of western boxing, grappling and graceful kicking techniques (only foot kicks are allowed, with no use of the knees or... To clinch is to hold tightly. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Judo (Japanese: 柔道, jūdō; gentle way) is a martial art, combat sport, and philosophy which originated in Japan. ...

The organization of sparring matches also varies. If the participants know each other well and are friendly, it may be sufficient for them to simply play, without rules, referee, or timer. If the sparring is between strangers, or there is some emotional tension, or the sparring is being evaluated, it may be appropriate to introduce formal rules and have an experienced martial artist supervise the match.

Sparring is normally distinct from fights in competition. The goal of sparring is normally the education of the participants, while a competitive fight seeks to determine a winner.

The educational role of sparring is a matter of some debate. In any sparring match, precautions of some sort must be taken to protect the participants. These may include wearing protective gear, declaring certain techniques and targets off-limits, playing slowly or at a fixed speed, forbidding certain kinds of trickery, or one of many other possibilities. These precautions have the potential to change the nature of the skill that is being learned. For example, if one were to always spar with heavily padded gloves, one might come to rely on techniques that risk breaking bones in one's hand. Most schools recognize this problem but value sparring nonetheless because it forces the student to improvise, to think under pressure, and to keep their emotions under control.

Sparring has different names and different forms in various schools. Some schools prefer not to call it sparring, as they feel it differs in kind from what is normally called sparring.

• In Chinese martial arts, sparring is usually trained at first as individual applications, eventually combined as freestyle training of long, medium and short range techniques. See chin na, pushing hands.
• In Japanese martial arts, a sparring-like activity is usually called randori. In judo, this is essentially one-on-one sparring; in some forms of aikido it is a formalized form of sparring where one aikidoka defends against many attackers.
• In Korean martial arts, (Taekwondo), sparring is called Kyorugi. Per style encouraged by the World Taekwondo Federation, the majority of the attacks executed are kicking techniques.
• In Karate, sparring is called kumite.
• Taekwondo Sparring Champions
• In Capoeira, the closest analogue to sparring is playing in the roda.
• In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sparring is commanly called rolling