A contact sport is a sport which includes significant physical contact between the athletes involved. Examples of contacts sports are: American football, Lacrosse and Amateur wrestling. Examples of non-contact sports are: Table Tennis and Badminton.

Semi-contact sport

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A semi-contact sport is typically a combat sport involving striking and which contains physical contact between the combatants simulating full-power techniques. The techniques are restricted to limited power, and rendering the opponent unconscious is forbidden. Such sports usually use a point system to determine the winner, and use extensive protective gear to protect the athletes from injury. Examples of semi-contact sports include Taekwondo (under ITF rules) and various styles of Kung Fu that include semi-contact rules sparring.

Full-contact sport

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A full-contact sport is similar to a semi-contact sport, but which contains physical contact between the combatants with the aim of causing a knockout or otherwise rendering the opponent inable to continue the match. Injuries are much more common in full-contact sports since the amount of protective gear is often reduced, and the techniques are executed at full power. Examples of full-contact sports include Boxing, Kickboxing, full-contact Karate, mixed martial arts and Thaiboxing. Grappling sports and arts such as Judo, where techniques are performed with full strength against a resisting opponent - and can cause serious injury if used against someone without proper training - are also referred to as full contact sports within the Martial Arts community.

Sports terminology

Full-contact