Hi

I recently did my 1st tournament, which was billed as a semi contact tournament.

I was shocked at the level of contact which was allowed and the tactics employed by some of the clubs.

Is it normal for semi contact to really mean full contact but with protective gear on?

There was a fair bit of following through punces with an elbow and I'm sure that some of the instructors were getting their fighters to dig in kicks to the same area (and incur warnings) leading to their opponent protecting the repeatedly hit area and leaving other targets open to be exploited!

Personally I couldn't see much art in the martial arts being used!

I wouldn't say it put me off doing future tournamnets but I'd have prepare diferently if I'd known what it was going to be like.

BTW I got silver in the points sparring but was out in the 1st round of continuous.

Cheers
Nic