sparring

thumb|right|350 px|Tommy Burns (Canadian boxer)|Tommy Burns during a sparring session. Sparring is a form of training common to many combat sports. It can encompass a range of activities and techniques such as punching, kicking, grappling, throwing, wrestling or submission work dependent on style. Although the precise form varies, it is essentially relatively 'free-form' fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to minimize injuries. By extension, argumentative debate is sometimes called sparring.

==Differences between styles== 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 Karate will normally begin with the players at opposite sides of the mat and will be given a point for striking the appropriate area and will be given a foul for striking an inappropriate area or stepping out of the area. Sparring in a grappling art such as judo might begin with the partners holding one another and end if they separate.