October 12, 2026
Full Contact, semi-contact and light contact: formats, categories and records for minor athletes
Many Full Contact clubs train semi-contact or light contact alongside it, formats that differ in the pace of the bout and in how hard the contact is. Not every athlete competes the same way, and if you don't know exactly who goes where, entry mistakes follow. Here is how to put things in order.
How do the formats differ and how do you fit them into the schedule?
In semi-contact the bout is stopped after each valid hit and points count more than power. In light contact the bout flows continuously with controlled contact, while in Full Contact strikes are thrown with power and the contest follows full-contact rules. The exact rules are set by each organizer.
In training, the formats can be treated as distinct activities: sessions focused on control and precision for semi-contact and light contact, and sessions with more intensity for Full Contact. If you list them separately in the schedule, every athlete knows which group they belong to and what the coach is looking for in each session.
How do you group athletes and enter them in the right category?
The usual criteria are age, weight and experience level. A 12-year-old doesn't belong in the adult group, and two athletes of the same age can have very different experience, so coaches normally combine these criteria. The actual categories depend on each event's rules.
If you keep each athlete's age, current weight and competition format on record, choosing the category becomes simple. An event created for the competition, with the list of entries and related fees, spares you confusion such as an athlete entered in the wrong format or left off the list.
How do you keep minors' consent forms and documents in order?
For minors you need the parents' written consent and the medical documents the organizer requires, with expiry dates at hand. Photographed and sent over messaging apps, they get lost easily and end up in hands that shouldn't have them.
Keep children's data in one place, accessible only to those who need it, and talk to parents through a private channel rather than large group chats. That makes it easier to respect data protection rules, and before a competition you can see at a glance who is missing a document.
Dojo Master helps you split athletes into groups with schedules and coaches, create events with sign-up and fees, handle minors' data with GDPR in mind, message parents privately and show results on your Full Contact club's public page.
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