Originally Posted by: kingdavidAnd how are those points scored? By spitting into someone's face? :D
We know that's not the answer.
Did you watch the last olympics?
There was a game I saw, Tae Kwon Do. Helmets and all. Doctors by the truck load. And yes, they were playing for points.
Dude here acts like he's pushed to the edge of the circle, his opponent moves in for the kill (I think if you step out of the circle you are out, or lose a lot of points). Suddenly, dude jumps, spins, and delivers this mutha***** of a kick to would-be killer's head, would-be killer's helmet flys off his head. He is out cold. Game over.
That may have been done for points, but my bet is that if it happened to you in a "real" combat situation, your response would not be any different from would-be killer's.
And by the, a "normal" kick to the body earns a point. A kick to the head, on the other hand, earns 3. These "for points" dudes can kick ass outside the ring just as much as inside. In fact, they probably kick less in the ring coz they have to follow rules, but in a " real" combat situation, kicking, for example, below the belt, is perfectly legal. Ouch!! :eek:

There's a lot of different scoring systems, though and with them come different levels of contact that are allowed.

From what you described there, it was full contact, but they were keeping score in case nobody was knocked out. Under different rules, it can be purely by point with nothing harder than a tap allowed.