1) Shorin-ryu karate (Shorinkan).
2)Yes, we do both free-sparring (jiyu kumite) and agreement sparring (yakusoku kumite). In free sparring, gloves and mouthpieces are mandatory, headgear is required for students under the age of 18.
3)Frequency - Agreement sparring, every class. Free sparring, about one to two classes per week. Intensity - Most agreement sparring is quite intense. Free sparring is of moderate intensity, but dan level participants can go as hard as they want to as long as both agree.

Yep we spar, many different forms -

1. tegumi, standup wrestling practise, compromised and then non compromised.

2. randori, no pads, controlled contact/pace sparring.

3. bogu kumite, heavy contact, full head gear, light body armour and groin cup. developing this right now.

We of course also have many drills including grab release, hold release, evasion, bunkai practise (develops into 'free' attacks), 2 on one randori etc etc

I have absolutly no concept of how non contact karate can be of much use for any form of application.

since I've been lookin i'm suprised how many use body armor or point sparring. If needed to be used in reality, getting hit for the first time out of class would be a shock. Body conditioning and taking a hit is as important as giving one

The use of body armour and head gear allows for heavy contact sparring with no hand or foot pads, its a development tool.

also the armour is light and still very much hurts! It allows the students to expierience 'shock' withoubt serious injury.

It is simply part of the 'kumite' we practise, randori (as I call it) involves no pads and you work to the level of contact you both wish, ie progressivly harder.

I agree that conditioning excersises are most usefull as are tai sabaki methods, and again we use both for overall development.

nurb,

Part of the reason body armour is becoming a standard is simply most cannot have a school without insurance, either to protect the school owner or the landlord, and the insurance industry is making use of body armour mandatory or suffering loss of insurance.

Then there are humanitarian concerns for student safety, being able to defend onself flat out is very different from getting wasted training.

I came from the pre safety gear days with very strong body contact and light taps to the head mandatory for scoring, but have gone through many layers of what works.

The best instructor I ever trained with, and the best 'sparrer' bar none I've ever experienced never included any sort of kumite within his classes, but his skills and his students came from superior drills and othe techniques.

After years of thought I moved my program away from a heavy sparring diet, and today only use it for advanced students where it makes sense in their training program. A far cry from the days students started sparring their first night.

It's interesting having the student spend years developing skills first actually makes for better sparring because they have technique that works.

But as sparring is such a minor aspect of where I see karate as going, it is only done in limited context.

pleasantly,

Yes, at coloered belt levels, and with increasing intensities as we advance. When I started, padding was available but discouraged. I used them but frankly it was a crutch.

My last school went into heavy contact. You knew when you were hit. I was lifted off the floor with a strike at least once in every sparring session. The shock of that kind of blow altered my training from the fundamentals on.

What Ive learned and incorporated is to have my combinations aimed with a follow-up using each recoil of a strike. For practice, I use a heavy bag, hung so its center of gravity mimics mine. When I strike, the bag rotates around that center of G, and this recoil dictates where and when my next strike is aimed.

Body armor was what gave me freedom to learn this without broken bones. Waiting and losing three months training while waiting for a rib to knit, and then building back to make up for lost time hindered training. This is also when I overcame my fear of hits and where I learned the proper use of armor. This is a great improvement over the old days.

1) Shorin Ryu Karate Jutsu
2) Yes
3) LIght contact from white to yellow medium: green andpurple Heavy: Brown Black
We use mouthguard, hand gear and footgear

Style: Wado Ryu
Sparring: Yes.
Type of sparring: medium contact Shiai and Ji Yu Kumite (the latter we use techniques not permitted in contest Shiai.)

Tim