Fencing vs Full contact karate
Fencing and Full contact karate side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Fencing | Full contact karate | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | — | Japan |
| Type | combat sport and Olympic sport | karate |
| Competition at the Olympics | Yes – 108 Olympic events recorded | — |
| Notable practitioners here | 3202 | 28 |
| Top countries of practitioners | France, Italy and United States | Japan, France and Korea under Japanese rule |
| Equipment and weapons | foil, épée and saber | — |
| Energy use (MET) | 6.0 MET (Fencing, general) | — |
Fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: foil, épée, and sabre (also spelled saber), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fencers specialise in one of these disciplines. The modern sport gained prominence near the end of the 19th century, evolving from historical European swordsmanship. The Italian school altered the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refined that system. Scoring points in a fencing competition is done by making contact with the opponent with one's sword.
From the Wikipedia article Fencing (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Full contact karate
Full contact karate is any format of karate where competitors spar (also called "Kumite") full-contact and allow a knockout as winning criterion.
From the Wikipedia article Full contact karate (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q12100, Q3754231. Practitioner counts are the people with a profile on this site. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.