Ch'i

Yes, that is something that most schools won't do anymore unfortunately. Since around 5-10 years ago the amount of precaution has sky-rocketed. It used to be shirtless with a mouthpiece, that was it. I've personally seen some of the causes of these rules to be put in place, and I don't agree with them. Parents are sending their child(ren) to take martial arts, but still want them to be safe. Parents are turning martial arts into a sport. They want their kids to be safe, so their petitions for saftey gear inevitably were put in place. Now, at most dojo's (more like schools now), I feel an atmosphere of "soccermom's dropping their kid off at TKD while they go shop." They don't realize that they are completely subverting the idea of martial arts. Back when Bruce Lee trained this kind of thing hadn't emerged yet, so his definition of full contact sparring intailed no gear whatsoever, full speed/strength, many broken bones, and KO's.