In all three of the kung fu schools I have trained and been ranked in, there was a sliding scale from barely being hit to full contact over time. There is a tape of me fighting my Shaolin master for over 4 hours with me all padded up and he was not. At the time, it was one of the most profound and revealing times of my training and my life. It also gave me the will to keep on going, especially after being taken to the ground (my Shaolin master is 5' 11" tall, 300 lbs and no fat, and I am 5'4" and 150 lbs). This punishment was something I hated at the time but after 7-10 years of this training I knew I could take a punch...LOL!! When I started with my tai chi master, and getting older, I found it became much better to avoid getting hit as much as possible, LOL, but frankly it is unavoidable. To this day, my old body can still take significant shots while I grin/bear it. But it has also been taught to me at this point, after so long, how to absorb and give it back, how to use foot movement to get out of the way while still remaining in range to attack simultaneously, etc. But, and I will say this, the most important aspect of contact is to get over the FEAR of getting hit!!! Because, my brothers and sisters, no matter how many years of training one might have, and how many ranks one must possess, there is one truism: you will get hit!! My tai chi/white crane master is 6'1" 165 lbs, but hits like my other master above, using fa jing and extreme internal power. And, my eagle claw master to this day, at age 73, can grab you with his claw and still almost go right through your skin. Sooooo.....while some may find this brutal in today's society, like others have said, one must know first how to take a hit so one is not distracted mentally from saving your own life!!