Since the point is to strike your opponent a lot, competitors wear lots of different bits of padding.

A point is earned if a hit on a person's body is achieved, but two are awarded if it's the face or head that gets hit.

Although there are strict rules on which bit of your body you are allowed to use to hit your opponent, like only the feet can be targeted at someone's head.

Bouts can also be won by knockout, with a 10-count from the referee determining a KO.

Unusually, if bouts are level on points, the winner is decided by who, in the opinion of the referee, did the most attacking.

Who are the British hopes for Athens?
Sarah Stevenson in the women's over-67kg category may be the best chance, after almost taking bronze as a 17-year-old in Sydney.

Paul Green also has a strong medal chance, having won silver at the world championships last year in the under-58kg category.

Who are the big names?
Steven Lopez was a slightly surprising winner in Sydney four years ago, if only because he stopped South Korea winning every single gold in the event.

But he proved it was no fluke in 2001 when he won gold at the world championships and then did it again in 2003.