Sparring is the art and skill of being able to defend yourself and fight with energy. It might have application physically but primarily this is a means of training yourself in self-defense of your mind and spirit from either the general day-to-day negativity, from spirits not attached to this plane, or from others wishing to harm you through these means.
As this can lead to personal bias of your own abilities, it is recommended that you have a referee to watch over the fight.
Shield Sparring
Shield Sparring is mostly a beginners spar, or something used from time to time to test your shield's strength or just when you want to have a more relaxed spar.
The concept is that whomever's shield breaks first, loses, seeing as how shields aren't directly attached to you, no injury to your energy systems would take place, this is what makes it so good for beginners, or those wishing to relax a little while practicing.
"Disable" Spar
"Disable" Sparring is a more advanced spar type, as it involves reaching the point where one side literally cannot fight anymore. Either through breaking their system, them running out of energy to use entirely, or any other means of them being completely incapacitated. This spar is not one I would recommend to beginners as it can cause you to lose yourself in illusions if you aren't aware of your limits, your system, and anything else. Highly Recommend a Referee for this one, as depending on the persons skill, they may become unable to realize they can't fight anymore.
Spar Additions
Things that change how you go about sparring, or the difficulty of how its done, how it works.
Bi-Location Spar
Bi-Location Sparring is basically able to be incorporated into any of the above spars, while none of the above have to incorporate this into it. It makes things a lot more action-packed, and certainly a lot more interesting to watch and do, but it requires some more advanced knowledge. This can add a lot to a spars capabilities, and allow for a lot more experimentation and customization to the spar itself.