Let not forget that sparring is training, even full contact sparring.
The person you spar with is your best friend because he/she is helping you get better and you are doing the same.
Full contact competition is the next step up, the best testing field there is OUTSIDE the "real world".
In a competition the other guy is there to beat you up, not help you train.
In level of intensity:
Drills -> Hard contact sparring -> Full contact sparring -> Full contact competition
Psalms 144:1
Praise be my Lord my Rock,
He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !