The first thing you will want before you attempt to master full contact sparring is to get the right sparring gear for the job. It is important that you and your partner have the same quality of protection too. Remember, your opponent is punching and kicking you - if you want to soften the blow then they too should have on quality padding. Lightweight foam protection may not be enough if you are planning to do full contact fighting. Get some gear that has professional grade padding and avoid the karate style sparring gear usually designed for point or very light contact sparring.
Would you rather be hit by a aluminum bat or a foam bat?
Consider the difference between being hit by a person with a no gloves as opposed to one with gloves. The same goes for other attacks, like kicks and knees too. If you want to build up your toughness and defense against low kicks (Muay Thai style kicks that target the thigh area of your leg focused on damaging the sciatic nerve), then it will help if your partner is wearing padded shin pads.
With the right combination of protective sparring gear, you can double your safety (this is especially important if your are practicing full contact sparring).
Consider the highest ounce boxing glove matched with a good headgear. You will get the padding protection from the glove and the padding protection from the headgear. In theory, you will double your protection (one plus one equals two). If 100% of your protection is only from the gear you are wearing, then you are increasing your chance of injury. Get a 100% upgrade by ensuring that both you and your partner are wearing the most padding possible.
Though it is rarely used, consider adding chest protection to your sparring set up. This will encourage more knee attacks from your partner without fear of injury. If you don't already have a set in mind, consider the following:
01 Mouthpiece (double by a reputable company that protects the jaw or useable for jaw injuries and issues like TMJ)
02 Head gear (tight fitting with good visual sight)
03 Chest guard (one that you can wear and still move properly - otherwise you will not use it)
04 Sparring Gloves (start with the highest ounce boxing glove and a solid padded glove for grappling or when you need you hands)
05 Cup protection (yes, you should wear a cup in every sparring session and you can consider wearing the outside padding too if you are really going crazy).
06 Thigh padding (yes, you can buy padding and protection for the thighs, this isn't always used but now becoming more important with the low kick training requirements).
07 Shin guards (avoid soccer style plastic guards unless there is a top layer of padding. These are important if you want to kick to your partners legs repeatedly without injury).
08 Feet (these are often combined with shin guards to cover the instep and the top of the foot. There are not a lot options when it comes to foot padding as compared to hand protection). If you are wearing shoes be sure that there isn't anything on the top of the shoe (like laces) that can injure your partner.
Naturally, you will want to adjust your gear according to your skill level and training strategy. If you are a beginner working towards a cage fight - you will want to progressively decrease your padding as you train. If you are working on body conditioning, then you will want to maintain a high level of protection to decrease the chance of injury and be able to train more often.
Perhaps you are a bodyguard and desire to learn to move with restrictive clothing or gear. Either way, when you are just starting out, try to match your gear so that you can get highest level of protection. If you are serious about your sparring consider purchasing two full sets of a particular type of gear so that you will be able invite friends to spar.
When in doubt, knock em out!
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