Getting over whatever it is thats holding me back

Hi everyone! Short story and seeking advice.

Yeterday the gym I attend had a skills test. The test consisted on shadow boxing, bag work and finally full contact sparring. Shadow boxing wasn't a big deal, bag work wasn't and issue. But sparring threw me through a loop.

We spar in various ways at this gym, whether its kick soarring, just boxing, or everything, so i'm not lacking experience but when it came to full contact I just kocked uo after the first punch. I keot my defences up without any issues, but I found it really hard to get offensive at all until the very end of the bought.

I've been doing martial arts in general for a while now, but I'm not sure what held me back. The guy I was sparring was a friend, so maybe that had to do with it? Any advice on sparring in general and getting INTO the action would be great!

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Woof everyone is getting caught uo on the test part that i mentioned so here some more info i didnt really feel like typing uo but without futher ado~~ I live in Siuth Korea where everything has a test . You want a job? Better be preared to take a bunch of tests for certifications etc. Licence? 3 tests. English abilty? 3 tests. Muay Thai has its own governing body here that provides certificates based on time and ability, to which i must emphasize MY TEACHER KNOWS IS BULL SHIT. I AM ALSO AWARE OF THE FACT. WE BOTH KNOW THERE ARE NO BELTS. THE DUDE TRAINED IN THAILAND. So in order for the gym to operate in Korea, it needs to follow certain standards and students need to meet a certain standard in order to obtain a licence to join the governing body and participate in fights. That being said, yes there are shitty gyms here, just like every where in the world that will just rush you through the process to get you a licence ASAP and just make money off of students. As stated, both myself and my teacher are fully aware of this and have had open discussions about this many times and I cannot emohasize enough that he and I are aware that the certificates and "ranks" are bull shit, but are just a ceremoney carried over from other reigning arts in the country, inclduing but not limited to: Taekwondo, Hapkido, Musulkwon, Judo, Karate, Aikido, BJJ, and many more. My thumbs hurt now. But I hope this helps clarify that I know it's not normal, but neither is Korea in many ways lmao. People walking around with English test scores here that say they should have better English abilities than native soeakers and can't even hold a basic conversation. Trust me, I know its weird! But please jsut focus more on the main issue I am having : Why the heck do I lock up in hard sparring?