# Cauliflower Ears Inevitable?



## Eternal Beginner (Aug 10, 2005)

We have a guy in our club who feels that if there aren't at least a few people in the club either wearing ear guards or sporting cauliflower ear - you aren't training hard enough!

 Is this true?  Are cauliflower ears an inevitable part of training grappling?  I know that some people are more susceptible than others, some never get it at all.  But if you were checking out a new club would this be one thing you would look at?  

 It seems kind of a goofy question, but I wonder if it is possible for all members to totally avoid the dreaded ear if they are training hard.


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## redfang (Aug 10, 2005)

I wrestled all through school, daily practice and since have grappled for years 3 or 4 times a week and have yet to get cauliflower ears.  Sometimes I have worn headgear, but not usually.  Some people I know always seem to have it.


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## Eternal Beginner (Aug 10, 2005)

redfang said:
			
		

> I wrestled all through school, daily practice and since have grappled for years 3 or 4 times a week and have yet to get cauliflower ears. Sometimes I have worn headgear, but not usually. Some people I know always seem to have it.


 What about all the guys and/or gals that you trained with?  Were they able to avoid it as well?  I know some people will never get it, I'm just wondering how common it is.  

 I know in my club there are quite a few guys now wearing ear guards because they have a tendency to it and then quite a few of the guys who don't care just walk around with the cauli ear.


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## NotQuiteDead (Aug 10, 2005)

I didn't see anyone who had cauliflower ear in wrestling, and during practices a lot of us didn't wear head gear. I only know of two people who've had it at my mma gym and quite a few people train there.


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## shesulsa (Aug 10, 2005)

Well, trauma is one cause of cauliflower ear, but it isn't inevitable by any means.  If the trauma causes a hematoma, the blood can be drained, skin stitched and the cartilage SHOULD remain unaffected unless it becomes infected or re-traumatized.  Perhaps some ice after a particularly nasty training session or competition would be in order?

 I don't think it's necessarily a sign someone works out more than anyone else or anything like that.  This could lead to hearing loss if untreated and more and more trauma continues to build up the cauliflower affect.

Here's a link to some information on it.


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## Ceicei (Aug 10, 2005)

It seems to be more common among boxers.  Whether that is true, I don't know.  Are there statistics available of certain types of injuries resulting from specific activities?  Your initial post makes the question interesting and worthy of research.

 - Ceicei


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## shesulsa (Aug 10, 2005)

It is more common in boxers and any other situation where there is trauma to the external ears. Good cut men would cut those bruises so they'd drain and bleed, then reduce the scarring. But good cut men were hard to come by. It doesn't take much - a short trip to the doctor's office or the urgent care center.


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## MA-Caver (Aug 11, 2005)

shesulsa said:
			
		

> It is more common in boxers and any other situation where there is trauma to the external ears. Good cut men would cut those bruises so they'd drain and bleed, then reduce the scarring. But good cut men were hard to come by. It doesn't take much - a short trip to the doctor's office or the urgent care center.


Or to their local rabbi  :uhyeah:


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## shesulsa (Aug 11, 2005)

MACaver said:
			
		

> Or to their local rabbi  :uhyeah:


 ... er ... wrong appendage, Ralph.


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## searcher (Aug 11, 2005)

I have wretsled since childhood and have never gotten cauliflower ear.   I have also boxed for some time and have not got cauliflower ear doing this either.   If you want to see the ones who get it alot look up sumo wrestlers in Japan.   It is very common amongst them.


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## Kenpojujitsu3 (Aug 11, 2005)

Read some good posts on how cauliflower ear is caused by external trauma to the ear.  Good stuff!  In terms of grappling it's directly related to the kinds of techniques the people at your school favor.  I know of more than a few grappling schools that favor half and quarter nelsons, kesa-gatame control positions, guillotine chokes and head and arm controls after sprawling.  Lots of cauliflower ears there.  I also know schools that don't use these techniques as much and they seem to have less cauliflower ear.  In short I wouldn't say it's inevitable in grappling but that it depends on the techniques used.  It seems that the wrestlers tend to use the above mentioned techniques at a higher rate than other grapplers which would help explain why they seem to have a higher amount of cauliflower ear.  I haven't had cauliflower ear yet, but I do-Ju jitsu 1st and wrestling on a limited basis as part of my cross-training.


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## Maddog (Aug 12, 2005)

Guys,



Go to the Doc and get them bumps drained. If you wait and let them go they will harden and get worse. Or you can leave them a lone and wear them as a badge of courage like so many do.



Yours in Kenpo,

Mike G.


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## Kenpojujitsu3 (Aug 12, 2005)

Maddog said:
			
		

> Guys,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Some people wear different patches to show their training such as knife patches, stick patches, etc.  Some wear cauliflower ears and scars.  To each his own.


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## Eternal Beginner (Oct 19, 2005)

Sorry to bring this to the top again after it had died a natural death but we were talking about it in class tonight again.  

 We have a tournament coming up and quite a few guys are talking about wearing ear protection for it as the competition is so much more intense than in regular training.  I commented that is in tournament settings when I have had my worst experiences with ears swelling...once in a tournament where I fought in the men's division (I'm a girl if you didn't know) and the guys definitely didn't take it easy on me and in another tourney where I had to fight a couple of fairly inexperienced fighters.  

 It is usually the inexperienced fighters who will go for an ineffective headlock or hang onto a guillotine even if they have no hope of sinking it. That is when your ears really take a beating.  Well, I have learned my lesson.  I wear ear gurads now when rolling, _especially_ in a tournament setting.  My only tip for someone considering buying earguards is to try them on and really check how well you can hear with them on.  I know I need to hear my coach and some of the more popular and inexpensive guards out there really impede your hearing, some even squish your ears and make the cauliflower worse! (believe it or not!
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





) .  So be careful, especially if purchasing over the internet where you can't try them on.  I actually drove eight hours to a wrestling supply outlet so that I wouldn't make a mistake in choosing headgear.


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## arnisador (Oct 20, 2005)

I've had no trouble in 2 years of wrestling many years back and 3 years of BJJ. But, many people I know are very careful to always wear their headgear.


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## Raewyn (Oct 20, 2005)

Im probably going off topic here but our rugby players who play in the front row of our scrums all have cauliflower ears.  Alot of them have their ears strapped due to the force of the scrums, but they all end up with cauliflower ears.  In regards to grappling ,scrums are sort of like that, but I dont know how badly it would effect grapplers.


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## Eternal Beginner (Oct 20, 2005)

arnisador said:
			
		

> I've had no trouble in 2 years of wrestling many years back and 3 years of BJJ. But, many people I know are very careful to always wear their headgear.


 It's true, many people never get cauliflower ear.  I know my BJJ instructor, who has been doing this for years at a very competitive level (Rio State champ, bronze medalist in the Mundials, etc.) has ears as shellpink and cute as a newborn babe
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.  

 I guess there are enough other guys in the club with gnarly little stumps that scare the hobby BJJ'ists that are dentists, lawyers, etc., for whom it wouldn't be nice to have them.


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## Shogun (Nov 8, 2005)

> I wrestled all through school, daily practice and since have grappled for years 3 or 4 times a week and have yet to get cauliflower ears. Sometimes I have worn headgear, but not usually. Some people I know always seem to have it.


same here


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