Preventing and Dealing with Concussions

[Tez3]

I need a mouth guard always or I'm left with several cuts in my mouth thanks to my braces. Tounge danger is the least of one's problems.

Ouch! still it'll be worth it when you finally get rid of them.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Part of the debate mirrors what has happened over the years in American football, though. In the NFL, particularly, as they have increased the armoring of the players, hits have gotten harder and more intense, and players have done less to avoid the crushing impacts. There's a concern that the same thing may happen with headgear in sparring and competition; the competitors may hit harder than they otherwise would (assuming they have to because of the gear, or that they can because of the gear), and they may accept more shots to the head/face because they don't hurt as much. I remember one study (or it may have been a meta-study) that suggested concussion rates were slightly higher with headgear, when comparing similar competitions. I've looked for that study again recently, but couldn't find where I'd made any notes about it.

I don't doubt that. I see it as "a double edge sword". For me personally I would want to hit that person harder in the front of the face than I normally would, but if I had the caged head gear on, then I'll be more willing to try some of the more riskier techniques. It would give me more confidence which would make me a tad more dangerous or a tad more careless about leaving my face open.

If concussions increased then I would have to say that it's probably as a result of the fighter getting careless about leaving his or face open. "Why spend so much effort to protect my face if the caged headgear is going to protect my face for me. This is where the student has to learn to ignore that they have headgear on, and spar as if they weren't wearing any.

We had a chap throw a punch sparring with someone, it missed but he dislocated his shoulder!

I guess he was trying to land a punch being that he missed. That's a good lesson for the value of punching structure. What type of punch was it? It's hard for me to picture that. I can see hyper-extended elbows, but I don't know what punch would cause a shoulder dislocation. I can only assume the person's punching technique was off.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I don't doubt that. I see it as "a double edge sword". For me personally I would want to hit that person harder in the front of the face than I normally would, but if I had the caged head gear on, then I'll be more willing to try some of the more riskier techniques. It would give me more confidence which would make me a tad more dangerous or a tad more careless about leaving my face open.

If concussions increased then I would have to say that it's probably as a result of the fighter getting careless about leaving his or face open. "Why spend so much effort to protect my face if the caged headgear is going to protect my face for me. This is where the student has to learn to ignore that they have headgear on, and spar as if they weren't wearing any.

I imagine that's a more significant issue if you never spar without the headgear. Those who spar without it part of the time probably won't develop the habit of not protecting the head. The same probably goes for the problem someone else mentioned about developing habits around a bad range (because the face cage becomes the target).

 

[Tez3]

I guess he was trying to land a punch being that he missed. That's a good lesson for the value of punching structure. What type of punch was it? It's hard for me to picture that. I can see hyper-extended elbows, but I don't know what punch would cause a shoulder dislocation. I can only assume the person's punching technique was off.

It was just a normal 'cross' ( boxing) / 'reverse' (karate) punch. It didn't hit anything and the ball part of the joint just came straight out of the socket. We had to call an ambulance for him to go to hospital, I went with him and lost yet another belt because the doctors find martial arts belts perfect for putting should back. the lad was quite happy, the paramedic gave him gas and air so he was as high as a kite for the journey ( 30 miles) to hospital. We've had a couple of other shoulder dislocations due to grappling but never a 'punching' one before.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

It was just a normal 'cross' ( boxing) / 'reverse' (karate) punch. It didn't hit anything and the ball part of the joint just came straight out of the socket. We had to call an ambulance for him to go to hospital, I went with him and lost yet another belt because the doctors find martial arts belts perfect for putting should back. the lad was quite happy, the paramedic gave him gas and air so he was as high as a kite for the journey ( 30 miles) to hospital. We've had a couple of other shoulder dislocations due to grappling but never a 'punching' one before.

That sounds like an existing shoulder problem, rather than a punching problem (or perhaps both). I'd be hard-pressed to figure a way to throw a punch that would put enough tension on the joint to extract the ball if the socket is of "normal" configuration/depth and the muscles and tendons are all in good shape. If I'm wrong, hopefully someone with deeper kinesiology knowledge will jump in.

 

[Tez3]

That sounds like an existing shoulder problem, rather than a punching problem (or perhaps both). I'd be hard-pressed to figure a way to throw a punch that would put enough tension on the joint to extract the ball if the socket is of "normal" configuration/depth and the muscles and tendons are all in good shape. If I'm wrong, hopefully someone with deeper kinesiology knowledge will jump in.

He didn't know of any problems but he was a manual worker, he was a civvy working for the MOD who did heavy labouring jobs so I imagine there will have been strain on his shoulders over time. The doc didn't say anything in particular when we got to the A&E, just saw our Gis and asked for a belt, then asked if they could keep it lol. When I turned and saw the lad drop to the floor moaning I had thought he'd been hit, the other lad was just looking on stunned saying he didn't touch him. Weird indeed.

 

[Dinkydoo]

I try to give myself a limit as to how many head shots I'm prepared to take in a single session. If I get hit a lot, I'll try to be less aggressive and keep out of range, work some angles instead of marching straight into strikes - which is a bad habit of mine. If I continue to eat punches then I call it quits on sparring for the day after the round (we usually have separate sparring only sessions that people can dip in and out of before or after other classes).

Sometimes I'll take a break if I get rocked - its not a fight, and I know that I could continue (and have done several times), but why take the risk just to toughen yourself up a bit. My mate and I had a laugh yesterday at me being a big wimp and taking 10 after eating a perfectly setup uppercut to the nose - eyes instantly watered, couldnt see...etc etc.

I see the damage I take in training as mostly my responsibility, so I try to be aware of how much is enough for one day.

Today I had a pretty crap day at work, partnered up with someone who is a nightmare to train with because they're always so tense and brute-force their way through sessions so by the time it got to the end of the class and I was padding up for the next session, I decided that I wasn't in a mood constructive to sparring and left. I'll jump into a session later in the week when I'm in a more productive mindset.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I try to give myself a limit as to how many head shots I'm prepared to take in a single session. If I get hit a lot, I'll try to be less aggressive and keep out of range, work some angles instead of marching straight into strikes - which is a bad habit of mine. If I continue to eat punches then I call it quits on sparring for the day after the round (we usually have separate sparring only sessions that people can dip in and out of before or after other classes).

Sometimes I'll take a break if I get rocked - its not a fight, and I know that I could continue (and have done several times), but why take the risk just to toughen yourself up a bit. My mate and I had a laugh yesterday at me being a big wimp and taking 10 after eating a perfectly setup uppercut to the nose - eyes instantly watered, couldnt see...etc etc.

I see the damage I take in training as mostly my responsibility, so I try to be aware of how much is enough for one day.

Today I had a pretty crap day at work, partnered up with someone who is a nightmare to train with because they're always so tense and brute-force their way through sessions so by the time it got to the end of the class and I was padding up for the next session, I decided that I wasn't in a mood constructive to sparring and left. I'll jump into a session later in the week when I'm in a more productive mindset.

You should tell the guy that was being brutal to ease up. Maybe he would have made that adjustment for you, that way he can still work on his game and you can still get some sparring in.

 

[Dinkydoo]

You should tell the guy that was being brutal to ease up. Maybe he would have made that adjustment for you, that way he can still work on his game and you can still get some sparring in.

You're right - although I have said before for him to relax but he just finds it difficult I guess.

It was only clinching we were doing today but inevitably someone takes a sore one (his turn tonight) because I'm really having to fight against the weight advantage and force to turn and knee. The sparring would have been with whoever I grabbed each round but I wasn't in the mood for it by then.

Tomorrow I'll jump into one of the more advanced classes where the entire session is basically flow/technical sparring, with a fresh head and an attitude better for learning.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

You're right - although I have said before for him to relax but he just finds it difficult I guess.

It was only clinching we were doing today but inevitably someone takes a sore one (his turn tonight) because I'm really having to fight against the weight advantage and force to turn and knee. The sparring would have been with whoever I grabbed each round but I wasn't in the mood for it by then.

Tomorrow I'll jump into one of the more advanced classes where the entire session is basically flow/technical sparring, with a fresh head and an attitude better for learning.

Relaxing is very difficult for some people, as is going slow. I have a student I have to constantly remind to slow down. She's so busy trying to get to full-speed on new techniques that she doesn't get the form and structure right. On her worst days, I just make her work with me.

 

[Balrog]

I start out newbie sparrers with a little light humor.

Grandmaster's Rules Of Sparring:
1. Don't fall down
2. Don't block with your face.

I then teach them how to accomplish those things.