Should UFC Adopt Shin Guards?

[paitingman]

How many legends must break their leg before a safety measure is considered?

After Conor Mcgregor's leg broke at UFC 264 last night, I saw a few tweets about shin guards almost immediately.
I know some promotions have used shin guards. And all the pros are surely used to training & grappling with protective gear.
I spar and roll with shin guards on and I don't find them to be overly frustrating.

How much do you think they help in protecting you from snapping your leg?

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

UFC should be like Sanda with head gear and chest protection. It's stupid to have serious injury in sport.

 

[paitingman]

Do you think UFC should be like Sanda with head gear and chest protection?


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I imagine for UFC in the 2020s a futuristic, minimal, low profile shin guard and protective gear. Something very thin, leathery(?) but protective and it actually could save your leg from snapping.
But then also head and ear protection of the same sort. Very thin.
Maybe it's impact-reactive or something.

Perhaps chest protection of a similar material, but more clothes like? A tight, padded vest?
What's the deal with naked fighting?

MMA as practiced by the UFC is currently the pinnacle of modern martial arts competition, but it's also only naked fighting.

 

[Anarax]

I'm all for fighters having long and relatively safe careers. However, adding shinguards in Pro MMA or kickboxing I think would make it less competitive. The fighters must setup or choose their kicking targets carefully and need to readjust if their kicks are getting checked. Adding shinguards would lessen the effectiveness of kicks. Leg kicks wouldn't inflict the same trauma as well. Porier's calf kick on Connor in the second fight was a game changer. If they had shinguards on that would've hampered Porier's ability to land that kick effectively. Wearing shinguards while grappling is awkward and restrictive as well.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

If you use bullet proof vest in sparring, you will build up bad habit not to block/dodge body shot. Too much body protect can also change the sparring completely.

 

[Steve]

I don't know what's best for the sport. But that was a gruesome injury. And the vitriol coming from McGregor was pretty bad too. Guy has some issues.

 

[paitingman]

I'm all for fighters having long and relatively safe careers. However, adding shinguards in Pro MMA or kickboxing I think would make it less competitive. The fighters must setup or choose their kicking targets carefully and need to readjust if their kicks are getting checked. Adding shinguards would lessen the effectiveness of kicks. Leg kicks wouldn't inflict the same trauma as well. Porier's calf kick on Connor in the second fight was a game changer. If they had shinguards on that would've hampered Porier's ability to land that kick effectively. Wearing shinguards while grappling is awkward and restrictive as well.

this is why I think a newer, thinner concept for protective gear would be necessary.
something that does not want to deform under sudden impact.
It's so protective it becomes a weapon, which is why helmets and more protective gear would be needed I guess.

I came up watching Pancrase and I thought the shin guards looked so cool lol. I also come from a perspective of wearing WT style shin guards my whole life and I wear them for my comfort mostly.
I do not feel hindered in how well I can cause damage to any part of the body, but they have always been the norm to me.

I can see how shin guards are a real pain grappling if you play bottom a lot.

 

[paitingman]

I also just read Coach John Kavanaugh says he kicked Porier's elbow while throwing a front kick and fractured his shin.

Sooo maybe just a simple, minimal elbow pad would've prevented the whole accident? I'm all for blunting elbows and saving a few faces as well.

 

[CB Jones]

How much easier would it be to grab and trap the leg for grapplers if their opponents were wearing shinguards?

Seems like it might create an advantage for grapplers.

And why chest protectors? Body shots doesn't seem like that big of a risk?

 

[paitingman]

How much easier would it be to grab and trap the leg for grapplers if their opponents were wearing shinguards?

Seems like it might create an advantage for grapplers.

And why chest protectors? Body shots doesn't seem like that big of a risk?

They definitely make it easier to hold the leg and foot in some instances, but so do pants and shoes.

I don't advocate for chest protectors. I don't think body shots are a risk.
The post where I mention chest protection is me daydreaming of a more futuristic, thin armor (that may protect well but probably would also cause damage as a result) warranting more protection like a some sort of head and body protection.
Soft shin guards don't create a requirement for a chest protector.

 

[hoshin1600]

Its the UFC. If you want to wrap yourself in a bubble I'm sure there are other sports out there. But if you want to make a billion dollar company and make millions in competition, it is what it is, the competitors know the risks.
In my opinion. Shin guards are good for taking an elbow and damaging your training schedule but before people make emotional or even semi- rational decisions, you might want to show the empirical data that proves that Shin guards will prevent broken bones. Show that head gear will prevent brain damage.

 

[paitingman]

I'm all for fighters having long and relatively safe careers. However, adding shinguards in Pro MMA or kickboxing I think would make it less competitive. The fighters must setup or choose their kicking targets carefully and need to readjust if their kicks are getting checked. Adding shinguards would lessen the effectiveness of kicks. Leg kicks wouldn't inflict the same trauma as well. Porier's calf kick on Connor in the second fight was a game changer. If they had shinguards on that would've hampered Porier's ability to land that kick effectively. Wearing shinguards while grappling is awkward and restrictive as well.

Also, what if fighters were just allowed to wrap, brace, and put some tape on the lower calf area?
That's what many of us used back in the day at TKD tournaments if shin guards weren't required.

Calf kicks are usually aimed at the upper, more muscular part of the calf, so no protection up there. Plus you wouldn't really like the have that part of your leg taped off either.

I wonder if that type of wrapping could even help prevent crazy stuff like that tho...

 

[paitingman]

Its the UFC. If you want to wrap yourself in a bubble I'm sure there are other sports out there. But if you want to make a billion dollar company and make millions in competition, it is what it is, the competitors know the risks.
In my opinion. Shin guards are good for taking an elbow and damaging your training schedule but before people make emotional or even semi- rational decisions, you might want to show the empirical data that proves that Shin guards will prevent broken bones. Show that head gear will prevent brain damage.

Do you think shin guards could help with broken bones?

 

[Anarax]

this is why I think a newer, thinner concept for protective gear would be necessary.
something that does not want to deform under sudden impact.
It's so protective it becomes a weapon, which is why helmets and more protective gear would be needed I guess.

I came up watching Pancrase and I thought the shin guards looked so cool lol. I also come from a perspective of wearing WT style shin guards my whole life and I wear them for my comfort mostly.
I do not feel hindered in how well I can cause damage to any part of the body, but they have always been the norm to me.

I can see how shin guards are a real pain grappling if you play bottom a lot.

This came up in another thread. Most protective equipment(gloves, mouthguard, etc) used in pro fights is for the person wearing it, not to protect the other person.

I agree, I love the look and feel of shinguards. Makes me feel like I'm suiting up for melee combat. However, being kicked by both bare conditioned shins and shinguards, bare shins are much sharper in pain and trauma. The bone penetrates deeper and the pain is more severe. On the other hand, people usually throw with more power with shinguards because they aren't as concerned of getting checked due to the added protection. I think the level of caution pro fighters(MMA or Kickboxing) exercise when throwing kicks causes better strategies and technique to be used. Setting the kicks up with punches, altering angles, adjusting the timing of the extension to throw off their opponents timing, etc.

Personally, I find the whole process of cortical remodeling(shin/bone conditioning) to be incredible. Having done bone conditioning myself in Karate also helps me appreciate what fighters put themselves through to achieve hard bones. It's amazing how fighters forge their bodies into weapons, I think some of it might be lost if they incorporate shinguards. It removes some of the conditioning element. The same could be said about chest protectors.

 

[Anarax]

Also, what if fighters were just allowed to wrap, brace, and put some tape on the lower calf area?
That's what many of us used back in the day at TKD tournaments if shin guards weren't required.

Calf kicks are usually aimed at the upper, more muscular part of the calf, so no protection up there. Plus you wouldn't really like the have that part of your leg taped off either.

I wonder if that type of wrapping could even help prevent crazy stuff like that tho...

I'm aware of leg wraps and have seen them before, but I've never used them. Did you feel more protected with it wrapped? Did it hinder your movement or your ability to extend/contract your foot?

 

[Balas Sermas]

Not the fault of organization if McGregor didn't do sufficient shin conditioning. Muay Thai fighters manage just fine without even breaking their shins.

 

[Cynik75]

UFC should be replaced with e-UFC. Nobody will break anything ...

 

[Martial D]

UFC should be like Sanda with head gear and chest protection. It's stupid to have serious injury in sport.


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There is actually a counter argument to that. Gloves headgear and shinguards eliminate any sense of caution. Headgear, for instance, eliminates the sting from punches and the perceived risk of damage in training. Which leads people to go harder. In reality though headgear does nothing in the way of mitigating potential brain trauma

By the same token, gloves and shinguards are basically weapons rather than protection for the opponent, as they allow you to throw much harder without risk of pain to yourself.

 

[Steve]

When it happened to Anderson Silva, it seemed like a fluke. But it seems to be a thing now. I don't think it's good for the sport to have elite level athletes sidelined due to serious (gruesome) injuries occurring through proper execution of technique. If shin guards will prevent this grizzly injury from occurring, then I'm all for it.

Still don't think you can fix the rest of what's wrong with McGregor, though.

 

[Argus]

This is kind of like what I see in many Filipino Martial arts.

Swords are dangerous, so we practice with rattan sticks.

But rattan sticks are dangerous too, so we wear protective equipment.

Now because we wear protective equipment, everyone just shrugs off what would have been a lethal blow, and 99% of stick fights look like slugging matches that eventually end up grappling on the ground...

Noone seems to realize that if they weren't wearing protective equipment, or heaven forbid were using a Sword or fighting weight stick, the match would have been over with the first critical blow that landed. Practicing or sparring like this is, as a result, kind of stupid.

If you want to practice using weapons in unrealistic ways that will get you hurt, whether they be shins or fists, by all means, mandate protective equipment and practice as if you will always be wearing it. But I think you lose the entire purpose of the art in the first place when you do that. Protective equipment is okay to prevent injury, but only so long as you are very honest about what would happen to yourself or your opponent if you weren't wearing that equipment. And for competitions, I would prefer to see less, or almost no protective equipment unless it is entirely too dangerous (ie, weapons based sparring, etc.), otherwise people can get away with things that they really shouldn't be able to, and you lose a lot of nuance and valuable skill, IE, just wailing away at eachother with sticks and ignoring blows that would be lethal or debilitating, just because the equipment and rule-sets allow you to. You end up with an abstract game that is further and further removed from an actual fighting art.