scary sparring situation...

[Manny]

I have been hurt in my dojang, in tournaments while sparring or just doing ho sin sul.

The #2 self defense of 5th gup has the opponent grab both of your hands and push them inwards, towards each other. You allow the inward push, and then you reach under and grab the other hand, pull his other hand towards you to open up his throat area, and soo do them to the throat. That has happened to me on several occasions, and others.

I have left class on two seperate occasions with concussions after being kicked in the head and once in the jaw....the jaw kick was real hard...I went in for a punch but leaned too far into it, and as I fell forward, my opponent came round with a back kick and my face was right in line with his foot.
One time, when my brother and I were sparring, I went up with an inside-outside kick (and I can get them super high) but while my kick was at its highest peak, he decided to charge me and my heel got him in the head right above the eye. He was bleeding pretty bad. I felt horrible!

I have been hit and hurt several times at tournaments. I cant believe some of the contact that they allow after the judge says "no contact gentlemen" right before the match begins. My first tournament ever (I was 8th gup) had me pitted against some maniac younger kid who street fought me all the way. This kid did not throw a single Tang Soo Do move the entire fight. I had bruises on my chest and ribs for a week. After the dude punched me in the head, I decided to fight back the same way. I received a warning when I hit him square in the nose (I can street fight too). Then after he hit me hard again in the side of the head, I hit him hard in the forehead and I got disqualified.

I have also broken my toe while sparring, which I guess is my fault. A roundhouse kick to the head did that. Last October I was at a tournament and I got punched in the mouth hard! No foul was called so I stepped out of the ring, (even though I was told not to by the judge) took my mouth piece out and thought to myself, "if all of my teeth aren't there, I'm going to run into that ring and flip out.....

Luckily, they were all there when I felt around in my mouth.

Yes, I've been there. I got a nice KO in a test, it was a spining hook kick that caught me rightr in the jaw, I went down instantainly, since that day my parets quit to go see me at test and tournamets, I had broken theet from a tornado kick right to my mouth and a broken nose with a spining hook kick (again), battered shins, a fisurtaed foot and a broken toe, several low kicks to the jewels, etc,etc, but this hard blows never make me quit TKD.

Manny