In another thread, the subject of children engaging in full contact sparring came up, and concerns were voiced about the dangers of serial concussions.
It can be said, and rightly so, that the only way to learn to take a punch is to take a punch. I suspect we've all seen new students, who have never been hit, drop to the floor thinking they're about to die from a relatively light hit. And we've seen the same student ignore a much more solid shot after a bit of experience.
On the other hand, after far too many years in the ER, I've seen way too many people who have had their brains scrambled by serial concussions.
As far as I am concerned, children have no business competing in full contact matches. While body shots delivered with a fairly high degree of impact may be tolerated, contact to the head must be much more controlled.
In our Moo Duk Kwan school, we do not allow children or lower ranks of any age to spar with heavy contact, especially to the head. As they gain experience, adults are allowed to increase the level of contact if they so choose. Most of our black belts do spar with fairly heavy contact, but at all levels, contact to the head is light.
How does your school deal with this issue?
It can be said, and rightly so, that the only way to learn to take a punch is to take a punch. I suspect we've all seen new students, who have never been hit, drop to the floor thinking they're about to die from a relatively light hit. And we've seen the same student ignore a much more solid shot after a bit of experience.
On the other hand, after far too many years in the ER, I've seen way too many people who have had their brains scrambled by serial concussions.
As far as I am concerned, children have no business competing in full contact matches. While body shots delivered with a fairly high degree of impact may be tolerated, contact to the head must be much more controlled.
In our Moo Duk Kwan school, we do not allow children or lower ranks of any age to spar with heavy contact, especially to the head. As they gain experience, adults are allowed to increase the level of contact if they so choose. Most of our black belts do spar with fairly heavy contact, but at all levels, contact to the head is light.
How does your school deal with this issue?