Does boxing and being hit in the face impact intelligence?

[IvanTheBrick]

My mother has never approved of my martial arts, especially boxing and sparring. Sparring is what I enjoy most, and when I asked her why she said that it makes you dumber. I want to know to know precisely what she is referring to and sparring can impact my studies and such. I don't use headgear, and I've never had a concussion.

 

[Buka]

Ivan, humor your mom and use headgear. And do your best not to take many shots to the head.

You're a sharp kid, as the years go by, you've done more research, gained experience, I'm sure you'll know more about this than we do now. In the meantime, humor her, she cares. Use headgear.

 

[Tez3]

Is this the mother who hits you in the face?

 

[Flying Crane]

Is this the mother who hits you in the face?

No. That’s my other mother.

 

[Tez3]

No. That’s my other mother.

Seriously, he said on another thread he would be whacked hard around the face by parents and other adults as 'discipline'

 

[Flying Crane]

Head trauma, even without a concussion, can lead to permanent brain damage. That can lead to dementia, sometimes at a shockingly young age if the damage is severe enough or cumulates over time.

The real kicker though, is that you do not know that you are developing this level of injury until you begin to show symptoms, and by then the damage is real and cannot be undone, and the true extent of the damage may still be unknown. You may be on a downward spiral that nothing can stop.

So, head trauma is always a bad thing, for your long-term health. Even if it seems fairly mild. If it is repeated often enough, it can add up to a real problem.

 

[Headhunter]

Yes plain and simple. There's no way to sugar coat it. Getting hit in the head can cause damage, I mean it won't for every single person who gets hit but it's always a risk.

 

[Tez3]

More and more research is being done in sports and activities that involve head impacts such as rugby, martial arts, American football etc. Concussion protocols are now taken very seriously. One thing found is that head guards do little to protect the brain as it's the brain moving inside the skull that causes the bruising. the brain itself would need to be wrapped/protected not just the head. Hard head protect such as worn by motor cyclists protect the skull 'breaking' or from sharp objects penetrating the brain but also don't protect the brain from hitting the hard skull.
In horse racing jockeys have been found to sustain severe head trauma after fall because they dehydrate so much as part of their weight cutting, unlike fighters they do not rehydrate or eat after weighing in as they also have to weigh after the face. this means there is less fluid protecting the brain, something fighters should consider if weight cutting for a fight and sparring in training.

 

[jobo]

My mother has never approved of my martial arts, especially boxing and sparring. Sparring is what I enjoy most, and when I asked her why she said that it makes you dumber. I want to know to know precisely what she is referring to and sparring can impact my studies and such. I don't use headgear, and I've never had a concussion.

Yes it does, not immediately, So no it won't impact you studies, but if you keep doing it, by the time you reach you say 40s it may well impact your functions. There's a term punch drunk, we're boxers appear permanent drunk, slurred speech etc, use to describe the condition. Though there are multiple levels of degrees

.So t yes over time being regularly hit very hard on the head will cause brain damage. Head gear will lesson the impact but not remove the likely Hood all together. The same is however true of other NoN combat sports , like heading a soccer ball . so the impacts are not as hard or as often so less so.

Try not to get hit

 

[IvanTheBrick]

Is this the mother who hits you in the face?

Who used to do so yeah. I'm too old for that now. Why is that relevant? Surprised that it's possible for her to care even though she gave me a different upbringing to yours, which automatically makes her a bad person?

 

[Tez3]

Who used to do so yeah. I'm too old for that now. Why is that relevant? Surprised that it's possible for her to care even though she gave me a different upbringing to yours, which automatically makes her a bad person?

Why does it matter? well, every time you were hit and your head was moved forcibly by that hit your brain hit your skull causing bruising. It may be a small even tiny amount each time but it mounts up and can cause brain damage in later life. You've had bruises to the rest of your body I assume, it would be rare if you didn't, a bruise is bleeding under the skin, on the body these bruise dissipate as the blood is re-absorbed but when you get a bruise on the brain, however small it kills brain cells. This may damage you, may not of course but repeated bruising is bound to cause some damage though it may not show for years.


Slapping Kids Upside the Head Causes Traumatic Brain Injury - Nyssa's Hobbit Hole

This is why I was so insistent that you should not smack children (or anyone) across the face. I don't believe in smacking children but this particular action, hard slapping around the head is actually dangerous.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Who used to do so yeah. I'm too old for that now. Why is that relevant? Surprised that it's possible for her to care even though she gave me a different upbringing to yours, which automatically makes her a bad person?

She's questioning whether getting hit in the head is bad, when you said she used to hit you in the head. Ironic.

 

[Steve]

I don't know whether getting hit in the face adversely impacts one's intelligence, but getting hit in the face professionally isn't a common indicator of genius.

Seriously, though, the more research I read about brains and CTE, the more convinced I am that there is a clear and direct link between brain function and trauma.

 

[marques]

My mother has never approved of my martial arts, especially boxing and sparring. Sparring is what I enjoy most, and when I asked her why she said that it makes you dumber. I want to know to know precisely what she is referring to and sparring can impact my studies and such. I don't use headgear, and I've never had a concussion.

Yes, it affects your brain. Possibly only in the long term. If you’re lucky, you will never notice anything. But one day... when you become forgetful (or anything worse)... you may regret all that hard hits.

At least you can still spar (and do whatever you enjoy); just save your head from hard and unnecessary impacts, as much you can. (I advise my partners, avoid them if the first way didn’t work or even avoid certain gyms).

 

[Dirty Dog]

You could more accurately title this thread "does brain damage impact intelligence."
The answer, of course, is "Duh!"

 

[Headhunter]

Who used to do so yeah. I'm too old for that now. Why is that relevant? Surprised that it's possible for her to care even though she gave me a different upbringing to yours, which automatically makes her a bad person?

Huh? No one said anything about anyone being a bad person but what she's saying is she hit you in a non sport setting but she has a problem you doing a sport with punches

 

[Martial D]

My mother has never approved of my martial arts, especially boxing and sparring. Sparring is what I enjoy most, and when I asked her why she said that it makes you dumber. I want to know to know precisely what she is referring to and sparring can impact my studies and such. I don't use headgear, and I've never had a concussion.

Durrr what now? I don't get it.

I can count half way to potato!

 

[Kababayan]

As others have said, yes. It's not the getting hit in a match, it's the hours and hours of getting hit in sparring sessions. Boxing gloves were intended to make matches more exciting, as before gloves nobody would hit to the head. What it did, though, is make boxing way more dangerous because the brain is constantly getting rattled around.

 

[IvanTheBrick]

Huh? No one said anything about anyone being a bad person but what she's saying is she hit you in a non sport setting but she has a problem you doing a sport with punches

'm bringing up the other thread where he said she is

 

[Headhunter]

'm bringing up the other thread where he said she is

Whatever the point still stands