How Much Head Trauma Have You Taken...

[Brian R. VanCise]

Okay we know through science that head trauma is not good. It could have
some really negative impact on you later in life. CTE is no joke....

So how much "head trauma" have you had?

For myself: I have had head trauma from football, kickboxing and tournament fighting.
I have concussions in football and delivered concussions. In kickboxing during my nine fights I probably
took forty head shots a fight for five of them. (or more) Even though I won all but 1 I still took some shots. I don't even know how much in training. During tournaments way back in the day I took a lot of head shots as well but no concussions that I remember. In training well that is a different story.

Now at my age I have no noticeable effects to my health. I function at a high level and am constantly pushing myself to learn new skill sets. During a recent genetic test I have no genetic precursors for parkinsons, etc. So in that area I am blessed.

What Really Happens to Your Brain When You Get Punched in the Head

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

MMA fighter Big Daddy talking about living with CTE

 

[Buka]

Far too much head trauma. Frightens me a great deal. Every time I forget something, get a little headache, etc, I think "uh oh".

If I knew then what I know now, I'm not sure if I ever would have trained at all.

 

[JP3]

I learned really early on that I didn't like to get punched in the head/face. I mean, I really, really didn't like it. So, I took the Muay Thai high boxing guard and made it my standard stance once I started doing full-contact stuff. I'd been lucky in the tournament days, and only got... usually once per technique. Now I knew what it looked like, it didn't catch me again. A bit... obsessive about it, actually. In the Muay Thai, I trained that guard so as to keep my head protected and I had to train the abs/core quite a bit to make up for it. Which was fine. So, I've maybe taken 7, maybe 8 really good shots while in MA training.

Playing basketball, the non-contact (so-called) sport though? Sheesh... that's a different issue.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Tried boxing a couple times. I don't like getting my chimes rung. I stopped doing it. I try to protect my noggin.

 

[JP3]

Tried boxing a couple times. I don't like getting my chimes rung. I stopped doing it. I try to protect my noggin.

I can get behind that idea.

My buddy thought he was a tough guy, he had this thing about not really being "into" the fight until he got hit. So, I think he (dumb guy imo) would let a shot through early to wake himself up.

Personally... I thought that idiotic. Don't get hit hard, if you can help it. Eat something to deliver a massive shot, I get that... but the other? Nah.

 

[Steve]

I played a lot of football in Texas. When I lived in Austin in the 6th and 7th grade, The neighborhood was mostly high school kids. I was the youngest kid around, so if I wanted to play football, it was with guys much bigger. Played rugby for a year in high school. Wrestled in the 9th grade. Got into fights at least once a week up through the 7th grade. fell out of trees. Fell off a school once in the 4th grade. Hit the bottom of a pool with my head in the 10th grade. overall, I think pretty typical.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I had a couple of what might have been minor concussions growing up - soccer and general kid stuff. In my MA training I've rarely taken a hard head shot. I sacrifice some intensity of training to protect my brain.

 

[stingrae]

Fell once on the playground, broke my wrist, nose, and gave myself a concussion.

Only other hits I can think of is the cuffs round the ear for something stupid.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Actually the worst head trauma I dealt with, knocked me senseless and I sat there for a bit until i figured out what was going on, happened while I was working, Once in a furniture store (about 2 stories off the ground) and once as an auto-mechanic. I also ended up in the ER three times, as a kid, to get stitches in my head. And I do wonder if these will come back to haunt me some day

 

[drop bear]

I have probably had a bit.

 

[JR 137]

I've had my fair share...

Playing tackle football in the house, about 10 years old. Got tackled, feet slipped, landed square on the back of my head. The most painful head shot and resulting headache I've ever had. Headache lasted a few days. Never told my parents, for obvious reasons.

DDT'ed during wrestling. Both of us came down on the top of my head, and I actually easily felt the floor through the mat. Saw stars. Headaches for several days. Didn't miss a single second of practice.

The worst one - during a wrestling match, I threw my opponent with an arm spin throw. He got scared and held on for dear life rather than try to roll out to his stomach. Both of our weight again landed on the top of my head. I wrestled at 177 lbs, so there's a good amount of weight between us being thrown around. Saw stars. I woke up the next morning in my own bed having no clue what happened after the hit. Watching video, I had the best day of my career. Pinned that kid laying motionless flat on top of him. Won the next 2 matches, and lost in the finals in overtime. I felt hung over for almost two weeks. The next practice (we had the next day off) I told my coach how I felt, and he said "you probably had a concussion. Now get on the mat." It was '92, so concussions weren't a big deal. He apologized up and down about two years ago when I ran into him during a reunion type event. I laughed and told him I'm fine.

Last one - hit my head on the windshield of my car in an accident, shattering it. I walked away fine. 3 hours later, the room started spinning and everyone started sounding like the adults in Charle Brown cartoons. Went to the ER and was told I had a concussion and to get some sleep. No X-Rays, CT scan, etc. I was fine the next day. The previous one was far worse. That was '94.

None since then. I blame my lack of short term memory on those, but truthfully it probably isn't.

 

[Steve]

I blame my lack of short term memory in all the week I smoked in high school, but maybe it's the blows to the head.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Speaking of head damage...

Female UFC fighter Ji Yeon Kim Shows Iron Chin While Sparring with Men

 

[JowGaWolf]

I've had more than my share of head injuries as a child. The injuries weren't often but when it happened, it was really bad. I remember all of them. I'll put it this way, I had serious head injuries that my mom was worried that I was going to be mentally impaired. But even though my head injuries were bad, they were far apart and not like the yearly punishment that football players take. 7yrs old 8yrs old 14yrs old and 21yrs old. The occasional bump my head while getting something from under the table, or getting in and out of the car. It's small compared to kids who played football, soccer, or kids who do boxing at an early age.

 

[BuckerooBonzai]

I have been completely "knocked out" three times in full contact tournaments (and I won a few, too--I'm not THAT bad! ), I was beaten unconscious two times while in SERE school and I have been dazed/had my bell rung in a few bicycle (been road racing bikes since 1988) and skiing accidents.

Definitely worries me about the future but so far, as far as I can tell, I am fine at age 45. I no longer spar full contact or take shots to the head and I am a much more careful cyclist and skier.

TBI is very real, no doubt about it and it worries me.

 

[Buka]

So....what do you guys think about the fact that a a lot of amateur boxing no longer wears headgear?

 

[JR 137]

So....what do you guys think about the fact that a a lot of amateur boxing no longer wears headgear?

It's counterintuitive. Wearing headgear should cut down on head trauma, but it doesn't in boxing's case. I'll wager that fighters get hit in the head far more often while wearing it. And the headgear will do a better job of protecting from that one massive blow, but people getting hit more often and a reduced force will lead to the cumulative effect which may be worse.

We'll just have to wait and see what the long-term results will be, unfortunately for the competitors. It'll be either they were right to get rid of it (unfortunate for the previous generation), or they made a mistake (at the expense of the current generation). Only time will truly tell, if they actually study it right.

 

[jks9199]

Headgear reduces cuts and softens impact from falls, but doesn't do much for blows. If it did -- KOs wouldn't happen in amateur fights. As I remember them, the articles about stopping using headgear talked about the headgear actually being a cause in injuries.

 

[stingrae]

So....what do you guys think about the fact that a a lot of amateur boxing no longer wears headgear?

They're amateurs, they'll figure it out.