boxing and headgear

[I-mon]

i'm starting a bit of boxing again at the local club, have to get my own gear. I have the gloves and mouthguard sorted, and asked the guy I know in the club about headgear and he said "we don't use it, you can if you want".

so i'm wondering what the deal is - why wouldn't they use headgear if they get together and spar four times a week? is it no good?

[cerebus]

Some people don't like how it feels. It's much better for safety purposes though. I'd say wear it...

[Bill]

Don't go to a gym that doesn't have their guys wear headgear. I've never heard of a boxing gym like that.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

a) you shouldn't submit yourself for headshots so frequently (sparring 4 x a week is...well ridiculous)

b) clubs that forego safety should forego a sane persons participation as well.


nuff said.

my advice? Find another club. By what you have indicated, this club is in the category of "fail".

[DeusTrismegistus]

They may spar at light or medium contact most of the time. In which case headgear might be unnecessary. See what they do then judge if its safe. Don't listen to a bunch of people on the internet who don't know dick from jane.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

They may spar at light or medium contact most of the time. In which case headgear might be unnecessary. See what they do then judge if its safe. Don't listen to a bunch of people on the internet who don't know dick from jane.

tsk tsk.

He's already had it presented to him that "they don't use headgear".

In a boxing club, this is an error. If you are sparring, you must wear gear.

What is "light" sparring? Do you think a newbie can gauge what is light? what is intermediate and what is full on and what is bomb dropping left and right?

safety first man. And I think a martial arts forum is an entirely appropriate place to ask this question.

as for knowing dick from jane, any time you wanna tune up your boxing skills and are in the Toronto area, come on down! You'll have to wear gear though ok?

[DeusTrismegistus]

They may spar at light or medium contact most of the time. In which case headgear might be unnecessary. See what they do then judge if its safe. Don't listen to a bunch of people on the internet who don't know dick from jane.

tsk tsk.

He's already had it presented to him that "they don't use headgear".

In a boxing club, this is an error. If you are sparring, you must wear gear.

What is "light" sparring? Do you think a newbie can gauge what is light? what is intermediate and what is full on and what is bomb dropping left and right?

safety first man. And I think a martial arts forum is an entirely appropriate place to ask this question.

as for knowing dick from jane, any time you wanna tune up your boxing skills and are in the Toronto area, come on down! You'll have to wear gear though ok?

In general I would agree with you, but my point was that none of us unless we have been to that particular club know what is going on or what they call sparring. So none of us know dick from jane.

If I am ever in Toronto I will defenitely visit. Sounds like fun

[Darth Rock&Roll]

Our Toronto and Montreal meet ups are the best!

It's been too long since we had one actualy...hmmmn.

true nuff we haven't been to that club and it was his friend telling him.

I would say that foregoing safety is not a good idea.

also, don't wear ill fitting gear. nothing worse than headgear (or any gear) that is not properly on. It kills your vision if it doesn't fit properly.

[I am...]

Wearing no head gear results in a higher chance of cuts and bloody noses and the like.

Wearing it results in more force being transferred to the brain stem and neck.

From my experience thus far, sparring bare knuckle with a mouth piece is a lot safer than sparring with gloves, shin guards, headgear, cups, etc.

[Juan]

Neither my Taiji teacher nor my MT gym use head gear when we spar. Sometimes we may go hard but it's all good. Most of the time it's light to medium contact. The only time we wear the head gear is before training for a fight.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

Wearing no head gear results in a higher chance of cuts and bloody noses and the like.

Wearing it results in more force being transferred to the brain stem and neck.

From my experience thus far, sparring bare knuckle with a mouth piece is a lot safer than sparring with gloves, shin guards, headgear, cups, etc.

it doesn't result in more force. However, it doesn't prevent the forces from shearing fibre material.

http://books.google.com/books?id=7QVl60 ... t&resnum=1

[BruceP]

Seems like headgear is optional at their gym.

Best to be informed and make up your own mind.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Boxing-D ... 5433.shtml

[I am...]

Wearing no head gear results in a higher chance of cuts and bloody noses and the like.

Wearing it results in more force being transferred to the brain stem and neck.

From my experience thus far, sparring bare knuckle with a mouth piece is a lot safer than sparring with gloves, shin guards, headgear, cups, etc.

it doesn't result in more force. However, it doesn't prevent the forces from shearing fibre material.

http://books.google.com/books?id=7QVl60 ... t&resnum=1

By "more force" I am referring to the change in how much a person will protect their head when wearing gear as opposed to when they don't. A person wearing no gloves hitting a non padded head will generally pick their shots more carefully or end up with busted hands over time. This can be seen in San Shou with tons of gear on, as opposed to scrapping with minimal gear on. Geared up matches tend to turn into all out offensives, with both parties not protecting themselves half as much.

I appreciated the link on shearing force and the like, I had not seen that specific one.

[I-mon]

thanks guys. much as I had suspected.

I'll go along and see how it is anyway - i'm only looking to go once or at most twice a week, already enough on my plate - but will also look around at some of the other places in town.

[Steve James]

Fwiw, I don't think that just because a particular club doesn't use headgear mean that it's unsafe. It might be that the guys there are pretty skilled or don't emphasize headhunting. After all, the skill is in not getting hit. But, yeah, it's more than likely that people who spar will get hit. All amateurs wear headgear in training and in bouts.

Anyway, there are lots of pro and con arguemtns. For example, headgear makes it more likely that you'll be hit in the head. The cumulative effect of many blows softened by gloves and headgear might be worse for the brain than fewer unsoftened blows. Either way, of course, you are taking a chance --if that's the concern. I.e., it might be better in the long run to get knocked out rather than to take a lot of cushioned blows. Put it like this; there are good reasons to train with headgear for a bout; there are plenty of times when a boxer will forego training with headgear. It's like going to a ma school. Not every class is exactly the same.

In any case, avoid getting hit in the head; it's not practice; it's slow suicide for your brain cells. Otoh, don't expect that you won't get hit. Imo, whichever way ends gets you hit less is the best.