If the only difference (to a certain level) is headgear/armour, a comparative analysis should be illuminating as to the effects of helmets in this circumstance
Rather long reads but informative on TBI.
On helmet and equipment testing. This is for American Football equipment but shows how changes affect function.
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I would assume that an armoured footballer would be more reckless because the risk of immediate injury or pain is lower than for the unarmoured rugby player, though the long term affects might be more serious
Quote or reply button, motherfucker…
The problem in American football is being attacked via improved helmet design and more importantly changes in tackling technique.
The tackling tech is reinforced by rule changes that penalize leading with the head and also head-to-head contact, from schoolboy up to the pros.
It’s that simple. No need for comparative studies of helmets.
We know that a lot of pro football players have brain damage, that’s well documented.
Hell, my older kid got concussed playing Lacrosse, and both of them self-reported concussions in middle school and high school football, before rules changes were put in place and reinforced (football).
The games have different rules and objectives, too.
No helmet design does much for a rotational hit. Hence the changes to hitting in American football. Accrued hits of any type add up.
I point this out because boxing headgear, while helping with hits to the head, still leaves that rotational torque from a hit to the jaw. Dampens yes.
Best to practice not getting hit. Duh.
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The art of boxing is hitting your opponent without getting hit
After all
Just stop writing about him.
No problemo.
Exactly! Sparring is huge if you want to ever be effective with using your strikes no matter if its a competitive fight or in self defense. Its 100% necessary for anyone just picking up boxing (or MT/kickboxing etc) and of course can be used sparingly in training later on once you have the tools you need.
Sparring early on not only builds that gauge of distance and timing - which is huge - but it also “toughens” you up. Of course nobody wants to get good at taking punches, but you learn to roll with them. Learning to roll in/out and either duck/dodge/slip punches completely or to roll with or absorb the punch better when its inevitable it will land. Simply toughening your limbs and body up (or legs if you’re talking MMA/Kickboxing) If someone hasn’t been hit in a long time or maybe ever, they can spazz out of fear or go down in surrender due to arm, shoulder, or leg shots that a trained person knows he can come back from.
Outside of distance, timing and basic defense, of equal importance IMO is the aspect of keeping calm in a fight. Learning to adjust to the panic and confusion from a flurry of shots is invaluable. Basics of block, shell, move, pivot , protect your head and move out of that range all while keeping your breathing steady. You see it in assaults on the street all the time - someone isn’t ready for it and they tense up, hold their breath, close their eyes, and turn their body away from an attack and then, get beaten up. They freak out and react poorly like many untrained folks do.
As a right of passage a little rough sparring is good for anyone, but doing that often and for the long term isn’t a good idea. Once experienced you can tone down sparring to throwing lighter shots. Actually lots of pro’s are going that direction with working more on fitness, mits, heavy bag and strategy and keeping the sparring at a minimum- I recall Sergio Martinez several years ago talking about cutting sparring way back to having only a few very structured and controlled sparring sessions like 5-6 weeks out from a fight, then just working with on bag, fitness/cardio, mits and strategy