I have this question..

[Artofwar]

Well actually we were practicing 1,2,3 combination on the gloves against the head(i believe this is shell defense right?) but the impact of the punch still gets against my head. So when you do that for 1~ hour it just sucks.

And sparring was just controlled sparring but some guy's just cant control, and without headgear that also sucks.


I'm doing better now btw, been 1~5 week ago so.

[Chris Nagel]

You're supposed to roll with punches that are blocked on the arms. What happens when fighters keep their arms and gloves in tight to the body and sides of the head is that they will just sit there and absorb punches. You're never supposed to just sit there and absorb punches. By having your arms so tightly locked to your body you hinder your ability to throw punches: how can you throw punches if both your arms are busy blocking? You're not in a position to punch.

By rolling with the punch while blocking you take much of the steam off of their punch as it no longer has a flush target to transfer all of its force into cleanly. By rolling away you also put yourself into a position to punch and therefore counter. For example you block a left hook on your right arm and roll with it to your left as you block (weight now on left foot) putting you in a position to throw a left hook yourself. Think about that for a second and work it out in your head.

Today its pretty popular to just sit there and absorb punches. In the 20's or 30's you would have small 8 oz nothing gloves that did not much more than cover the fist. You wouldn't want to get hit with one of those anywhere. You also notice that fighters of these eras never held there arms up to the sides of their heads. They depended on slipping and rolling more than they did on blocking and it shows in the way that they fought.

Blocking with your hands up like ear muffs should be a LAST resort. The punches that are absorbed in that manner aren't much better than taking them on the head. Actual defense should take priority. If the length of your trainer's instruction on defense is, "keep your hands up", you'd be better off looking for another trainer.

[Youngblood]

There is no set formula for recovery from concussions. Basically it is to take time away from sparring and any other potential jarring activity. The more time the better. This means to try and reduce all activity, and for a boxer, to put as much time between your last headache and getting in the gym as possible. It is recommended and studies have shown that all activity, even just running and skills training, and doing every day things, when resting from them will help a person recover quicker. But the damage is done.

So the best one can do to get rid of it, is get lots of rest, lots of sleep, eat good, and as little physical activity as possible. The fear is the reoccurance of them, and the prolonged damage of numerous concussions which is more likely when in a weakened state from a recent one, and the long term effects of them.

It is best to see your doctor and get his/her thoughts. The thing is, doctors aren't even really sure and have their own opinions. The above what I posted as far as taking as much time as possible is from a neurosurgeon, who ultimately says, "If you really want to avoid them, don't box."

The thing is, this can easily go for many sports, hockey, football, soccer, rugby etc, anything with heavy body contact. It is just with boxing, the primary goal is to damage the brain, to give the opponent a concussion, so it gets a special "wtf don't do it" from a lot of doctors.