Nose Guards?

[ThomasTabin]

I don't see how that relates to what I'm saying

[Trainer Monkey]

You honestly dont see where a reduction in padding,that leads to an increase in concussions that could lead to your fighter not being lisenced by most commisions,doesnt pertain to your original point that gyms should go with reduced padding head guards?

[ThomasTabin]

Right but even the heaviest padded headgear can't stop concussions. The more common open-face styled headgear can't either. Headgear does not stop concussions. The only thing that can do that is defense. So my reasoning is that fighters should opt for headgear that allows them to move and see the best. Most headgear gets in the way of that.

[Trainer Monkey]

Right but even the heaviest padded headgear can't stop concussions. The more common open-face styled headgear can't either. Headgear does not stop concussions. The only thing that can do that is defense. So my reasoning is that fighters should opt for headgear that allows them to move and see the best. Most headgear gets in the way of that.

Seat belts cant stop all auto fatalities,but I still wear them

[Chris Nagel]

You're missing the point TM.

[Sharla]

I get hit more with big padded headgear then with the top tens. I just can't see anything wearing the big headgear. Also I think it's not just the size of the padding. The top tens are made out of totally different material and AIBA approved for a reason.

[Trainer Monkey]

You're missing the point TM.

Same can be said going the other way
Im not a huge fan of head gear,but
While I understand that limited peripheral vision is a pain,not being able to get lisenced because the MRI doesnt come back good,is a bigger one
A major prize fight might get called off on cuts,most smaller fights are going to happen anyway,otherwise your fighter doesnt get called back
A bad MRI,not only do you not get that fight,noone,and I do mean noone is going to sanction one of your fights until the lisence expires,one of the rules is,if your suspended in one state,your suspended in all of them,and even then its states that dont pay well
Theres a difference between a theory,and the reality of the actual sport
In theory Barry Bonds hit alot of home runs,in practice,the politics of baseball allowed him to get away with stuff
You get concussed,your MRI comes back wrong,your done
Why would you risk it?Its a stupid risk to take for minimal returns

[bikersk]

I got the extra padded ones to stop my nose being sore all the time. I think i got a bit of a mild deviated septum for a bit and the extra padding helps a bit when the nose is sore. I really dont find much of a difference with the two types of headgear in terms of vision, maybe it's because none of them fit my big fat head well enough and im just used to lack of peripheral vision. I might try some light sparring without any to see if i notice a difference.

[Chris Nagel]

TM, the point is that people get hit more because of the headgear = more concussions.

[Chris Nagel]

I remember reading an article a while back about the old timers on a website called Cox's Corner. In the article Charlie Rose says how fighters back in the 1910's fought as often as 2-3 times a week and could not afford to get busted up. The solution? They dedicated themselves to practice good defense, especially when it came to in-fighting and getting out of clinches which is where most cuts occur.

The manner that they stood is about the same as Grey and Thomas have described in their posts. Their left foot was angled towards the right, and their right foot was angled to their left. They didn't stand square like a lot of guys today. They had a slight bend at their waist, which made their head slope towards their right. This allows the fighter to be able to use their full repertoir of defense in offense. They could then easily slip, roll and counter with impunity.

When it came to in-fighting this stance also protected them from bad cuts. The slight bend at the waist, which makes shoulder rolling achievable, also protected them if they so happened to bump heads. Their head was not turned squarely at their opponent, therefore when they butted heads it would be with the side of their head where cuts don't occur and even if it there was a cut there, it would not be a liability.

They didn't get hit as much as their counterparts of today. Today you have guy's wearing bulky headgear that many fighters depend on for protection. As for defense, many of today's fighters are brought up in a style that ends up in getting them hit more. They stand square to their opponent, have their hands glued to their cheeks. The bulky headgear already makes things harder to see, just compare it to the blinders that some horses wear. All that and the lack of defense is causing fighters to get hit often. I don't care if you're wearing head gear or not, if you keep getting hit then your going to get a concussion everytime you step into the ring.

I think that there should be a different kind of headgear, not a large pillow-like headgear that has "hit me" written all over it, but rather a headgear that simply prevents cuts, broken noses, and protects the ears, without impeding the fighter's vision and abilities. Now this isn't to discount the value of a good defense, as the fighter is not hindered from the head gear, they can keep doing what they do best. If a headgear can fully protect the nose, then even a fighter that has suffered a broken nose won't have to miss out on their sparring.

[bikersk]

Don't wrestlers have some kind of headgear to prevent stuff like that. Not the nose though i guess.

I watched a Joe Louis fight the other night and he fought just as you described above Chris N. It was very noticeable and looked like a good defensive stance to me. As I was reading what you wrote it popped straight into my big fat head... hee hee.

[Chris Nagel]

Joe Louis is a very good example. Many people might look at it and think that his left hand is too low, but really it's in an excellent position to jab from while also protecting the left side of his body. Notice that if you were to throw a right hand at him, he can easily use his shoulder to ward off your punch. Infact he's very well covered. He stands at an angle making himself a smaller target while making it difficult for an opponent to land a clean punch on his solar-plexus even if they did manage to penetrate his guard. His right hand is right where it needs to be, that is protecting his liver and solar-plexus. If you look at a lot of fighters from that general time period, although their fighting styles varied, they stood much like Louis. Some of them stood more narrow than him, and others would lean back, but nonetheless used a similar stance for good reasons.

[bikersk]

Thats a good pic. I'll check which fight it was later, but in this one he was hard to hit effectively. His head movement from that position was quick too making him hard to tag. Do you reckon they had head gear for sparring in Louis's era?

[Chris Nagel]

I know for a fact that they did, but if you look at the amateurs back, you'll see that they fought without head gear.
When Rocky Marciano was training for Joe Louis, he wore the kind of head gear that had large cheek protectors because his would cut easily and they didn't want to risk it before the fight.

[Trainer Monkey]

If your peripheral vision is so piss poor that you cant see around a head guard,try tennis
Because every other potential contact sport involves some form of head gear
And repetive concussion syndrom is the reason
Hockey,baseball,football,all involve headgear
And guys being able to complete a sentence have gone up in retirement,before that,if you got something aproaching coherent they were having a "good day"
Get your head around it,most of the guys who didnt use gear died young,or developed serious drug habits,or both
Why do you think they were using heroin?Strictly because they where low lifes Im assuming you assumed,no, it made the headaches go away