How hard is the allowed contact level in boxing for recreational training?
- Thread starter Heuristic
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You don't have to spar if you don't want to, regardless of where you train. Hit the bag, work mitts, do drills. It's perfectly ok
I think you can begin sparring very early but with light-contact and with a responsible coach and sparring partner. Even for an experienced boxer,
it's always good to spar with beginners in light contact, working fundamentals and letting beginner sparring partner learn: both of them learn from it.
it's always good to spar with beginners in light contact, working fundamentals and letting beginner sparring partner learn: both of them learn from it.
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Muay Thai sparring is usually very light. Boxing on the other hand is usually pretty darn hard. Even when we say to go light, people tend to go pretty hard.
I haven't seen a boxing gym that doesn't spar pretty hard. Maybe it's the culture, idk but most boxing gyms spar hard or 100%.
Muay thai on the other hand is always light and technical. Maybe it's in the culture cuz they fight so often. Even in competition, you don't elbow your opponents. Elbows are considered major disrespect. Cuz all fighters fight for their family. A cut will put you out for months and that's 0 money for your family.
I could spar in muay thai without any gear. You can see vids of that on youtube. But I would never step inside a boxing ring without full gear.
I haven't seen a boxing gym that doesn't spar pretty hard. Maybe it's the culture, idk but most boxing gyms spar hard or 100%.
Muay thai on the other hand is always light and technical. Maybe it's in the culture cuz they fight so often. Even in competition, you don't elbow your opponents. Elbows are considered major disrespect. Cuz all fighters fight for their family. A cut will put you out for months and that's 0 money for your family.
I could spar in muay thai without any gear. You can see vids of that on youtube. But I would never step inside a boxing ring without full gear.
No, I would like to spar for sure. I am wondering though if health is a factor or if it's fairly safe? Not that I mind taking hits, but there is no competition purpose in my case so it's harder to justify getting seriously fucked up.
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Has it not come up recently that that boxing gear for the head could actually generate more brain damage than not wearing it though?
Or are you talking about facial injuries and cuts?
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It prevent cuts for sure but I haven't heard about headgear causing more brain damage.
I know my coach said that the headgear is mainly for preventing cuts and stuff. That's why it's not mandatory. But I don't see how that is.
I'm googling some things now. And a lot of contradicting "researches". Can you show me your sources?
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the idea is that the same concussive force is being transfered to your brain regardless of if you have head gear on or not. Furthermore, your headgear makes your head a larger target and thus more likely to get hit. Shots that might of just skim you instead grab traction on your gear and whip your head around
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your getting hit in the head. It's not good for you or safe. How hard you hit and get hit depends on your gym, coach, and sparring partners. Generally if you're only intetested in light sparring you can find other people who will work at that speed
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What I've mostly read/heard about is that it creates a resonance effect and therefore generates more damage to your brain / brain cells. I don't know if it has actually be scientifically proven or if it makes that much more of a difference, but the logic behind the resonance effect does make sense.
The other factors as DoctorTaco mentioned are that even though you feel "safer" it doesn't actually protect your head from shocks and brain trauma that much more compared to not wearing it and you and your sparring partners might actually sparr and hit harder when wearing the gear because you feel safer, therefore damaging each other more than you would try to without the gear. You also make your head a bigger target and get hit more easily.
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The added extra weight makes your head whip around with more energy, which rattles the brain, which is where the trauma comes from.
Really if you wanted to prevent concussions, the thing to actually do would be to wear neckbraces and make everyone fight bare knuckle.
Really if you wanted to prevent concussions, the thing to actually do would be to wear neckbraces and make everyone fight bare knuckle.
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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27116592
I read a research paper published a few years ago before the change, basically all data they provide as evidence that headguards do not help prevent brain trauma is simply that in the trials they've done, they found fewer KOs and concussions experienced on average by boxers in tournaments where they've gone without headguards.
Reasons for this have been speculated here ITT already; the added weight on the head is likely to be a factor. Also, you've got a bigger target to hit / harder to slip shots. With sweat and vaseline and the contours of the human face/head, you've got more chance of a punch deflecting/grazing away than with an AIBA headguard where there's a flat surface to strike cleanly. There may be a slight psychological factor in play too, where someone with a headguard will be less defensively minded because they have that headguard on.
