Comments about Earguards

[Greg Santana]

We have this wrestler guy in our class and whenever he wears them I give him shit, saying that they help protect against certain chokes and also if I get his back an he's thrashign around I get these hard plastic cups hitting me in the face and shit.

Ear guards are fuckin bitch plain and simple. If you're worried about your ears so much then go try fishing or some other activity.

thread

Another quote I am gonna add to the list.... lol I'm gonna add it to the main thread,lmao... People like this guy are the reason why I posted this thread

 

[revad3]

what renzo wearing is the brute shockwaves, but they are discontinued

 

[Sloth]

I have only been in bjj for a few months now and have already heard many negative comments on earguards everything from "man up, get ur flowers, and wear'em with pride. thats weak dude...real weak" or how about "Ear guards are fuckin bitch plain and simple. If you're worried about your ears so much then go try fishing or some other activity"

The way I see it is if you feel better or wanna be on the safe side wear earguards.. even the great Renzo Gracie wears earguard's time to time... R.I.P. Ryan


YouTube - Renzo and Ryan Gracie Grappling

Sorry, but that's crazy to me that people would say all that "man up" crap. There's nothing good about cauliflower ears. If you feel better with head gear, then you should get it, imo.

 

[redaxe]

Earguards are a good idea, but using good technique so you don't get your ears rubbed is an even better idea. My previous instructor was a black belt and he had no sign of cauliflower ear, neither do I. I understand that some people's ears are naturally more susceptible to it due to their shape or whatever, but I also think that good technique prevents it. If you have to drive with the side of your head you're probably doing the technique wrong, unless it's a double leg takedown.

Personally I hate wearing them because they are hot and uncomfortable and they can get stuck on your opponent's gi, but I don't mind if my training partners need them.

 

[Vector_X]

Your body your decision. I've never actually seen earguards or heard of them prior to this thread. A few muay thai guys at our gym will wear headgear prior to a fight to get used to it or if they have a cut, but besides wrestling headgear i wasn't aware of actual earguards. Or is the wrestling headgear the same thing?

 

[MMA junkie]

Earguards are a good idea, but using good technique so you don't get your ears rubbed is an even better idea. My previous instructor was a black belt and he had no sign of cauliflower ear, neither do I. I understand that some people's ears are naturally more susceptible to it due to their shape or whatever, but I also think that good technique prevents it. If you have to drive with the side of your head you're probably doing the technique wrong, unless it's a double leg takedown.

Personally I hate wearing them because they are hot and uncomfortable and they can get stuck on your opponent's gi, but I don't mind if my training partners need them.

Please explain how good technique so your ears don't get rubbed.

A lot of World Champions must have or had bad technique gauging from their ears then.

 

[fiftysvn]

Earguards are a good idea, but using good technique so you don't get your ears rubbed is an even better idea. My previous instructor was a black belt and he had no sign of cauliflower ear, neither do I. I understand that some people's ears are naturally more susceptible to it due to their shape or whatever, but I also think that good technique prevents it. If you have to drive with the side of your head you're probably doing the technique wrong, unless it's a double leg takedown.

Personally I hate wearing them because they are hot and uncomfortable and they can get stuck on your opponent's gi, but I don't mind if my training partners need them.

I don't know about that. I've seen a good amount of black belts at my gym with cauli. Many mma fighters (RANDY!) have pretty bad cauli as well . . . I don't think it's because of bad technique. It just happens.

Like you said though . . . the level of susceptibility probably differs from individual to individual.

 

[curb1850]

Can someone point me at some that they find work well for BJJ?

 

[Ballzilla]

I begin my BJJ training on Monday and I fully intend to wear them. I have 14 years of wrestling at the rec, middle school, high school and division 1 collegiate levels and because of headgear, my ears look normal. My wife wouldn't appreciate it too much if I came home with what looks like chewed bubble gum on the side of my head. If that makes me a pussy then I guess I'm a pussy.

 

[An end for]

I feel there's nothing more manly than honoring your wife.

having a mistress

 

[redaxe]

Please explain how good technique so your ears don't get rubbed.

A lot of World Champions must have or had bad technique gauging from their ears then.

Everyone had bad technique at some point. None of those guys slid out of the womb with a black belt on.

And for every example of a champion with cauli ear I can give you an example of one who doesn't have it. Roger Gracie is pretty much universally recognized as the GOAT of BJJ and he has not a trace of cauliflower. Rickson, Royce, and Royler don't really seem to have it either.

In my experience good posture, keeping your head up and using your hips, chest and shoulders instead of your head to put pressure on your opponent will help prevent cauli ear. And properly using your forearms to defend from being crossfaced. And doing proper guillotine escapes instead of just pulling your head out. If your opponent is able to smash your ears, you probably did something wrong.

 

[Grassshoppa]

Sounds like you're training at the wrong place. I wear headgear and no one cares. Others wear headgear and no one cares. It's funny that people will always make a comment to someone they think they can get away with it with... if some big bad ass wrestler came into your gym, slapped on some headgear, and proceeded to beat their asses I doubt they would make any comments about his headgear. Typical douche bags.

Personally, I don't want cauliflower ear. And girls definitely don't find it attractive. Do they really want to introduce a guy that looks deformed and mangled to their family and friends? No.

If you want to wear headgear, wear headgear and don't give a fuck what those morons say... or find a new, more respectful, more team oriented gym.

 

[HardEight]

Everyone had bad technique at some point. None of those guys slid out of the womb with a black belt on.

And for every example of a champion with cauli ear I can give you an example of one who doesn't have it. Roger Gracie is pretty much universally recognized as the GOAT of BJJ and he has not a trace of cauliflower. Rickson, Royce, and Royler don't really seem to have it either.

In my experience good posture, keeping your head up and using your hips, chest and shoulders instead of your head to put pressure on your opponent will help prevent cauli ear. And properly using your forearms to defend from being crossfaced. And doing proper guillotine escapes instead of just pulling your head out. If your opponent is able to smash your ears, you probably did something wrong.

Relson doesn't have it either. We asked him about it and he says "No one puts their hand behind my head."
One of his major points that he teaches us is never let and arm get behind your head. He uses the prayer defense a lot and even covers his ears sometimes.
"How can you damage my ears like this?"
It's funny to hear him say it cause it is such a simple answer and he kind of looks at you like "How come you do have cauliflower?"
Sometimes the simplest answers are the ones that work the best though.

I will add that I feel like I was a lot more susceptible to it when I train no-gi compared to gi. Maybe I am more aware of where peoples hands and grips are and I am constantly fighting them off in gi.
Just a thought.

 

[Balto]

Considering that it's commonly thought that being extra susceptible to cauliflower is a genetic thing, listing Royce, Royler, Rickson, and Relson as examples of guys who don't have it is pretty flawed.

 

[nerraw]

And properly using your forearms to defend from being crossfaced.

This. And not training with people who think squeezing someone's head is how you prevent a pass or maintain side control.

Although I'd like to add that I've never met anyone with a serious freestyle or Greco background without cauliflower ear. But I think that good technique in bjj does prevent the cauli.

 

[BaconTastesGood]

We have this wrestler guy in our class and whenever he wears them I give him shit, saying that they help protect against certain chokes and also if I get his back an he's thrashign around I get these hard plastic cups hitting me in the face and shit.

Learn better technique.

 

[Oldguy]

I put headgear on the minute I start drilling with a partner. I can not afford to get cauliflower ear. I am a sales engineer and I don't want my customers looking at me wondering "what the heck are those things on the side of his head where his ears should be?" when I am trying to convince them to buy my products.

 

[KJGould]

I'm actually a qualified live sound engineer. How is that relevant? Well, we had to study how the ear perceives sound. And it's not just a funnel for the sound to enter into the opening to reach the ear drum.

The ear itself in its shape but also how it's made is important for periphery hearing. Yes, like we have periphery vision, we also have periphery hearing. The ear is slightly porous and when we detect the direction of a sound like to our side or behind us it's because of the air molecules carrying the sound waves hitting and penetrating the outer-ear which is interpreted by the brain to recognise the direction the sound is coming from.

When the ear changes shape and cauliflowers due to calcification the effectiveness of our periphery hearing becomes greatly reduced.

This is an issue because we probably take out periphery hearing for granted. Something as simple as crossing the road where we hear a car come out of nowhere for example, so we can react accordingly.

Your hearing is important, ergo your ears are important. Your eyelids protect your eyes, but there's nothing to protect the outer ear because in normal day to day life there's little risk of damaging them and they're relatively durable otherwise. But the abrasive nature of grappling didn't factor into the evolution of the ear, so wear ear guards if you're concerned about your periphery hearing.

 

[BJJsb]

FWIF, bjj619 I will agree with you that certain earguards do do pose a problem to training partners. I'm not a fan of the clunky plastic kinds.

The one I use is the soft kind. Basically looks like this:

These earguards look like cups.

 

[An end for]

I'm actually a qualified live sound engineer. How is that relevant? Well, we had to study how the ear perceives sound. And it's not just a funnel for the sound to enter into the opening to reach the ear drum.

The ear itself in its shape but also how it's made is important for periphery hearing. Yes, like we have periphery vision, we also have periphery hearing. The ear is slightly porous and when we detect the direction of a sound like to our side or behind us it's because of the air molecules carrying the sound waves hitting and penetrating the outer-ear which is interpreted by the brain to recognise the direction the sound is coming from.

When the ear changes shape and cauliflowers due to calcification the effectiveness of our periphery hearing becomes greatly reduced.

This is an issue because we probably take out periphery hearing for granted. Something as simple as crossing the road where we hear a car come out of nowhere for example, so we can react accordingly.

Your hearing is important, ergo your ears are important. Your eyelids protect your eyes, but there's nothing to protect the outer ear because in normal day to day life there's little risk of damaging them and they're relatively durable otherwise. But the abrasive nature of grappling didn't factor into the evolution of the ear, so wear ear guards if you're concerned about your periphery hearing.

Very good post. I always keep wondering how much can that mess someone's hearing...