Nosebleeds While Sparring

I thought sparring in mma gloves was a little intense for someone who's been in the striking class for 2 weeks, but I didn't want to be the one guy in the class who says "uhhhh...". But I dunno, I'm not looking to compete in mma, just looking for a workout that's more fun than lifting weights, maybe a little self-defense. I'm walking around with a sore nose, two black eyes, and bruises all along my forehead, maybe I am a pussy...

Where was the chief instructor when this was going on? Because, if he wasn't present, he probably should have been, and if he was present, in all probability talking to him about it "may" be fruitless.

:icon_chee
 
Last edited:
I thought sparring in mma gloves was a little intense for someone who's been in the striking class for 2 weeks, but I didn't want to be the one guy in the class who says "uhhhh...". But I dunno, I'm not looking to compete in mma, just looking for a workout that's more fun than lifting weights, maybe a little self-defense. I'm walking around with a sore nose, two black eyes, and bruises all along my forehead, maybe I am a pussy...

Not a pussy, that is way over hard for a guy with only 2 weeks sparring and goes in to stupidly over hard for a guy that is not planning to make a career out of this. Really sounds like new gym time.

On the up side, if it is only your eyes, forehead and nose getting lumped then you at least are doing a half decent job of keeping the chin covered :).
 
Not a pussy, that is way over hard for a guy with only 2 weeks sparring and goes in to stupidly over hard for a guy that is not planning to make a career out of this. Really sounds like new gym time.

On the up side, if it is only your eyes, forehead and nose getting lumped then you at least are doing a half decent job of keeping the chin covered :).

Ha. I got rattled on the chin hard once it's stayed tucked since. I'm not sure why I've had a harder time keeping my nose safe. I'm usually getting it right on the nose as I'm throwing a jab (I'm 5'4 and southpaw).

To the other repliers, thank you. The head instructor was there the whole time, and the people I'm sparring with aren't putting a lot of weight into their punches, but it doesn't seem like it takes much with the mma gloves. That being said, I'm definitely in over my head, so I'm going to have a talk with the instructor before next class.
 
It will break.

You havent been sparring enough if youve been striking for a while and never had a broken nose.
this couldnt be more wrong. Learn to keep your hands up and your nose won't break. Miraculous right?? Plenty of pro fighters who have never had a broken nose.
 
this couldnt be more wrong. Learn to keep your hands up and your nose won't break. Miraculous right?? Plenty of pro fighters who have never had a broken nose.

If you box you're going to get hit, no matter hwo good your defence is your going to get hit in the face alot wether during sparring or competeing. Eventually you will get unlucky and your nose will break. Of course there are exceptions but dont box and expect never to get your nose broken.
 
If you box you're going to get hit, no matter hwo good your defence is your going to get hit in the face alot wether during sparring or competeing. Eventually you will get unlucky and your nose will break. Of course there are exceptions but dont box and expect never to get your nose broken.

Too bad there's more than enough examples of people who fight that disprove your theory that it will break at some point.

You have a high likelihood it will break simply because of the activity...but if you train PROPERLY and have a good defense, that lowers the likelihood drastically.
 
Too bad there's more than enough examples of people who fight that disprove your theory that it will break at some point.

You have a high likelihood it will break simply because of the activity...but if you train PROPERLY and have a good defense, that lowers the likelihood drastically.

Name some of these people then. Yes you can lower the chance but if you have a long fighting career it's still likely to happen.
 
random examples that im pretty sure of: lyoto machida, shogun, masato, buakaw, gsp, bj penn, owen wilson.
 
I used to be a 'bleeder' when I was young.
Hot day - nose bleed.
Bump nose - bleed.
Headache - nose bleed.

It was annoying as fuck.

I had my nostrils quarterised at the doctors a few years ago
and stopped picking my nose lol.
Now I can cop hard shots to the nose in sparring with no problems.
 
random examples that im pretty sure of: lyoto machida, shogun, masato, buakaw, gsp, bj penn, owen wilson.

Uuuumm I'm pretty sure Owen Wilson's nose has been broken. Either that or it was fugged to begin with.
 
Not necessarily. I've gone over two decades fighting and have yet to receive a broken nose. I think the crux of the matter is that this guy is LEARNING to spar with 4 oz gloves in a gym where guys are being coached by someone who doesn't know how to do so without hurting his guys.

There is an underlying mentality in some gyms that broken noses, cauliflower ears, cracked ribs, and the like are indicative to a "good" gym that focuses on fighting; when in reality its just a gym that doesn't train properly. Your above statement is proof in the pudding.

Nah, you can check my posts here, im very adament about being safe and how toughness isnt worth injury.

I just think guys dont spar hard enough these days. What im saying is hyperbole, but i think sparring in MMA is getting way too pussified.

You look at boxers and dutch MT guys especially, and they go hard in sparring, and the proof is in the pudding in that respect.


More misinformation. Headgear is worn by amateur boxers and many other fighters...who I'm sure you wouldn't be calling pussies to their faces. Even pro-boxers still wear them on occasion for sparring. Head gear doesn't really diminish force as much as it does diminishing the likely hood of cuts, bruises, or micro-fractures in choice spots.


I personally don't wear hear gear because I'd rather have my visibility, but if I'm getting jacked a lot on a particular day, I would consider it. It's just intelligent if you're looking to keep your body in shape for continued training.

You can't fight if you're constantly getting hurt during training.



I'd agree with that.

Ive said before that if you dont have an upcoming fight nor are actually competing, that there's no point in wearing Headgear.

It's the safe thing to do, no doubt, but ive noticed a trend of grapplers/turned strikers not adjusting to getting hit well.
 
this couldnt be more wrong. Learn to keep your hands up and your nose won't break. Miraculous right?? Plenty of pro fighters who have never had a broken nose.

Of course im speaking in Hyperbole, dont fuck this up for the TS.

If one of the kids i was coaching came to me with concern about breaking his nose, i'd tell him that it was just going to break and to get over it.

The last thing would need is someone new to striking soley focused on injury every time they spar. It stunts development.
Of course injury should be taken into consideration, and everyone should be safe with one another, but downright fear over harm to the face is what makes kids start ducking their head and developing bad habits.

OF COURSE what i said isnt wholy correct, but if you just embrace the idea of an extreme, then it becomes less of a reality.
 
Broken noses are to boxing what cauliflower ears are to wrestling.
You don't want them but sometimes shit just happens.
 
Broken noses are to boxing what cauliflower ears are to wrestling.
You don't want them but sometimes shit just happens.

exactly, and worrying about either will just set you up for disappointment.
 
I'm really getting sick of saying that the less you get injured, the more you can spar. The more you can spar, the better you are going to get.

Wear the damned head gear and 16 oz. gloves dumbasses.

Oh, and unsupervised sparring is NOT covered by any insurance company that I have ever heard of. Good luck making a claim if you get hurt.
 
keep your hands up and you can be like this too!

owen_wilson_nose.jpg
 
With the right training, equipment (and luck) you can minimise the risks.
But don't agonise over it - train smart and you should be fine.
 
My septum's totally deviated. Shit sucks, but it happens I guess. Hopefully I can get it fixed before insurance kicks me out when I turn 21 in January. Otherwise I guess I'm going to have a broken nose for the next 10 or so years.
 
Personally, broken noses aren't that bad... I've broken my nose many times, it started when I was 8 and I was kicked by a horse in the face, then I crushed the bridge of my nose playing matball my junior year of high school, followed by 4 re-breaks that season (only pussies compete in facemasks!). Since then, I've also broken it 4-5 times getting "dashboarded" while riding bulls (yeah, like rodeo)... Long story short, after the wrestling season, I had laser surgery to correct my deviated septum, and I'm very careful to make sure it gets set properly now, but honestly, my nose isn't even THAT wide yet. The bridge it pretty thick, but not unusually so.

That said, the guys at your gym are retards for sparring in "fight gloves". The risk of damaging your hands and wrists is bad enough, let alone your faces!

At our gym, we spar stand up with 20oz boxing gloves, spar MMA with hybrid/MMA sparring gloves (open palmed boxing gloves), then occasionally spar ground game with 4oz fight gloves. During the ground game, it's just to get used to using the gloves for different holds, and when ground game strikes are available, we pull the punches or punch the mat beside their heads.

4-6oz fight gloves are gonna fuck up faces. Period. Either convince your sparring partners of it, or find another gym.
 
damnnnnnnnn. ^ is your nose totally fucked up looking?
 
Back
Top