Stephen Thompson: Striking hard to the body is ok but not the head...

[priderulez]

It worked for Cain, Cormier and now Rockhold, though...

But I agree with him. If I were a fighter, I'd train smart not brutally physical. It seems to me that technique and cardio goes the farthest

We know it works. The dutch have proven it. In MMA Chute Boxe were notorious for sparring hard and were all murderers. Look at them now though?

Point is we see more and more top level guys back away from hard sparrings. It doesnt make sense.

It never made sense to me anyways. Going home from the gym with a headache which is nagging is not ok. One of the reasons I quit the kickboxing school I started in. Beating the shit out of each other in the gym has more negative than positive effects. Now I am into boxing - I train with a couple of friends, one of them was state level competitor, we spar all the time, cause thats where all the fun is. However we proitect each other. Of course every now and then a harder shot will slip through but that would be the exception rather than the norm.

 

[HelloJapan]

If you take a hard sparring gym, like chuteboxe or mine, and you introduce headgear into that type of fighting, it causes far more damage. Put headgear in the UFC, you would get far more head trauma. Headgear is really very, very bad for fighting.

Not disputing that they can be. However it depends on a number of variables: gym, instructors, experience, philosophizes, etc. Beginner vs novice vs amateur vs pro. There's a time and a place for the appropriate tools needed.

 

[wowspare]

Dutch kickboxers should really take notice. Pretty much every single kickboxing gym in the Netherlands does 100% when the uh spar.

 

[Jarvan]

wait, josh, or stephen?

 

[machidafan99]

there's too many thompsons

 

[Cooliox]

Thompson & Thompson

 

[Goatenstein]

Hard sparring is what softened up all the guys Jon jones has ever defeated.

 

[IRENICUS]

why are ppl taking about Anderson's chin? I don't remember him getting hit.
Who was gonna KO him? Bonnar? Sonnen? Belfort didn't hit him at all. Diaz doesn't KO anyone especially moving up in weight.

 

[Roljo]

If you take a hard sparring gym, like chuteboxe or mine, and you introduce headgear into that type of fighting, it causes far more damage. Put headgear in the UFC, you would get far more head trauma. Headgear is really very, very bad for fighting.

How's that ? Always though headgear kind of protected your head

 

[ilfirin]

He's spot on.

 

[RiotWyatt]

Robbie Lawler didn't spar at all for years on end. Maybe that's the secret to his longevity.

 

[Boomb]

It's true. Ernesto Hoost said that he had such a long career because he barely ever sparred and when he did they went very, very light.


Ive been training muay thai for some time now. We used to beat the crap out of each other in sparring, but now we go very lightly. We can throw hard low kicks and body shots but have to be very careful with head shots.

 

[LeeOx]

There was me thinking I was a bitch for never having a 100% sparring match in my years of training.

It's pretty much the main reason I've still not fought as I wouldn't wanna get in there and freeze/panic when taking my first big shot.

 

[HHJ]

I say spar like the russians.

and then carry your partner on your back on the way home.

 

[The real JG]

Schaub would have been undefeated world champ if not for Shane Carwin KOing him 3 times a week for 5 years.

 

[Hazuki Ryo]

Sick of all these guys at AKA, Chute Boxe, fighting like animals and coming injured. Because beyond the fact that you're constantly cracking your chin and shortening your fighting career, you increase the risks of cancelling an event. And for UFC, that sucks.

 

[HockeyBjj]

How's that ? Always though headgear kind of protected your head

Put on headgear and spar as you were previously, and yes headgear is a good thing and protects you

Put on headgear and many people get a false sense of how much added protection (because now their face doesn't hurt) and they begin using less defense and throwing harder offensively. Each guy turns it up because they feel invincible with the headgear and it's nothing but either guy throwing knockout shots and eating the blows in return because now they can

This may not get them KOed in training or faces all cut up like it would have if no headgear, but the brain is still rattling around in the skull and doing the micro concussions that lead to the long term damage more

 

[Thc Sargon]

Matt Hughes went hard everyday!

 

[SuperiorHands]

Headgear causes worse head injuries.

Only if people use it as an excuse to wail on eachother. But unless you're in a very old school gym, a bad gym, or slugging it out in someone's backyard that's not how that equipment should be used.

 

[jeff7b9]

Why the fuck are people talking about Anderson like his chin is shot?

Because Chris H-bombed him with just about the hardest shot in MW history which did not even put him to sleep? Really?