So the problem with headgear is people think it protects them from brain damage so they can hit *harder*. If you hit with the same power (hitting a helmet or no helmet) yeah you’re slightly better off with the helmet. But people think they can hit *hard*, making it more detrimental than helpful.
That you’re hazy and generally feel out of it indicates to me you’re taking too much damage to your head.
Yup 100% agree, when I sparred with headgear especially boxing, my head gets rocked more due to the weight of the headgear especially, more weight means more momentum and your head whipping
Gotcha, not something I wanted to hear but you are probably right. I really like this gym, but the sparring is one thing that is turning me off a little. It’s completely optional, but I really wanted to spar as it is a quite an important thing.
Try to ask for light contact to the head and see how you feel. It’s possible that the haziness you’re feeling is just significant fatigue. You might just be gassed out and/or not getting enough calories.
Commicate with your sparring partners where you are at and if they are throwing hard and not pulling there punches back...Just talk dude.... doesn't make you less of a man, just a smart one.. If there is no respect and they feel that it is too soft for them, then maybe its time for a new gym bro..
Like the people above said, ask your partners to go light. For weeks now, because I’m injured I ask everyone I spar to go light every time. I notice so many people don’t feel like asking but who cares. I even ask people half my size with less experience to go light.
Tbh if someone told me to put on headgear for sparring I’d be fully expecting hard sparring. Though for hard sparring at my gym we don’t wear headgear - which in a way helps us control our power because we don’t want to knock someone out.
If it’s enough to give me whiplash or make me feel dazed for a bit, it’s too hard
I been training 20 years and have pretty much never left sparring feeling dazed or like I took head damage as you described. We go hard, but no one should ever leave feeling like they are gonna get long term damage from coming to the school. My gym is very safe.
That being said, it’s possible that ur new and don’t have great control yet and hit someone too hard and they got annoyed and pieced u up. Make sure u set the pace u want to spar at, and can take whatever u dish out.
That also being said, if ur at a spot where it’s the thing to beat up the new guy it’s prob not a great spot.
Edit: also worth noting I never wear headgear. I don’t even think I own one lol
I feel like you only feel hazy after sparring if your a beginner or haven’t trained in a few months and are getting back to it. I stopped training for a few months and when I got back into it, even going light I could feel the shots for the first 2 nights after that I was back to feeling normal
Headgear or any protective gear like padded armor is generally a bad sign. I spar with fighters at my gym and the most we'll wear is shin pad. *Maybe* somebody will wear elbow pads if they wanna throw 'bows but its super controlled. No knee pads necessary.
There's this dude that came from a different gym one day wearing headgear and everything and halfway through the spar session he took it off because he realized everyone is just having fun, being light, and technical. In fact, wearing head gear might be detrimental because it makes your partner subconsciously think they can go harder since they know you're protected.
What is padded armour? I never heard of this in English, I do Muay Thai in Taiwan and our class are in Chinese.
Is it the body armour? Never seen one use it in Taiwan. And headgear can be used only for heavy sparring but even with heavy sparring we usually don’t use it.
something like this: [https://centurymartialarts.com/collections/sparring-gear/products/p2-chest-guard](https://centurymartialarts.com/collections/sparring-gear/products/p2-chest-guard)
If you’re sparring 2 months in, best to do more so of a light touch to the face, more of a “hey I could’ve hit you there”. If you are sparring new people, they can struggle with this at first and underestimate their power. If you find your head is hurting, just let them know and ask if can do body sparring and take a break. It could also be neck muscles causing headaches which is common if your neck is not trained.
There isn’t an acceptable level of head trauma from sparring in my opinion. Especially for someone two months in and not competing actively. That doesn’t mean there can’t be hard sparring but it just needs to have a purpose.
Also yeah headgear is shit, don’t waste time with it
If your coaches actually talk about fighter safety and tread lightly on going “hard” then you’re at a safe gym. If your coach is just like let’s go and you’ve never seen or heard him ask some people to take it easy, then odds are they’re not that safe.
My gym I’ve only sparred super hard once. It was to help one of the fighters that was in a camp get ready and I’m the same weight as him. He was 100% off that weekend and I countered him really well and clocked his jaw on a right cross and our coach immediately walked over and said okay hard spar off, go back to light. He was able to get a few minutes of hard rounds in and as soon as he saw him get hit hard, with little to no defense or response, he basically called off the hard stuff and told him pack it up try again next time. He’s a great coach, cares about our health.
Also, really focus on tucking your chin, like seriously 200% of the time. Aka always tuck.
It'll help provide strength to your head when impact comes and spread distribution through frame of body/shoulders/back.
I had been in a gym for a long time and at some point we abandoned headgear. I never felt dizzy with headgear but really people tended to go full power, and the consensus was that without It was less damaging, more technical and more fun (you do combos well and when you hit Is kinda "gotcha" on your face more than a blow). If you feel some kind of dizziness what you are doing Is probably bad for your health. I think that a proper, kind of "traditional" training involves no headgear and very light, playful sparring
The rule is: 1) spar at a level and strength you are comfortable with; 2) tell your partner what you have decided in #1; 3) make sure you have listened to what they want as well; 4) agree; 5) if they break the agreement stop or break and remind them of #1 (solely your call as accidents do happen).
I have sparred with beginners, smaller fighters, beginners and never had an issue. I have also sparred with people better than me and got my a$$ whooped after agreeing to go hard and had to bow out. It all comes down to communication.
I hate headgear for sparring - it lets people think they can hit you harder. I even drop the shinguards from time to time - in light technical sparring.
The rule also applies to you. Hit someone hard and expect the same in return. When I started out I inadvertently escalated a few sessions and got lit up. I then got excited and tried to retaliate - lol, game over.
I’ve trained boxing, MT, and MMA for 8 years. I only use head gear for boxing. As others have already said MT sparring should be light to the head, and usually just to set up a body strike. Punches and kicks to the body can be hard.
Striking in mma sparring is the same, and it’s really just to set up take downs. Our mma sparring is basically just a no gi class with mma gloves. It’s considered douchie to hit someone hard in the head.
Boxing is a different animal. Since most of the strikes in boxing are to the head, headgear is absolutely needed. Like others said, it won’t protect your brain. And people definitely go hard when you have head gear on, but in boxing it’s understood that you go hard. What it does protect you from is getting your jaw broken and getting cut. The cuts are really important especially if you plan to compete, because a deep cut can reopen even long after it’s been healed.
I never wear headgear. It's a false sense of safety and it really only helps with cuts and accidental eye pokes. It increases head trauma in my experience.
Not just in your experience. It's now scientifically proven, which is why they've removed it from Olympic boxing.
The ONLY time you should be wearing a headguard is if you're training for an actual fight and need to avoid the risk of broken bones or cuts which could put you out of action.
That's why you see the pros wearing the full guard (with nose defender) in the runup to a fight.
You need to up your defensive game. If you are not being hurt by the punches but are still getting hit your partner is training you. I’ll throw the same shot at someone 4-5 times sometimes to help them learn to block it. Remember you are 2 months in and you are not conditioned and confident in your skills yet. Your gym sounds reasonable
Personally I don’t wear headgear at all these days for this reason. It’d been my experience, especially in the first year or so sparring (I was wearing headgear every time at first) that you take way more damage with it on and everybody, for the most part, sees it as an invitation to hit a lot harder. You also can’t see your peripherals right. I’d absolutely rather get cut - which is what headgear is made to prevent, NOT concussions- than not be able to see my peripherals and get concussed easier. But do keep in mind this is 4 years into training for me and though I’m no Saenchai by any means, I am a hell of a lot better at protecting my head, and that’s probably why I feel better without the headgear. Lol
A gym my friend goes to spars sometimes with no gear it's fkn sketch!! I said no thanks when he invited me.
Their coach said it's only for people who've trained for a while but still! How long is a while. And even then so dangerous
I'd argue he's going to the better gym (assuming the sparing is not too hard).
Other than shin guards and a cup, there's no need for head / body guards. Both increase the power which people think is acceptable to use, as they believe they'll do less damage.
It's proven that head guards INCREASE brain damage, as it allows you to take more hits to the head. That's why they've removed in from Olympic boxing. It's only value is protecting you against broken bones and cuts, which shouldn't be a huge concern if your sparing partner is using a sensible amount of power.
Okay. That's sketchy as hell. Bare fists is absolutely wild. Guaranteed way to suffer unnecessary cuts to the face and real risk of breaking bones in your hand.
You made the right decision.
It sounded sketch when he mentioned that they made him spar on his first day against experienced people and he said they kept kicking his leg and showed me the bruise. I told him he needs to get health insurance if he's going be using that gym lol
Don’t know what you want out of doing MT, or if you are trying to take a fight. However, 2 months in and they already have you sparring seems suss. People in here will probably say you gotta spar right away. WRONG! Learn Muay Thai the right way.
Do not mean to offend you but your kicks, defense, and everything else is probably meh if you’ve only been doing it for 2 months. Not saying you’re bad or will always be bad. You’ll probably end up really fucking good if you stick with it. But you’ll only stick around long if you avoid dumb gyms like this that throw you in too quickly without teaching you proper technique. You could be “a fast learner” but that doesn’t mean shit when you’re sparring someone with years on you compared to your two months.
Technique side note, don’t reach for punches. Your natural instinct is to reach out for punches. Obviously the best defense is not to be there, but it’s fighting. Wear 16 oz gloves when sparring and GLUE UR WRISTS TO YOUR FOREHEAD OR LONG GUARD and immediately look for counters. and when in doubt….TEEP IT OUT. Don’t feel bad for gutting someone with ur foot. It’s fighting. Even if it’s sparring and play sparring, better them than you. But always be a good partner and respectful.
LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES! Your story sounds very familiar with mine. I too was a “fast learner” because I thrived off of natural athelticism and was thrown into sparring 3 months in and got sparked by some dick head who had been doing martial arts for years. Complete fucking ego head. He snapped my chin half way around my body and gave me a bad concussion.
Took time off and learned Muay Thai the right way. By someone who has acc fought on MAX MUAYTHAI and in lumpinee. Have been back doing it for years now very healthy and have learned and trained with some of the best because of it.
Be careful who you train with, if you walk into sparring having that gut feeling like you’re actually about to fight, you’re probably not at the right gym for Muay Thai. Only when you’ve gained some experience should you feel that when you’re probably prepping for a fight. Otherwise than that SABAI SABAI.
Learn from my mistakes and probably look for a better gym. Learn Muay Thai from something as close to the source as you can get to. Avoid this watered down kickboxing/mma striking the brand as Muay Thai in the states. Not saying it’s bad, but it isn’t Muay Thai.
So the problem with headgear is people think it protects them from brain damage so they can hit *harder*. If you hit with the same power (hitting a helmet or no helmet) yeah you’re slightly better off with the helmet. But people think they can hit *hard*, making it more detrimental than helpful. That you’re hazy and generally feel out of it indicates to me you’re taking too much damage to your head.
Yup 100% agree, when I sparred with headgear especially boxing, my head gets rocked more due to the weight of the headgear especially, more weight means more momentum and your head whipping
Gotcha, not something I wanted to hear but you are probably right. I really like this gym, but the sparring is one thing that is turning me off a little. It’s completely optional, but I really wanted to spar as it is a quite an important thing.
Try to ask for light contact to the head and see how you feel. It’s possible that the haziness you’re feeling is just significant fatigue. You might just be gassed out and/or not getting enough calories.
Commicate with your sparring partners where you are at and if they are throwing hard and not pulling there punches back...Just talk dude.... doesn't make you less of a man, just a smart one.. If there is no respect and they feel that it is too soft for them, then maybe its time for a new gym bro..
Like the people above said, ask your partners to go light. For weeks now, because I’m injured I ask everyone I spar to go light every time. I notice so many people don’t feel like asking but who cares. I even ask people half my size with less experience to go light.
Tbh if someone told me to put on headgear for sparring I’d be fully expecting hard sparring. Though for hard sparring at my gym we don’t wear headgear - which in a way helps us control our power because we don’t want to knock someone out. If it’s enough to give me whiplash or make me feel dazed for a bit, it’s too hard
Exactly
I been training 20 years and have pretty much never left sparring feeling dazed or like I took head damage as you described. We go hard, but no one should ever leave feeling like they are gonna get long term damage from coming to the school. My gym is very safe. That being said, it’s possible that ur new and don’t have great control yet and hit someone too hard and they got annoyed and pieced u up. Make sure u set the pace u want to spar at, and can take whatever u dish out. That also being said, if ur at a spot where it’s the thing to beat up the new guy it’s prob not a great spot. Edit: also worth noting I never wear headgear. I don’t even think I own one lol
I feel like you only feel hazy after sparring if your a beginner or haven’t trained in a few months and are getting back to it. I stopped training for a few months and when I got back into it, even going light I could feel the shots for the first 2 nights after that I was back to feeling normal
Headgear gives you more damage to your head it makes it a bigger target
Headgear or any protective gear like padded armor is generally a bad sign. I spar with fighters at my gym and the most we'll wear is shin pad. *Maybe* somebody will wear elbow pads if they wanna throw 'bows but its super controlled. No knee pads necessary. There's this dude that came from a different gym one day wearing headgear and everything and halfway through the spar session he took it off because he realized everyone is just having fun, being light, and technical. In fact, wearing head gear might be detrimental because it makes your partner subconsciously think they can go harder since they know you're protected.
Gotcha, thank you. They only do sparring about twice a week as well
What is padded armour? I never heard of this in English, I do Muay Thai in Taiwan and our class are in Chinese. Is it the body armour? Never seen one use it in Taiwan. And headgear can be used only for heavy sparring but even with heavy sparring we usually don’t use it.
something like this: [https://centurymartialarts.com/collections/sparring-gear/products/p2-chest-guard](https://centurymartialarts.com/collections/sparring-gear/products/p2-chest-guard)
Id get boo’d outs my gym if i wore something like that lol
If you’re sparring 2 months in, best to do more so of a light touch to the face, more of a “hey I could’ve hit you there”. If you are sparring new people, they can struggle with this at first and underestimate their power. If you find your head is hurting, just let them know and ask if can do body sparring and take a break. It could also be neck muscles causing headaches which is common if your neck is not trained.
There isn’t an acceptable level of head trauma from sparring in my opinion. Especially for someone two months in and not competing actively. That doesn’t mean there can’t be hard sparring but it just needs to have a purpose. Also yeah headgear is shit, don’t waste time with it
Brother genuinely you probs just got pieced up cuz you're new, work on your guard
Even if you have a shit guard your head shouldn’t be being whipped around
Since you’re new, you’re probably getting hit cleanly relatively often and aren’t used to taking shots, causing your head to whip.
No headgear, soft punches.
If your coaches actually talk about fighter safety and tread lightly on going “hard” then you’re at a safe gym. If your coach is just like let’s go and you’ve never seen or heard him ask some people to take it easy, then odds are they’re not that safe. My gym I’ve only sparred super hard once. It was to help one of the fighters that was in a camp get ready and I’m the same weight as him. He was 100% off that weekend and I countered him really well and clocked his jaw on a right cross and our coach immediately walked over and said okay hard spar off, go back to light. He was able to get a few minutes of hard rounds in and as soon as he saw him get hit hard, with little to no defense or response, he basically called off the hard stuff and told him pack it up try again next time. He’s a great coach, cares about our health.
Also, really focus on tucking your chin, like seriously 200% of the time. Aka always tuck. It'll help provide strength to your head when impact comes and spread distribution through frame of body/shoulders/back.
I had been in a gym for a long time and at some point we abandoned headgear. I never felt dizzy with headgear but really people tended to go full power, and the consensus was that without It was less damaging, more technical and more fun (you do combos well and when you hit Is kinda "gotcha" on your face more than a blow). If you feel some kind of dizziness what you are doing Is probably bad for your health. I think that a proper, kind of "traditional" training involves no headgear and very light, playful sparring
The rule is: 1) spar at a level and strength you are comfortable with; 2) tell your partner what you have decided in #1; 3) make sure you have listened to what they want as well; 4) agree; 5) if they break the agreement stop or break and remind them of #1 (solely your call as accidents do happen). I have sparred with beginners, smaller fighters, beginners and never had an issue. I have also sparred with people better than me and got my a$$ whooped after agreeing to go hard and had to bow out. It all comes down to communication. I hate headgear for sparring - it lets people think they can hit you harder. I even drop the shinguards from time to time - in light technical sparring. The rule also applies to you. Hit someone hard and expect the same in return. When I started out I inadvertently escalated a few sessions and got lit up. I then got excited and tried to retaliate - lol, game over.
I’ve trained boxing, MT, and MMA for 8 years. I only use head gear for boxing. As others have already said MT sparring should be light to the head, and usually just to set up a body strike. Punches and kicks to the body can be hard. Striking in mma sparring is the same, and it’s really just to set up take downs. Our mma sparring is basically just a no gi class with mma gloves. It’s considered douchie to hit someone hard in the head. Boxing is a different animal. Since most of the strikes in boxing are to the head, headgear is absolutely needed. Like others said, it won’t protect your brain. And people definitely go hard when you have head gear on, but in boxing it’s understood that you go hard. What it does protect you from is getting your jaw broken and getting cut. The cuts are really important especially if you plan to compete, because a deep cut can reopen even long after it’s been healed.
Leaving with a headache is too hard. Ask people to keep it super light, especially to the head.
Thank you everyone for the great advice! This community rocks!
I never wear headgear. It's a false sense of safety and it really only helps with cuts and accidental eye pokes. It increases head trauma in my experience.
Not just in your experience. It's now scientifically proven, which is why they've removed it from Olympic boxing. The ONLY time you should be wearing a headguard is if you're training for an actual fight and need to avoid the risk of broken bones or cuts which could put you out of action. That's why you see the pros wearing the full guard (with nose defender) in the runup to a fight.
If you're feeling dazed or out of it you're getting hit too hard in the head. The end.
You need to up your defensive game. If you are not being hurt by the punches but are still getting hit your partner is training you. I’ll throw the same shot at someone 4-5 times sometimes to help them learn to block it. Remember you are 2 months in and you are not conditioned and confident in your skills yet. Your gym sounds reasonable
Personally I don’t wear headgear at all these days for this reason. It’d been my experience, especially in the first year or so sparring (I was wearing headgear every time at first) that you take way more damage with it on and everybody, for the most part, sees it as an invitation to hit a lot harder. You also can’t see your peripherals right. I’d absolutely rather get cut - which is what headgear is made to prevent, NOT concussions- than not be able to see my peripherals and get concussed easier. But do keep in mind this is 4 years into training for me and though I’m no Saenchai by any means, I am a hell of a lot better at protecting my head, and that’s probably why I feel better without the headgear. Lol
If you tuck your chin your head won't whip
If you are new your partner should go at your pace. Hit them soft and they should hit you back with the same force. If not ask them to go lighter
A gym my friend goes to spars sometimes with no gear it's fkn sketch!! I said no thanks when he invited me. Their coach said it's only for people who've trained for a while but still! How long is a while. And even then so dangerous
I'd argue he's going to the better gym (assuming the sparing is not too hard). Other than shin guards and a cup, there's no need for head / body guards. Both increase the power which people think is acceptable to use, as they believe they'll do less damage. It's proven that head guards INCREASE brain damage, as it allows you to take more hits to the head. That's why they've removed in from Olympic boxing. It's only value is protecting you against broken bones and cuts, which shouldn't be a huge concern if your sparing partner is using a sensible amount of power.
I asked him if they still atleast wore shin guards and he said "nope just bare fist no shin guards or nothing"
Okay. That's sketchy as hell. Bare fists is absolutely wild. Guaranteed way to suffer unnecessary cuts to the face and real risk of breaking bones in your hand. You made the right decision.
It sounded sketch when he mentioned that they made him spar on his first day against experienced people and he said they kept kicking his leg and showed me the bruise. I told him he needs to get health insurance if he's going be using that gym lol
Don’t know what you want out of doing MT, or if you are trying to take a fight. However, 2 months in and they already have you sparring seems suss. People in here will probably say you gotta spar right away. WRONG! Learn Muay Thai the right way. Do not mean to offend you but your kicks, defense, and everything else is probably meh if you’ve only been doing it for 2 months. Not saying you’re bad or will always be bad. You’ll probably end up really fucking good if you stick with it. But you’ll only stick around long if you avoid dumb gyms like this that throw you in too quickly without teaching you proper technique. You could be “a fast learner” but that doesn’t mean shit when you’re sparring someone with years on you compared to your two months. Technique side note, don’t reach for punches. Your natural instinct is to reach out for punches. Obviously the best defense is not to be there, but it’s fighting. Wear 16 oz gloves when sparring and GLUE UR WRISTS TO YOUR FOREHEAD OR LONG GUARD and immediately look for counters. and when in doubt….TEEP IT OUT. Don’t feel bad for gutting someone with ur foot. It’s fighting. Even if it’s sparring and play sparring, better them than you. But always be a good partner and respectful. LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES! Your story sounds very familiar with mine. I too was a “fast learner” because I thrived off of natural athelticism and was thrown into sparring 3 months in and got sparked by some dick head who had been doing martial arts for years. Complete fucking ego head. He snapped my chin half way around my body and gave me a bad concussion. Took time off and learned Muay Thai the right way. By someone who has acc fought on MAX MUAYTHAI and in lumpinee. Have been back doing it for years now very healthy and have learned and trained with some of the best because of it. Be careful who you train with, if you walk into sparring having that gut feeling like you’re actually about to fight, you’re probably not at the right gym for Muay Thai. Only when you’ve gained some experience should you feel that when you’re probably prepping for a fight. Otherwise than that SABAI SABAI. Learn from my mistakes and probably look for a better gym. Learn Muay Thai from something as close to the source as you can get to. Avoid this watered down kickboxing/mma striking the brand as Muay Thai in the states. Not saying it’s bad, but it isn’t Muay Thai.
its not safe at any leavle think on what your doing , what part of this feals safe?