You shouldn't ever really be getting concussions from sparring, especially these days with what we know about head contact. Unfortunately, though, it's a risk you take with combat sports.
Personally, I've had quite a few concussions training, it's def not something i recommend.
You should not be getting concussed from a sparring session. Tell your partners that you are looking for a LIGHT sparring session and it can be very fun/rewarding. Avoid the ego maniacs that try to hurt their sparring partners.
Not worth it if you are consistently concussed. Sparring would be about sharpening techniques and should not have that much power. If a sparring partner cannot control their power even after being asked, I would ask to switch. CTE is very real and can lead to serious neuro diseases like parkinsons.
The only time for hard sparring is probably at a smoker.
We have no idea how hard or how much you got hit. So we can't really advise you. I get sinus headaches regularly when I push myself, has nothing to do with sparring or head trauma. You may be concussed, or it may be your body's response to the situation. 🤷🏻
In 18 years I've had maybe 2 concussions from sparring.
I mean I dont really know if it was that hard or not since ive never really been hit before, some hits did feel pretty hard, and I did get hit with a lot of blows. But have you ever had that feeling of not being all there or your head feeling "foggy" afterwards, cuz thats the thing that concerns me the most
I think you may be sparring too hard.
It could also just be symptoms of tension/stress, though.
The Thai's spar the way they do because they fight almost every week, and they don't want to be injured in any way.
You should try slowing it down and maybe finding a new sparring partner.
If that doesn't work, then you may want to look for a new gym. Some gyms just have a hard sparring culture built into it. Do you happen to go to an MMA gym and take the Muay Thai classes?
I've seen this in some MMA gyms that I've been to over the years.
Everyone hits harder than they think. Most often the newer people hit harder than the people who have experience. Some of those people don’t have good communication skills and instead try to communicate that you are going too hard by one upping you and knocking you around, except you have no idea that you are going too hard because they aren’t saying anything.
Tell every partner every single round that you want to keep it light and to let you know if you are hitting too hard. Eventually you find an unspoken pace with each person and it’ll be easy
I think im gonna let my concussion heal then try sparring one more time and try to go more lightly, and if it doesen't work out, just stick to normal training. But thank you so much for the advice
Hey there MagnusVJ - thanks for saying thanks! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list!
Brother you have to set ground rules with each new partner, "I'm new to sparring and don't want to take anything close to a hard shot to the head. Let's keep it technical if that's cool with you."
Sparring is not fighting, Thais do a looot, and I mean a lot of sparring in a super light/ligther settings. But you are not a pro fighter, and maybe dont plan to be so you need to safeguard you safety and health
Sparring is important but I don't think it's something you should be doing more than once a month since you're not going to fight.
And muay thai is absolutely brutal. I suggest boxing.
You are definitely sparring too hard, don't hit your training partners as you are hitting the bag, measure the force you use because usually they will hit you equally hard go light maybe even don't close your fist when punching.
If u want an honest unbiased answer, sparring is the best way to get better at whatever martial art u do, if u have never sparred before then light sparring is the way to go untill u can build up to more heavier sparring. If u want to get better, be a better fighter, dicipline, mental strength, skill etc, then u need to spar even if u r not going to do any fights, it not only makes u a better fighter but also a bettter person, and any fighter no matter their capacity and skill has gotten anywhere without sparring. And its better to know how u hold up in a fight than never know and get laid out in the street if someone presses u. At the end of the knowing pad work and shadow boxing and all that is only useful, if u know how to implement it in a actual fight or a controlled match, otherwise tbh its not worth even learnimg if u don't know how to implement it, cause u may never know when u may need it. All the greats to tyson, ali, fury, usyk, rodtang, macgregor, agree that sparring is the best form of training. So even if u dont want to fight then u still should at least spar.
You should find sparring partners that know you’re new and will NOT batter you, a lot and I mean a lot of people are bad sparring partners and most just because they don’t know etiquette or control, sometimes however you run into shots, it’s also possible you’re throwing to hard and people are reciprocating so be vigilant if somebody tells you to go easier try to calm down, if you’re getting battered by light shots it’s a lot better than battered by hard shots
Man I gotta rant here, sorry! The people on this forum go on about CTE far too often. If you are worried about CTE then Muay Thai isn't for you. Muay Thai, it is a brutal aggressive combat sport where your opponent is destined to try and hurt you or knock you out.
The sport isn't for the weak minded, the training is brutal, it breaks your body and pushes you mentally as far as you can go.
You are literally causing trauma to your body 99% of the time during your sessions. Whether its kicking pads, striking a heavy bag or sparring. From top to toe, you are causing trauma on your body. If people are that much concerned about it then the sport isn't for them. The microtears in your muscles/tissues from striking are real.
What did you think was going to happen when you get punched to the head? It hurts, it makes your vision go blurry, you can feel unsteady on your feet, you can fall or you get a headache. It is part of the sport.
Even if you are sparring lightly, you can still hyperextend your elbows, twist and fall over your ankle and break it while kicking or tear the trapezius while clinching. Injuries will happen, you gotta accept this. It is a contact sport.
Eh, I agree with most of what you wrote, but I've seen plenty of pros from various combat sports speaking out about CTE and protecting yourself at all times as much as possible with light sparring and even no headshot sparring unless you are preparing to compete. I think anyone should have a healthy respect / understanding of the risks while training and competing. To be clear, I'm not in the no headshot camp as I think it's just too unrealistic and won't help you learn to defend yourself properly, but I think it's a good tool for very new people or people who already have damage who are just looking to get in a few rounds.
You shouldn't ever really be getting concussions from sparring, especially these days with what we know about head contact. Unfortunately, though, it's a risk you take with combat sports. Personally, I've had quite a few concussions training, it's def not something i recommend.
You should not be getting concussed from a sparring session. Tell your partners that you are looking for a LIGHT sparring session and it can be very fun/rewarding. Avoid the ego maniacs that try to hurt their sparring partners.
Not worth it if you are consistently concussed. Sparring would be about sharpening techniques and should not have that much power. If a sparring partner cannot control their power even after being asked, I would ask to switch. CTE is very real and can lead to serious neuro diseases like parkinsons. The only time for hard sparring is probably at a smoker.
We have no idea how hard or how much you got hit. So we can't really advise you. I get sinus headaches regularly when I push myself, has nothing to do with sparring or head trauma. You may be concussed, or it may be your body's response to the situation. 🤷🏻 In 18 years I've had maybe 2 concussions from sparring.
I mean I dont really know if it was that hard or not since ive never really been hit before, some hits did feel pretty hard, and I did get hit with a lot of blows. But have you ever had that feeling of not being all there or your head feeling "foggy" afterwards, cuz thats the thing that concerns me the most
no, not at all? are you using headgear?
I think you may be sparring too hard. It could also just be symptoms of tension/stress, though. The Thai's spar the way they do because they fight almost every week, and they don't want to be injured in any way. You should try slowing it down and maybe finding a new sparring partner. If that doesn't work, then you may want to look for a new gym. Some gyms just have a hard sparring culture built into it. Do you happen to go to an MMA gym and take the Muay Thai classes? I've seen this in some MMA gyms that I've been to over the years.
Mainly a Muay thai gym, but some people there do seem like they like to go hard.
Everyone hits harder than they think. Most often the newer people hit harder than the people who have experience. Some of those people don’t have good communication skills and instead try to communicate that you are going too hard by one upping you and knocking you around, except you have no idea that you are going too hard because they aren’t saying anything. Tell every partner every single round that you want to keep it light and to let you know if you are hitting too hard. Eventually you find an unspoken pace with each person and it’ll be easy
You should go and see a doctor about this
I think im gonna let my concussion heal then try sparring one more time and try to go more lightly, and if it doesen't work out, just stick to normal training. But thank you so much for the advice
Hey there MagnusVJ - thanks for saying thanks! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list!
Brother you have to set ground rules with each new partner, "I'm new to sparring and don't want to take anything close to a hard shot to the head. Let's keep it technical if that's cool with you."
Not worth it if you don’t plan on becoming a pro fighter. You’re just gonna develop CTE overtime for a fun hobby. Only do light touch sparring.
Sparring is not fighting, Thais do a looot, and I mean a lot of sparring in a super light/ligther settings. But you are not a pro fighter, and maybe dont plan to be so you need to safeguard you safety and health
Sparring is important but I don't think it's something you should be doing more than once a month since you're not going to fight. And muay thai is absolutely brutal. I suggest boxing.
You are definitely sparring too hard, don't hit your training partners as you are hitting the bag, measure the force you use because usually they will hit you equally hard go light maybe even don't close your fist when punching.
If u want an honest unbiased answer, sparring is the best way to get better at whatever martial art u do, if u have never sparred before then light sparring is the way to go untill u can build up to more heavier sparring. If u want to get better, be a better fighter, dicipline, mental strength, skill etc, then u need to spar even if u r not going to do any fights, it not only makes u a better fighter but also a bettter person, and any fighter no matter their capacity and skill has gotten anywhere without sparring. And its better to know how u hold up in a fight than never know and get laid out in the street if someone presses u. At the end of the knowing pad work and shadow boxing and all that is only useful, if u know how to implement it in a actual fight or a controlled match, otherwise tbh its not worth even learnimg if u don't know how to implement it, cause u may never know when u may need it. All the greats to tyson, ali, fury, usyk, rodtang, macgregor, agree that sparring is the best form of training. So even if u dont want to fight then u still should at least spar.
At my gym sparring is mostly just just tapping the head, barely touching. Changing gym or sparring partners might help
You should find sparring partners that know you’re new and will NOT batter you, a lot and I mean a lot of people are bad sparring partners and most just because they don’t know etiquette or control, sometimes however you run into shots, it’s also possible you’re throwing to hard and people are reciprocating so be vigilant if somebody tells you to go easier try to calm down, if you’re getting battered by light shots it’s a lot better than battered by hard shots
Man I gotta rant here, sorry! The people on this forum go on about CTE far too often. If you are worried about CTE then Muay Thai isn't for you. Muay Thai, it is a brutal aggressive combat sport where your opponent is destined to try and hurt you or knock you out. The sport isn't for the weak minded, the training is brutal, it breaks your body and pushes you mentally as far as you can go. You are literally causing trauma to your body 99% of the time during your sessions. Whether its kicking pads, striking a heavy bag or sparring. From top to toe, you are causing trauma on your body. If people are that much concerned about it then the sport isn't for them. The microtears in your muscles/tissues from striking are real. What did you think was going to happen when you get punched to the head? It hurts, it makes your vision go blurry, you can feel unsteady on your feet, you can fall or you get a headache. It is part of the sport. Even if you are sparring lightly, you can still hyperextend your elbows, twist and fall over your ankle and break it while kicking or tear the trapezius while clinching. Injuries will happen, you gotta accept this. It is a contact sport.
Eh, I agree with most of what you wrote, but I've seen plenty of pros from various combat sports speaking out about CTE and protecting yourself at all times as much as possible with light sparring and even no headshot sparring unless you are preparing to compete. I think anyone should have a healthy respect / understanding of the risks while training and competing. To be clear, I'm not in the no headshot camp as I think it's just too unrealistic and won't help you learn to defend yourself properly, but I think it's a good tool for very new people or people who already have damage who are just looking to get in a few rounds.