sponsors

 

 

sponsors

 

 

 

 

There is an old saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” This also applies to rules, “The validity of a rule is in the eye of the beholder.” What is a fair and necessary rule to one person may be an unfair and unnecessary restriction of behavior to another person. The rules as applicable to the wearing of head protection (helmets) are as varied as everything else in the martial arts.

Rules are similar to laws except that the sanctions are different for breaking a rule than they are for breaking a law. If you break a law, the government will punish you and you have no choice in the matter. If you break a rule, the entity, such as a martial art association, school, or instructor, that made the rule will punish you; however, you must agree to receive the punishment. For example an association may fine you for breaking a rule, but you have the choice to either pay the fine and remain in the association or to ignore the fine and leave the association (unless there is some law that is also broken, such as a written contract).

Each martial art association, school, or instructor has its own rules; some of which may be mandated by federal, state, or local laws, or by some other entity, such as the owner of the building in which the martial art is practiced. As related to sparring, most of the rules pertain to making the parameters of the competition clear to all participants and to insuring the competition fair and consistent, but many of the rules pertain to protecting the competitors, even if they do not want to be protected. Just as the laws in some states require motorcycle riders to wear helmets whether they want to or not, you may be required to wear a head protector while sparring, even though both you and your opponent want to spar without any head protection.

Martial artists differ in their views of the usefulness of head protection. Some think it protects the competitors from injury, while others think it increases the risk of injury. For example, in no-contact or light-contact sparring without head protectors, attackers must use precise control to insure they do not strike their opponents heads with too much force, and defenders know they must protect their heads. Since both competitors are aware that an accidental injury may occur, both of them are more alert to the possibility and act accordingly; thus excessive contact is rare, and when it does occur, it usually only a causes a minor injury.

In a 1999 British study Injury rates in Shotokan karate by G. R. Critchley, S. Mannion, and C. Meredith in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (1999; 33;174-177), the authors documented the injury rate in 1770 bouts at three British Shotokan karate championships in 1996, 1997, and 1998. Strict rules allowed only “light” or “touch” contact and protective padding for the head, hands, and feet was prohibited. 160 injuries were recorded for an overall rate of injury of 0.09 per bout and 0.13 per competitor. 91 (57%) injuries were to the head. The average age of those injured was 22 years, with an average of nine years of experience in karate.

Page 1 of 3:  NEXT  Back  First  Last | Share | Errors | Last Modified:

Subtopics:  NEXT | None 

Topic: Comments: Add  View | Sources | Related:  Safety Equipment