Do you get bruises?

Question

I'm training for my brown belt now and I keep coming back from lessons with really bad bruises. We don't do fist sparring in my class but I get the bruises from staf Forms. Do you get injuries from your martial art if so what's the worst?

Answer 1

I'm also training for my brown belt (Koshyn Ryu Karate). I don't get bruises very often anymore, and when I do they don't tend to colour up as much.

More frequently though I get blisters on my feet and a few scratches and, of course, lets not forget ghi burn.

Also when training in other arts I have had a broken finger, cracked my scapula region, cracked rib, sore throat (from choke holds), split lip, strained wrist, black eyes, and have had recurring bouts of tendonitis.

Answer 2

Sure! I just started doing bo forms, and I did get some soreness under my arms. We have to do it snappy and quick (it's for the demonstration team, so it has to look good), and sometimes our armpits pay for it. :-)

I have gotten several other bruises from Tae Kwon Do as well, especially after sparring. Sometimes I get sprains or cramps. But usually the only "injuries" I sustain from practice is sore muscles, which I remedy quickly by massaging the sore area until it doesn't hurt so much anymore.

My worst injury was when a girl accidentally roundhouse-kicked me in the jaw. She accidentally stepped on my foot just as I was pulling back, and I leaned over. She followed through with a roundhouse kick that popped my jaw. I literally saw stars and staggered back. After much apologizing, we got back to sparring.
The next morning, my jaw was so stiff that I couldn't eat or talk much that day. :-)

Answer 3

I get bruises all the time, mostly from students who kick below my hogu or from applied pressure points.

But my worst martial arts injury was 11 years ago, when I was a blue belt in Hap Ki Do. I was teaching the new white belts how to do a diving forward roll over someone who was crouching on their hands and knees. The person crouching was also a white belt and did not understand that he was supposed to stay crouched, and just as I left the ground, he popped his head up to see where I was. To avoid colliding with his head and injuring him, I twisted as best as I could to one side... and landed smack on my collarbone. The pop was loud enough that my instructor stopped what she was doing and ran over. I was literally dazed and seeing stars, and she turned the class over to her assistant and took me to the hospital, where x-rays showed I'd snapped my collarbone in four places.

I was back teaching the next day, wearing that stupid figure-eight splint they make broken clavicle types wear. And the parts of my collarbone didn't heal correctly, fusing into a huge mass of bone the size of an apricot. But I use this experience as an example to my students today: no matter what obstacles you have, you can overcome them and train (I've had kids tell me they have scabbed knees or sunburn so they can't train)... and never use a white belt as a diving obstacle!

Answer 4

Hi there

Yes those long range weapons can be difficult to handle. Ive just about recovered from a blow to the face with a bokken which left me with a rather nice black eye. lol

You will always have a few scrapes here and there its the nature of the work so to speak.

Always have a bag of frozen peas to hand! ;-)

Cuts and bruises are fine and don't cause too much problems but breaks and dislocations never ever heal. You may think they have but later on in life they come back just to say hello.

Just be careful and refuse to train with students you think are irresponsible. You can usually spot them a mile off because they carry their big egos around in a wheelbarrow.

Best wishes

idai

Answer 5

Worst I got during a class was at a demonstration in front of about a hundred students in a University from way back in the 90s. My fellow senior students didn't show up and I was the only one who did, so our maestro ended up doing the whole demo session with only me as the practice dummy, while his son did the accompanying commentary on the PA system. We did everything from blades, sticks and empty hands nonstop and since we tried to keep it as real as we could, I attacked all out and he countered all out and I ended up being hit, smacked around the grandstand and thrown hard onto the wooden floor the whole morning. The worst part was, I had not had any breakfast yet since I was running late. If his son who probably noticed I was getting pale and out of breathe, hadn't sympathized with me and told him that I've had enough, we probably would've done it all day. Needless to say, without any protective padding(was only wearing jogging pants and a shirt), my whole body was black and blue the next day.

Answer 6

Yeah I've had a few, some from full contact fights including twisted knees, bruised ribs, broken and dislocated thumbs, broken metatarsals.

Others from breaking timber in gradings and demos including broken and cut knuckles, a broken foot and severe swelling of the striking area, this mostly happens when the timber doesn't break or you miss!!

Just general bruises, muscle strain and swelling apart from that.

Answer 7

Bruises are common in martial arts.

Obviously you must push through the pain, but you must also learn to heal your wounds, in order to continue training.

One of my best friends is ICE, i ice my injuries all the time and it helps alot.

I practice muay thai, and injuries from sparring are common, as the sparring is tough at advanced levels.

I did karate for 3 years (and highly enjoyed it), and my sensei used to say that scars and bruises are trophies, wear them proudly.

There's also a saying that the more you bleed in training, the less you bleed in battle. :)

I hope this information was useful

good luck!

Answer 8

Yes, all the time until your body gets used to it. If they are really bad try icing them for a day or two.

Bo staff bruises under the arms are pretty common but the worst is nunchuck blows to the head or elbow (luckily I haven't struck the "boys" with them yet.

Answer 9

I dont personaly but my 8yr old daughter does she's had a swallon nose, black eye and was always getting bruises on her little legs so i decided to invest in martial arts shin pads they are a god send no more bruised pins .

Answer 10

Yes, don't we all?
My worst so far are broken fingers when I blocked a mawashi-geri incorrectly during kumite (as a junior grade) and a nasty bruise on my ribs while doing partner-work with a bokken.
Having said that, I only noticed the bruised ribs while showering!