Kumite injuries

[RichardHangHong]

Hi everyone,

This is my first topic so go easy on me. Although I have posted a few times in other topics already.

Kumite - love it or hate it, at some point along the line we get one at least one of two things happen;

a) We get injured

or

b) We injure someone else (ACCIDENTALLY)

I thought about this last night after sparring with a 1st kyu and during a mawashi geri my instep somehow met with their elbow and now I'm hobbling around like an idiot. My own fault really for not wearing leg pads.

Anyway, my question is this. What are the worst injuries you've caused and received?

For me the worst injury I caused and received happened at the same time. It was just a couple of years ago at a tournament. The guy I was sparring was a lot taller than me but inexperienced. His guard was tucked in very tight against his body. When my foot connected with his arm from my spinning hook kick there was no give and subsequently it broke (his arm). We didn't know this at the time but I have to commend him for finishing the match before being taken to hospital. Apparently a few people heard it crack. . Later that evening at a club dinner my leg started to throb. It was getting worse very quickly and when I took my shoe off the lower half of my leg had swollen. By the time I go to hospital I was in excrutiating pain and was on painkillers and gas & air to calm me down. The doctor said that the impact of the kick caused my tibia and fibia to pull apart for a moment, causing bruising inbetween and the waves of pain I was feeling was the blood travelling through my leg. I was on crutches for 2 weeks. I later learned it is one of the most painful sprains one can ever have.

My dumbest injuries received were getting knocked out by my friend when he caught me with a jodan mawashi geri but didn't quite get high enough and caught me on the side of my neck (where the corrotid artery is, only takes a little tap to knock you out). When I came too I found myself on the floor and looked across the dojo to see my friend taking a pounding from the assistant instructor for causing the injury.

The other injury was as a 4th kyu again, I threw a chudan gyakutsuki and my partner (also a 4th kyu) lifted his knee to block it. My fist went over the top but my thumb caught on his knee and was wrenched back and getting hyper-extension. Very sore indeed.

Okay, that's me, I look forward to reading the many replies.

Regards,

Richard

[b3n]

I can't remember any serious injuries i've received, maybe the odd corked thigh...

The only injury i've caused is when I cracked 2 ribs of a 2nd kyu with a knee kick, accidental force of course.

[Daze]

the worst I have recieved is 2 broken ribs..

and i have not managed to cause no real pain to anyone else, a few roundhouses to the head but no real injureys..

[karatekid1975]

I didn't get many injuries sparring. Maybe just jammed toes, one broken finger, and my instep connected with an elbow a couple of times. I got most of my injuries from breaking. Badly pulled hammy, broken hand, and sprained foot (I still have a "knot" in my foot from that). I also tweaked my hip once, but I did that at work (carrying something heavy and twisting the wrong way too fast). It did force me to modify my training, tho.

[DokterVet]

My foot collided with my opponent's and the nail on my big toe was torn up at the root. Extremely gross and painful and actually kept me out of training at 100% for a couple years.

[Smitty]

The worst I've gotten is 2 chipped teeth.

[Killer Miller]

1. As a shodan, and the person I trained regularly with, we both kicked at the same time with the exact same kick - mae geri. The ball of my foot hit his shin. We both hobbled a bit and kept sparring in the tournament. The same match, we blasted each other in the mouth at the same time. We both sparred almost identically and the same timing for attacks - because we had the same instructor and trained together. As I recall, this was a finals match for 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 4th. Needless to say, the inside of my mouth was just tore up from being hit, and 30 minutes resting on the bleatchers after the match, feeling fine I decided to get up and stepped to the floor and fell flat on my face in pain of an injured foot...

2. The same karate-ka in training, we were working on timing training. We were working on moving "though" the oponent while attacking - gyaku tsuki, oi tsuki. I blasted a lighting punch to the solarplexus. Thinking a was about 1/4" from making contact and moving though the oponent. When I turned around, after passing him, he was on the ground and out cold and brethless. I honestly didn't think I touched him, but I penetrated him enough to creat some potential serious damage. Luckily, he was ok a couple of minutes later and breathing ok. Really scared me - he was a really good friend...

3. In a tournament, a less experienced karate-ka moved in on me as I was in final focus (kime) of my punch to the face. I dislocated his jaw - ambulance came and all. Again, I felt really bad.

4. Getting ready for a demo with one of my students - a good one two. I was working on a arm block from a punch, round house to the stomache, sweep the leg down, and finally reverse punch to the head - all from kneeling position. I stressed to him that whatever he does "DON'T FALL FORWARDS" bacause my folcal point will be "here" the head. We were getting ready to do it full speed after doing it slowly many times. He wasn't expecting the speed that he was about to experience. Guess what? He moved forward on me after the sweep. I hit him pretty good in the head. He immediately grabbed his head. I asked him if he was alright. After a minute or two he said he was fine. I told him that we were done for the evening and we would continue the next time. Again, I felt really bad. But this is not the end of this story... I left home and locked up the dojo. I get a call about 45 minutes later. "Come to the hospital!" I rush down to the hospital. His head had later "split open in blood." Over 30 stitches later, he was fixed up and the bleeding had completely resided. Now, I FELT REALLY BAD!!!

This, and a couple of bar incidents at the time dubbed me the nick-name, "KILLER MILLER."

- Killer -

[RichardHangHong]

Talk about having a bad day Killer! Just reading about those made me wince! LOL!

[powerof0ne]

broken a few noses(in competition), bruised opponent's thighs so they couldn't stand up with leg kicks...

To myself, busted knuckles, black eyes, suprisingly no broken nose on my end, bruises just about everywhere, fat lips, and I think that's about it.

[aefibird]

I've had a gazillion injuries, partly because I'm clumsy and partly because we tend to train at full contact in my dojo.

The most painful injury I had was breaking my big toe in a competition - I went in chudan mawashigeri (stomach roundhouse) and my opponent blocked...but with her elbow, snapping my toe in two. It was excruciating and I could hardly walk for weeks after that.

I've also had millions of bruises, split lips several times, broken ribs, a busted eyelid that required stiches (from being demonstrated on by a visiting Sensei), broken fingers, broken both little toes (including once where it was stuck out at an odd angle and Sensei popped it back into place for me) and permanent nerve damage in my lower right arm from being dropped on my elbow.

I also broke the base of my right big toe nail when kicking a "BOB" bag at TKD - an injury that doesn't sound painful but has actually given me a lot of grief since.

The worst injuries I've given out have been a couple of KO's and a broken nose but I also once split a friends lip open doing a demo, which I felt a bit bad about, seen as she was a good mate.