Face striking in karate

[Usotsuki]

I've been a practitioner of the wado-ryu fullcontact karate style for a few months now, and there's one thing that's been bothering me.

In the style/dojo that I attend, punches to the nose/face are commonplace and are expected of you. This didn't really sink in until my recent sparring session with a black belt where I was repeatedly punched in the nose/face, with restraint mind you, but nevertheless it did hurt for a good few days. Everytime I came in close range the opponent would always strike my face and if my block was high, my body would take a beating. (I would gladly take 100 body punches over 1 face punch)

Due to this I have realized breathing out of my nose has become more difficult and I have read that this is called a deviated septum and is common in the boxing world.

How should a beginning karate practitioner deal with this? I'm not really too keen on getting my nose smashed in any further as I'm sure that if the black belt were serious I would have probably been quite deformed at the end of that sparring session. I have thought long and hard and if I were to attend a style that does not allow face punches, that would probably preserve my ability to breath through my nose/sleep at night, but it would hinder me in a real fight.

Any advice for a whitebelt such as myself?

[Toptomcat]

Well, define 'full-contact'. What are your sparring rules, and what sort of gear do you use? You aren't going balls-to-the-wall barefisted, are you? There are definitely ways to train face strikes without undue risk of injury, but proper gear is a must for that.

[beagstkd]

Our school does not allow head contact until after red belt and no head contact (even if a black belt) with anyone under 18. It seems a little hard core to allow a black belt to punch a beginner in the face.

[WireFrame]

If you're not comfortable with it, maybe you could find a school that trains with face attacks but does not require you to damage your face doing lots of full-contact work.

Edited February 24, 2010 by WireFrame

[DWx]

I agree its a little harsh for a blackbelt to keep hitting a beginner repeatedly. IMO a beginner is not going to learn anything if you just hit them, just to be apprehensive about sparring. Perhaps having a word with who you're sparring and tell them to be lighter.

[joesteph]

I've been a practitioner of the wado-ryu fullcontact karate style for a few months now, and there's one thing that's been bothering me.

In the style/dojo that I attend, punches to the nose/face are commonplace and are expected of you. This didn't really sink in until my recent sparring session with a black belt where I was repeatedly punched in the nose/face, with restraint mind you, but nevertheless it did hurt for a good few days. . . .

Due to this I have realized breathing out of my nose has become more difficult and I have read that this is called a deviated septum and is common in the boxing world.

How should a beginning karate practitioner deal with this?

What protective gear are you wearing? When you say "full contact," do you simply mean "contact" but it's actually supposed to be light-moderate, such as light to the face but moderate to the torso?

Difficulty breathing and a deviated septum, which my sister had after an accident, go hand-in-hand, and an operation becomes necessary. What oversight is going on in the dojo/dojang that's protecting the students?

Is this black belt someone who's comfortable with using lower belts for target practice?

You can talk with him and/or speak with your teacher. You're not getting someone "into trouble" if he's doing it right, especially a black belt, and you're not showing yourself as not being up to the task if you're a white belt. For all you know, he wouldn't pull this on another black belt because he'll get back as good as he gave--meaning some shots to his nose and the deviated septum concern.

[Toptomcat]

Do you actually have a diagnosis of a deviated septum as a result of sparring with overzealous training partners, or are you merely worried about it? You're unlikely to have gotten one unless the force with which your sparring partners are going at you with is also regularly giving you black eyes and bloody noses, dizzying you and taking your legs away from you. If it is, then yes, they're going too hard and you should speak with your teacher. If it isn't, then they are controlling their force well even if you are hurt and thrown off by their head punches. Learning to distinguish between being hurt- when the impact of a shot has you in pain, but nothing's physically disabling you otherwise- and being *injured*- when accumulated damage is physically preventing you from fighting as you should- is a key skill in practical martial arts.

[MMA_Jim]

If you're sparring to the face, you should be using 16oz gloves- nothing less.

If you're training with punches to the face and are using typical karate gear- its not enough protection. Face sparring = 16 oz gloves- my kru would kill you if he saw you using anything less much less karate gear.

[JAKEHE3078]

I agree with you MMA_JIM. The thing is MMA_Jim, 16 Oz glove lack the mobility in the hands that is so frequently used in Karate. So I highly doubt they are using that. If anything they are using the clth mits, or the wkf style foam mitts, maybe they are using the foam diped open style stuff, but I hope not.

[Usotsuki]

Thank you for your replies, I will take the advice I heard to heart including the advice that is not visible in this thread at this time.

Do you actually have a diagnosis of a deviated septum as a result of sparring with overzealous training partners, or are you merely worried about it? You're unlikely to have gotten one unless the force with which your sparring partners are going at you with is also regularly giving you black eyes and bloody noses, dizzying you and taking your legs away from you.

I have not gone to the doctor for a professional diagnosis of a deviated septum. After that one sparring match my nose was slightly crooked and ever since then I have not been able to breathe out of my one nostril. according to my online research a deviated septum is the following:

"Nasal septum deviation is a common physical disorder of the nose, involving a displacement of the nasal septum. It is most frequently caused by impact trauma, such as by a blow to the face."

The cartlidge in a nose is soft and therefore punches to the nose can definitely result in blocking the passageways permanently without even having to break the nose. Whether I have the official medical "deviated septum" or not, the case is that since being punched in the nose a few times I cannot breathe out of it as I did before.

I have come to accept this as a reality in this certain karate style as one would accept this when taking up boxing. This was just a certain stumbling block for the white belt with little fighting experience that I am. To me it's not really about the pain of getting hit, but more the permanent injuries such as missing teeth and broken noses. Once again thanks for your posts, I will talk to my sensei about it.