Face striking in karate

[tallgeese]

My two cents, a bit late, but....

Getting hit in the head is part of training if you're doing it in any way for sd purposes. That said, one needs to approach it from a smart manner.

Caged head gear along with 16 oz gloves or heavy kempo gloves (depending on what you're working) can go along way to letting you work to the head well.

Psycologically, using gear like this will let you get over the idea of getting hit. It's a flip side of the coin that some times, not everytime, you'll need to ditch it to psycologically prepare for getting hit without it. Mindset along with experience and confidence in a gives situation is paramount in surviving enocunters (I recommend reading Siddle for more on this).

But you can't pound on each other every time without protection and expect not to get hurt. The body just can't take it. Unrestricted sparring with miniaml gear regularly leads to more injury than anything else. This in turn keeps you out of training and lets your skill lag behind further.

Intelligent training along with intensity. That's what you're looking for.

[Kushiel]

In my school, there was no face contact below the black belt level. You could strike to the sides and back of head (and head gear was required), and you could direct strikes to the face and gain points if they showed that you COULD have struck but pulled it--actual contact means you drop for pushups, or worse, if you actually injure someone. We used, I believe, the dipped foam sparring gear for the most part, and I never saw any injuries.

I'd avoid a school (personally) that allowed face contact from the beginning, and definitely talk to an instructor about any injuries I got at the hands of a black belt.

As an intermediate student sparring with a beginner, I would definitely avoid hitting them repeatedly in the face--I want to help them learn what sparring is about, and figure out how to start controlling their techniques, not scare them off (via injuries, or otherwise)!

[mr_obvious]

I've always told ambitious types in class "don't hit me harder than you want to get hit in return." Reinforce this in practice, and generally the idea of light contact resumes on their part.

To the OP, I'd be pretty miffed if a senior student jacked up my nose in regular sparring. IMO, the idea is to practice techniques, not beat the stuffing out of your classmates.

[pers]

I find this type of training unacceptable ,especially for a beginner .

it is one thing to train realistically but getting constantly hit in the face and nose is in no way beneficial ,controlling the technique is of utmost importance ,otherwise there will be no one left to train with !

students from seniors to juniors should help each other and push each other to improve but that does not mean they should hurt each other to that extent , one should be able to produce good technique without the need to injure and damage their fellow students and partners in the dojo .

I wouldn't want to train in such a dojo ...

[Kuma]

While I do think protective gear is a great idea, I disagree that you shouldn't start beginners off by taking shots to the head and face right off the bat.

My reasons being: Where is someone in a self protection situation most likely going to try to hit you? The head or face. If you get sucker punched, where most likely are you going to get hit? Again, the head or face. Most people are not great fighters and won't know the first thing about liver shots or strikes to the solar plexus. They do know though that hit someone hard enough in the jaw and you can knock them out, so that's what they're going to try for.

Another reason is beginners in boxing wear gloves, headgear, and groin protectors when they fight and still get punched in the head and face a lot. It happens a lot, actually. Most of them are not very much so worse for the wear because of it. Their defense improves quickly, as pain is a great motivator to not get hit next time.

[senseirussell]

I think the rules of kumite should be clearly stated at every class, just so everyone knows what to do and what not to do (and what to expect). Even if all have heard it before, constant reminding of the rules is a good idea.

Even with that, allowing face contact without protective equipment is almost always a BAD idea in class. There's too much potential for serious injury. Women, especially, in my experience, will often just drop out of a dojo once they get contact like you've experienced. They don't like having their looks altered. And many men, too, of course.

I understand the need to be able to take a punch or shot to the head — in my 30 or so years of martial arts I've taken plenty! But karate schools are businesses — they need to keep their students and keeping them safe is good for business. There's a safe, effective way to teach karate/self defense — it just requires more care, effort and equipment on the part of the dojo owners/instructors.

Good luck!

[benjamin]

It seems a little hard core to allow a black belt to punch a beginner in the face.

I agree. When I imagine this happening in my club it baffles me. My Sensei would never allow this sort of thing to happen. We don't train full contact. Our sparring is relaxed, and the worst you'd get is a few bruises on the arms/legs/stomach from being tagged. And anyone who intentionally connected with a beginner, or even a lower grade at all would be in for a world of punishment!

[senseirussell]

Black belts, especially, should know better, when sparring with beginners. The idea in sparring with a beginner is to encourage them and go easy and slower than normally, with only light contact to the body. Beginners have such a disadvantage, what with nerves, inexperience, etc. that only a natural-born bully would hit them in the face, knowing full well that the white belt is so overmatched and intimidated.

If I saw a black belt doing that in my class, that would be the last time he sparred for quite a while, with ANYBODY.

Osu,

Sensei Russell Bianca

Brooklyn Kenshikai Karatedo

[Blade96]

Black belts, especially, should know better, when sparring with beginners. The idea in sparring with a beginner is to encourage them and go easy and slower than normally, with only light contact to the body. Beginners have such a disadvantage, what with nerves, inexperience, etc. that only a natural-born bully would hit them in the face, knowing full well that the white belt is so overmatched and intimidated.

If I saw a black belt doing that in my class, that would be the last time he sparred for quite a while, with ANYBODY.

Osu,

Sensei Russell Bianca

Brooklyn Kenshikai Karatedo

If a black belt did that in our dojo to anyone, especially a white belt, bullying anyone, I'm not so sure he/she would even see next week =]

Our senseis are very protective of us.

and Osu Sensei Russell.

[Toptomcat]

Black belts, especially, should know better, when sparring with beginners. The idea in sparring with a beginner is to encourage them and go easy and slower than normally, with only light contact to the body. Beginners have such a disadvantage, what with nerves, inexperience, etc. that only a natural-born bully would hit them in the face, knowing full well that the white belt is so overmatched and intimidated.

If I saw a black belt doing that in my class, that would be the last time he sparred for quite a while, with ANYBODY.

Osu,

Sensei Russell Bianca

Brooklyn Kenshikai Karatedo

Would you object to head contact made as light as possible- even just an open-handed slap to the forehead or a pitty-patty tap with 16oz gloves on? Because I think you're doing a beginner a disservice if you aren't teaching him one of the most basic and essential lessons of any striking martial art- keep your hands up- from day 1.