Cuts and Bruises from Kumite

[dave_pfc]

I assume this subject is rarely discussed but I was wondering if there's anyone that suffers from cuts and bruises during/following Kumite sparring sessions.

Although I prefer Kata's I don't mind sparring but my forearms and ankles are quite skinny so I really seem to suffer from cuts and bruises during Kumite. It's getting to the point where I have to leave Karate out for a week so the bruises heal as it can get quite painful.

It's down to a combination of people blocking my punches/kicks and my punches and kicks being blocked. As there's not much muscle around my forearms and ankles, when someone blocks my attack they are just hitting pure bone so its quite painful. If I get hit on the chest, upper thighs or upper arms its ok as I have a good bit of muscle there.

When people block a front kick hard on my ankle it really canes too.

Just wondering if anyone else has this problem and if there's any solutions. I probably need some protective padding round them (not sure if this exists) but the arms of my karate kit stop half way down my arms so the padding would show. I wouldn't mind wearing padding but know one else does so I don't want to look the odd one out but perhaps I have no choice.

Cheers,

Dave

[Toptomcat]

What kind of gear are you using, exactly?

[dave_pfc]

I've just got a normal karate suit

[Toptomcat]

You're doing kumite in nothing but a gi, with no gloves, headgear or footpads on? Oh, okay. You're from a knockdown style.

There is such a thing as a forearm guard, which you may want to buy. Rock or rope climbing is an excellent forearm workout if you want to get a bit more muscle in the area that's getting hit. Also, there are a lot of people in the MA community that swear by Tiger Balm for bumps and bruises: alternatively there are a lot of people who like some kind or another of dit da jow for that purpose. Neither is for application on cuts, though, only bruises. There are forearm hardening exercises in some branches of karate, but since they mostly consist of beating the hell out of your forearms much like you're already doing in kumite already I doubt they'd do you much good.

Hope that helps.

[dave_pfc]

Yeah, literally no protective gear for general kumite. What's knockdown style?

It's just a bit strange that I'm the only one that suffers from it.

In Kumite we have to avoid the head and groin but can hit anywhere else.

Thanks for the link to forearm guards. I think I could only get away with soft padding rather than a hardened guard. Maybe something like a sleeve would do the trick as long as it doesn't slip off.

Might get some of that Tiger Balm on the go in the mean time!

[Toptomcat]

A knockdown style of karate is one that stems from Mas Oyama's Kyokushinkaikan in the 1960s: they're pretty much the only ones that spar in that characteristic manner, with hard or full contact and with no protective gear whatsoever but no hand strikes permitted to the head. It's good stuff.

[dave_pfc]

Superb!

[Sokusen]

My suggestion would be to start conditioning your forearms. Eventually the bruises will be fewer, and it won't hurt nearly as much. Your fore arms then become weapons and people will think twice at throwing a particualr technique if it hurts them when you block it.

[Toptomcat]

What kind of forearm-conditioning exercises are you thinking of? Clashing forearm blocks with a partner, having sensei beat the hell out of them with a shinai, hard muk jong work? I just can't think of anything that would really beat or usefully supplement having the tar beaten out of them on a regular baisis in knockdown kumite.

[Sokusen]

Constantly doing knockdown kumite will eventually condition what ever is getting hit. The problem with only conditioning that way is exactly whats happening to dave_pvc. You get bad bruises that take a while to heal and in the mean time you aren't training. Light, CONSISTENT, arm pounding with a partner or on your own will help minimize the bruising. Personally I like makiwara training, I also have a piece of bamboo with a tee shirt wrapped around it. I rarely bruise up anymore, except for those nice occasional shin to shin clashes.