Kidney protection

[familyman]

My son (almost 7 years old) had problems with his kidneys in utero that caused damage to his one kidney and his other kidney needed to be operated on. The kidney that needed to be operated on is no longer floating but is attached to his skin so it is much more prone to injury from a blow. His doctor had said after the operation that he should not be in any contact sports because his kidney could tear from impact to it. He started taking karate and has been really enjoying it. We do not allow him to spar or grapple due to his kidney. I have been trying to find sparring gear, kidney guard or something to adaquately protect his kidney area from impact, but so far I have not found anything that seems like it would offer enough protection. It seems that the protection I have found is only padding, but I am looking for something that has a hard plastic as well to deflect the impact around his kidney. Any ideas? Thanks

[isshinryu5toforever]

Take the advice of your doctor, don't let him spar. Nothing fully protects from impact during sparring. Your body still takes the impact, it is simply lessened by the protective equipment. There is nothing I can think of that will allow him to keep freedom of movement and prevent him from getting hurt.

Maybe JohnASE can think of something, because he actually sells equipment, but in my 20 years doing martial arts, I have yet to run into something like what you're talking about.

Also hard plastic would just hurt the other person unless they hit hard enough, which means that it would do your child zero good.

[JohnASE]

Thanks, isshinryu5toforever, but I'm not sure how much help I can be. I don't know that much about chest guards and less about nephrology! I'll share what I know.

Most chest guards wrap around the back, but I'm not sure which ones cover the kidney area. Since you didn't indicate otherwise, I assume your son's kidney is roughly in the standard location. As I recall, when surgery is involved, kidneys are sometime placed lower.

There ARE chest guards that are more than just padding. The Macho Chest Guard, for example has a light plastic shield sandwiched by padding. The plastic is somewhat flexible, so it might not be adequate for your needs. I'd guess you need something more substantial, but I don't know for sure. It's available from a variety of sources. Retail price is $48 for the kids size.

http://www.macho.com/CHEST-GUARD-CHEST/productinfo/1%2DPRCH14/

I remember trying on a body protector years ago that was pretty heavy duty. It was firm, but not too hard. Someone punched me, and it dispersed the impact pretty well. I think it wrapped around the kidney area. It was dense, thick, heavy, and expensive. Retail was probably around $150 or so. I don't remember who carried it though. Now that I think about it, something that heavy duty probably wouldn't come in a child size.

Maybe something could be custom made or modified. If you use some kind of hard shield, the sparring partner could be injured, like isshinryu5toforever said, unless you pad it inside and out. There are many types of high density foam.

Sorry, I can't think of anything else, but like I said, we don't do much with chest guards. Good luck!

[Agenda]

Martial arts is defiantely not the best option for him, taking to attention his kidney. Unfortunately...

Edited April 22, 2011 by Agenda

[IcemanSK]

I agree with isshinryu5. There are many benefits of martial arts. Unfortunately, there really are no pads that can sufficiently protect your son in the way he needs. I'd recommend having him not spar, as well.

[isshinryu5toforever]

Martial arts can be used for many different things. Some people believe that self-defense is the number one priority, but if more people were honest about the martial arts school they go to, that simply isn't the case. I would say a good number of people use martial arts as a form of exercise, and others use it to give their children more discipline.

In light of the kidney concerns, I would use martial arts for fitness and overall health rather than self-defense. He could do something like taichi, which incorporates specific breathing patterns and is done, at many schools, as a forms only pursuit. Any martial arts instructor should be able to work around your son's problem though.