Ever been hit in the throat in sparring/training?

[GaryMo]

I was last night during sparing with a ever so slightly off target and accidental oi tsuki.

For a few seconds there was no air at all. I thought I was going to die!

Breathing then started to come back and along came the pain. Never again do I want to suffer a blow to the throat. Quite possibly the most painful thing I've experienced.

Anyway, after I got home I realised I couldn't swallow so drinking was out of the question so I popped up to our local hospital for fear of how it could develop overnight if it wasn't assessed.

After receiving adrenaline via a nebuliser and a steroid through IV they admitted me overnight for observation. I even suffered the discomfort of a snake like camera up my nostril and down my throat to assess my larynx. All was fine and the diagnosis was just soft tissue damage.

It just goes to show how effective a strike to the throat can be, especially as the one I received wasn't full power.

[MasterPain]

I hope you recover soon. Sounds nasty, and I'm sure quite scary when it happened.

I've been lucky enough not to be caught by surprise with one, but there have been numerous occasions where I was very happy that I knew how to absorb a hit to the throat.

[Newdesign]

I have. Maybe not quite as hard. But I do believe that the worst is the uncomfortable feeling, not so much the pain, at least for me. Anyway, it's very sensitive area, and one never expects a strike there, so it's easy to panic a little, even though usually there's no need to.

[GaryMo]

Thanks.

Still quite painful. Drinking isn't too bad and food had just been soup today as I couldn't handle anything solid.

The worst thing is my voice. I sound like I've got an electronic speech box! I hope that improves swiftly!

[Wastelander]

I haven't taken a blow to the throat in training that I haven't absorbed with the muscles of my neck, but before I trained I did, once. My windpipe was visibly dented, albeit not very far, and I ended up squeezing the sides of the dent gently until it popped back out. That was probably one of the most panic-inducing moments of my life, I'll be honest--I couldn't talk and it was very hard to breath.

[GaryMo]

That was probably one of the most panic-inducing moments of my life, I'll be honest--I couldn't talk and it was very hard to breath.

That I can totally relate to.

I'm not sure how strengthening my next muscles would have helped as my windpipe protrudes past the muscles so took the full impact. If I remember rightly I stepped forward as my opponent came in with an oi tsuki so it all happened so quickly. To be honest I couldn't help but be impressed with just how effective the whole technique was.

[MasterPain]

That was probably one of the most panic-inducing moments of my life, I'll be honest--I couldn't talk and it was very hard to breath.

That I can totally relate to.

I'm not sure how strengthening my next muscles would have helped as my windpipe protrudes past the muscles so took the full impact. If I remember rightly I stepped forward as my opponent came in with an oi tsuki so it all happened so quickly. To be honest I couldn't help but be impressed with just how effective the whole technique was.

Strengthening helps, but tensing right before impact with a sharp exhale, while keeping your chin down is what protects you. This pulls your adams apple out of the way and does other scientific-type things that helps prevent injury.

Had to look up oi tsuki. I use that a lot, as the step in makes up for being short.

[DWx]

I've taken some before but never nearly that bad. Hope it heals up soon!

Kinda bad but throat punches is one of the more "dirty" techniques we use in competition sparring...

[Thief]

Ouchhh ... yes, I had it once and it was bad, although not as bad as in your case from what you're telling.

maybe this topic could open up another discussion: what injuries have you so far suffered in your activity?

I had a broken rib on two occasions, a broken toe and of course many minor ones like a dislocated jaw a few times (I had to live on soup and water for a few days as well), etc ...

My style is semi-contact Shotokan karate, I guess the kyokushin guys and the kickboxers are probably laughing by now that I call those things injuries ...

[davehale]

I've never been hit or hit someone in the throat but I've seen it and ouch.

To answer Thief, I haven't had any real injuries beyond bruising but on a few occasions whiling sparring my goju sensei, our reverse punch would mirror each other so well that we would punch each other's fists.