Olympic Boxing drops headguards and changes scoring system

[DWx]

http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/9087686/olympic-boxing-drops-head-guards-changes-scoring-system

Looks like they're doing it mainly due to safety:

Although the move might seem counterintuitive in preventing brain injuries, the chairman of AIBA's medical commission, Charles Butler, cites numerous medical studies that suggest fighting without head guards will decrease concussions.

"There's no evidence protective gear shows a reduction in incidence of concussion," Butler said. "In 1982, when the American Medical Association moved to ban boxing, everybody panicked and put headgear on the boxers, but nobody ever looked to see what the headgear did."

The traditional scoring system also should indirectly improve fighters' safety, according to Butler. Since body shots and combinations notoriously scored few points in the computerized punch-count system, fighters have long placed a premium on a high volume of head shots, since an opponent's neck snapping back is the surest way to make sure a punch is seen and counted.

[JusticeZero]

I'm a bit puzzled as to why women still have to wear helmets, if they don't do anything?

[Harkon72]

Many Boxing gyms in our area closed down after a cull due to the safety craze in the 80's. My father was a trainer in the University boxing gym in Bangor, it suffered after the powers that be at the collage deemed it "Unethical and non-productive to an Intellectual establishment". What they didn't realize was that my father promoted fitness and nutrition to students; discipline and the best values of the noble sport. It was a world away from the beasting of his army days, he and a former lightweight champion produced a few of the best local boxers that became graduates too. I think safety is paramount in boxing, muay thai, knockdown karate and any other full contact sports, I just hope that people from outside the sports don't ban them in their ignorance.

[sensei8]

If it's not broken, then don't fix it...comes to mind. However, it's their game and if future fighters want to play in their game, then they'll have to surrender to the new rules.

What will the IOC change next?

[DWx]

Well isn't it broken? I don't know enough about boxing or really follow the sport but to me it sounds like the rule change at least is for the better. Less reliant on the electronic scoring system and a greater variety of shots thrown.

[sensei8]

My point, as small as it is, is that Judo wasn't broken, yet, IOC has removed it from the Olympics. I don't believe that the headgear should've been removed because safety factors should be paramount over any reasons.

Remove it, no, redesign it so that the vision isn't obscured, yes.

[DWx]

If things aren't broke then true they don't need to be fixed but that doesn't mean that they can't be improved upon. That's progress.

They are saying that headgear is to be removed because of the safety aspect not just because of vision. They're saying it is safer not to have the headgear on:

But the headgear has long been criticized for diffusing the impact of a blow and allowing fighters to continue sustaining more head shots for a longer stretch of time. The gear also offers no protection to the chin, where many knockout blows land in boxing, while the bulky sides of the device impede fighters' peripheral vision, preventing them from seeing every head blow.

The issue of diffusing the blows is why a lot of fighters, including myself, choose not to wear one in TKD.

[JusticeZero]

Right, it wouldn't be the first time a piece of safety gear was found to be more dangerous than without. I'm just confused as to why they only changed it for men.

[DWx]

Justice, I agree with you on that point - if it's safer not to wear them then why make it mandatory for one gender and not the other?

I'm just speculating but maybe at the minute there's the issue of public perception re. women's boxing as it's only just been included in the Olympics anyway.

[AdamKralic]

I boxed for a few years as a youth...headgear is of limited use.

For one the face is open...the 2nd worst shot to the head is the one that hits your squarely on the nose. White stars come out! The worst blow to the head is the hook to the jaw. That is a knockout blow and the helmet does very little to change that. The parts of the helmet where the padding is thickest just so happen to be the strongest parts of the skull. So?

Another bad thing about the helmets is the constant sweat in the eyes and lack of peripheral vision. The great fighters use peripheral vision...a lot.