Karate Injuries

[Safroot]

Just want to ask what are the common expected injuries while practicing karate ?!

Would be good also if we share injuries that every one had during his/her journey and how can it be prevented if possible, so we can ensure safer practice

[SteyrAUG]

In my experience most injuries come from a students "race to black belt" and instructors who don't know how to stop them.

People who do not understand things like makiwara and mook jong are for a slow paced conditioning of the hands over time and not something you shave the skin off your knuckles on and leave splattered with blood. Don't even get me started on some of the extremely counter productive "Iron Palm" training methods I've seen offered by some "masters."

Guys who shove, push, pull and have others force them into splits and straddles and then can't figure out why they are actually losing flexibility.

Guys who don't understand the significant difference between contact conditioning and kicking and punching the snot out of each other.

Instructors who have no actual knowledge of the weapons they teach, how to teach movements to a student in a way that prevents injury even if the weapons are real and what contact drills are useful and what ones are just a bad idea.

Guys who think ankle weights and fast kicking go together and will improve anything.

And there are dozens and dozens more. These are the differences between an experienced black belt who has been trained to become a teacher of his art and someone who passed their shodan test and decided to open a school.

[Safroot]

In my experience most injuries come from a students "race to black belt" and instructors who don't know how to stop them.

People who do not understand things like makiwara and mook jong are for a slow paced conditioning of the hands over time and not something you shave the skin off your knuckles on and leave splattered with blood. Don't even get me started on some of the extremely counter productive "Iron Palm" training methods I've seen offered by some "masters."

Guys who shove, push, pull and have others force them into splits and straddles and then can't figure out why they are actually losing flexibility.

Guys who don't understand the significant difference between contact conditioning and kicking and punching the snot out of each other.

Instructors who have no actual knowledge of the weapons they teach, how to teach movements to a student in a way that prevents injury even if the weapons are real and what contact drills are useful and what ones are just a bad idea.

Guys who think ankle weights and fast kicking go together and will improve anything.

And there are dozens and dozens more. These are the differences between an experienced black belt who has been trained to become a teacher of his art and someone who passed their shodan test and decided to open a school.

solid post

[Hawkmoon]

all very good points!

....its not a race, never was....

If it takes a week or a year ...so be it!

Don't make a bad situation worse!

My personal fav is ....

Guys who don't understand the significant difference between contact conditioning and kicking and punching the snot out of each other.

We have a couple (and very specifically one of them) who thinks we don't see he is being such an idiot!

Shihan and sensei are 'working' on him, sadly he'll not be grading this time around as was initially planned, 'more work required' it seems!

This is the guy that held a beginner with all one lesson to his name in the corner ...was defiant when asked to demonstrate 10kyu to some other beginners.

I found out that he knocked an elderly member of the club out last week when I was off ill. (I really mean elderly, the guy is 63!)

• Wrenching a thumb back, because the punch caught the jacket as you punched,...
   
  catching toes on a knee as you kick...
   
  fingers (hands) being used to stop a kick ...

these as well as others are 'bad, but normal natural human reactions, MA replaces these habits with better ones, and is its own reasoning for why its train train and train some more, the idea is to make any action a true natural reaction to a thing!

The more you do the better you get and the less it happens!

[Safroot]

• Wrenching a thumb back, because the punch caught the jacket as you punched,...
   
  catching toes on a knee as you kick...
   
  fingers (hands) being used to stop a kick ...

Ouch .. sounds painful ... thanks for sharing it Hawkmoon

[Wastelander]

SteyrAUG definitely gave a great explanation of how to avoid a lot of problems during training! In addition, there are plenty of accidental injuries that can occur, even when your attitude is good and everyone is doing their best to train properly and the sensei is giving proper guidance.

Hawkmoon mentioned a few--I would say, by far, the most common injuries (unless we're counting bruises) are going to be jammed/twisted fingers and toes! If you do a lot of sparring/grappling, then black eyes, bloody noses, and split lips are going to be fairly par for the course, as well. Thankfully, these are all very minor, and barely register on the injury scale. The jammed/twisted fingers and toes can sometimes end up as broken fingers and toes, but that isn't the end of the world.

One warning I will give you is that, if you work any grappling techniques (and you should), then it's important to keep joint injuries in mind. Joint locks and throws can be pretty rugged, and can effect joints you don't even think about if you're not accustomed to them. Broken bones heal stronger than before, but damaged joints will never be the same.

[Safroot]

One warning I will give you is that, if you work any grappling techniques (and you should), then it's important to keep joint injuries in mind. Joint locks and throws can be pretty rugged, and can effect joints you don't even think about if you're not accustomed to them. Broken bones heal stronger than before, but damaged joints will never be the same.

Thanks for the warning .... I will try to take extra care

[sensei8]

OMG, what part of the body doesn't get hurt from time to time, if at all?

Groin

Muscle strains

Sprains

Breaks

Dislocations

Abrasions

Teeth

Mouth/lips

Eyes

Head

Ears

Knees

Fingers/Thumbs

Jaw

Well, the entire body is subjective to receiving injuries in just about any part of the body. Injuries don't have to happen while training in the MA, but they do, and one can only do there best to avoid them. At times, we cause our own injuries for many reasons, and when we're not hurting ourselves, our training partners help us out in that area.

Point to any place on your body. It'll either be hurt from time to time or it won't be as often, but somehow and someway, the body gets racked from time to time at no one fault; it just happens.

[Anaku]

Joint injuries are very common among older karateka. Ballistic performance will blow out the joints unless one is taught to not fully extend your limbs and or not use full power. In the old days many martial artists lived active full lives well into eighties. More recently this is not so true anymore... In Okinawan kata's there are only front kick and in some styles side kick. All the other kicks were added later...

[tallgeese]

Injuries in MAs can be common if you're in any contact-centric art. Bruises, sprains, strains...all common. Take some time when they happen. A night or two off can pay dividends in the long run. And don't neglect things that continue to nag. Those are the things that can turn into bigger problems if left unchecked. I have a non-union fracture in a wrist thanks to the "I'll work thru it" mindset.

Occasionally, fractures and dislocations will happen and the odd off concussion. Again, deal with it as it comes. Good trauma care on site is a must to mitigate the effects of these things happening.

Of course there are less common things, but those are the biggies. Taking steps like were discussed above can really go a long way to prevent things like this happening. But they will happen. It's the nature of the beast when we train dynamically.

Taking the proper time to heal, especially as we age, is critical in the healing process. As well as working our training around our injuries.