Strange question, I know. But I'm curious. Some styles of karate that want to allow elbows, knees, etc. and don't fancy getting cut to ribbons wear kendo masks like this: http://www.ryukyu-kenpo.org/Bogu Headgear.jpg Any similar experiments? And if so, how well did it reduce impact compared to well-made regular headgear? Any problems? (I imagine tunnel vision would be one...) [yt]lnoU4HOQ9Eg[/yt]
I've never heard of a boxer using this, and I can't imagine this being of any benefit to boxers. It would make your already bulky headgear even bulkier, and it might lessen the impacts to the face, which might create a false sense of security, which would hinder you for actual competition. Maybe for people who are in the public eye, or work in an industry where coming to work with a black eye is frowned upon. For the rest of us, the ruggedness of the sport and pain is part of the fun.
This is true. I was thinking more as an addition to regular sparring, to allow you to get more rounds in more frequently. Even professional boxers are careful not to overemphasize sparring compared to bagwork, padwork, shadowboxing, etc., since your body can only sustain so much damage on a constant basis. It might also allow you to reduce the size of the sparring gloves to something closer to what you'll use in competition. Not a big change, but there it is. (This stuff is pretty rare. I've seen guys whose sparring includes a mix of weapons, grappling, and barehanded techniques use them, but that's to allow people to hit each other with rattan sticks. Not many punch/kick type sports use them aside from the bogu karate types).
This is horrible. If you're thinking about wearing one of those then you might want to invest in some boxing gloves that would give your fingers the dexterity to change your tampon.
Point taken, but if you read what I wrote, I'm wondering if boxers can use this to add more sparring -- aside from the conventional sparring that they already do -- without increasing the number of concussions. ...especially since concussions over the long term decrease the body's ability to produce testosterone.
