broken bones...broken confidence?

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escape315

Joined
Apr 28, 2004
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well i got really mad last week and hit a concrete wall as hard as i could and smashed my hand with what the doctors were calling a bad "boxers break". i can already see myself getting less aggressive with fighting and i know when i get this damned cast off and start taking my classes again im not going to be as aggressive as i was. i've earned a reputation in my dojo for being strong and aggressive and i dont want that to change, i also don't want to break myself again, or break anyone else for that matter. i know breaking my hand had nothing to do with my martial arts stuff but it still had to do with fighting in the sense that that wall could have been a person...
 
Sad to say boxers wear gloves more to protect their own hands rather the head of their opponent.

Even former champ Mike Tyson broke his hand during a fight outside a bar many years ago when he was actually a pretty good boxer.

Details are sketchy, and I don't recall if he broke his hand from contact with whomever he hit, or if he missed and hit a wall or lamp post.

There is at least one style of FMA that actually trains their students to accept a punch to the part of the head where one would execute a head butt. The idea here is that portion of the skull is harder than the typical fist, and would actually cause the puncher to break their fist on the punchee.

Someone else is welcome to experiment with this one. I'd rather avoid getting punched in the head and breaking my hand!

Seriously, even though I've trained in JKD using a vertical fist, I'm really reconsidering use of a clenched fist when making contact with someone else's skull.

I'd still use the vertical punch to the solar plexus, heart, or sternum, but I'd probably use a palm strike to the chin or nose if it comes to that.
 
healthy bones is not very strong, if u hit it hard enough on a harder surface it will break. I don't know what the problem is, i had a bad temper and broke my hand by breaking someone's jaw the first week on my new school because i was sick and tired of getting harrased. The knuckle shifted backwards. My collegues brake their hands often during work (LEO). Fistfights will frequently end up with bone breakage in the hands, thats why boxer tape their hands and wear gloves. Part of the game. U could harden the muscle structure in your hands, or build up a lot of hard skin on the knuckels. This is done by the Shaolin monks and karateka's by hitting against hard objects , sand, rice, for long periods of time, this will increase the skin and bones resistence against breaking but will in the long term lead to severe arthritis. Best way to punch with an untaped hand and without gloves is with the palm of your hand, where the hand meets the arm. This bone is much more resilient against breakage then the small bones in the hand. Try to find more resilient bones( head, elbow, knee, ) and use them as energy transmitters. Hitting hard objects with your unprotected fists will lead to breakage.
 
I've broken Bones & torn Muscles in & outside of training. My biggest piece of advice is to NOT RUSH your return. I'm wiser because of the injuries & allowing them to heal, i've always been able to return stronger then before.

So, take your time!

Peace & Harmony Always. :D
 
I work with troubled teen boys for a living. One of their biggest issues is anger management and its translation into violence. In the last year alone I have spent the day in the ER with a kid with a busted hand at least 6 times. They lose their marbles over something and then POW ,punch the wall. Bruce Lee said" Boards dont hit back" but I've never seen a wall lose a fight yet. This being said perhaps you should be examining your self control and emotions rather than worrying about how aggressive you will be in training. its easy to maintain focus in the emotionaly safe environment of a sparring match but in the reality of self defence and combat your emotions will be at the redline. Can you discipline your emotions as well as your hands? An aggressive fighter wins the day but only if he remains focused. Keep training, stay aggressive , but be wise. Maybe you could write a reminder of this on your cast. No need to lose confidence, just bad habits.
 
BTDT, escape315. You just have to learn to chill out - it gets easier with practice.

Breathing techniques help immensely: Earth Mode breathing is appropriate for the situation - I highly recomend it. To do this, put the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, right behind your front teeth. This will cause you to use the lower part of your lungs when you inhale & exhale and you will breathe deaper. Keep your back straight - you can sit in a chair, indian style or whatever you are comfortable with - just make sure your back is straight.

Breath in steadily, forcing the air low in your abdomen, down below your belly button. If you breath in for a 3 count, breath out for the same count of 3. If you can breath in & out for longer than that, say a count of 8, so much the better. This will develope a calm, yet strong and balanced feeling; by changing your physiological state, you will also change your emotional state.

But I would encourage you to get a heavy bag. A fine 75lb Everlast will do nicely - then learn to delay your gratification long enough to get home to pound the bag. It's good for getting rid of the agression when someone pisses you off & will get you in shape too.

I say a 75lb bag as oppossed to a 50lb because it is longer (not to mention heavier) & much better suited to knee strikes in conjunction with your punching. Add in elbow strikes and you can get in a heck of a workout...

Good luck dude!
 
well i just got recontructive surgery on it last night so ill be out for at least 8 weeks anyway but im still going to the dojo just to watch. now that my hands too screwed up to hit stuff im tryin to find other ways to vent. i used to walk in the woods but we have about 3 feet of snow right now...
 
I've always been taught to go for soft targets with a fist and hard targets with an open palm strike. Being taught that is a lot different than putting it into practice in a SD situation. It's near impossible to stop and think about what you should do, even if you've drilled it over and over. My feeling is, it's easier to treat a broken hand than it is to treat a stab wound or a broken jaw, etc. etc. As to the need to vent, why not just utilize your other natural weapons, elbows, knees, shins, heck...why not headbutt some stuff...always works for me :)
 
...The break apparently required surgery. That's gotta hurt! Getting the blood pumping too much will make it throb really bad no doubt. Ironknuckles, I think you gave good advice but it may be a bit premature :)
 
He said he can't hit the bag to vent anymore because his hand his screwed up. I broke my wrist once and instead of hitting the bag with my fists, I just kicked it and elbowed it. I thought he might find it useful advice (even though I suppose it's really just common sense.) As for the self defense applications, I was really just wondering if others had been taught the same. I'm not really sure I understand why my advice was premature, a little late maybe....
 
Knuckles: I meant that he's got to recover to some degree before anything else.

A break that requires surgery is alot more serious than a simple break (think compound fracture) and the last thing you want to do is add to your recovery time. So while hitting the bag with knees & elbows is good advice, if he does it too soon (i.e.; prematurely), he'll risk opening up his incision.

That's all.
 
yep its got a plate and 6 screws in it right now, im goin in for xrays on wednesday but im like 90% sure that something got screwed up cuz for the first week or so after surgery the bone felt really straight against the cast and for the last few days its felt bent like it did before the surgery. i cant remember doing anything that would have bent it but i guess we'll find out. it doesnt hurt that much but then again i didnt even feel it when it broke (which all my doctors refuse to belive as the bone was shattered, even after surgery there are bone chips all over the place). as for the venting, loud music works good, and i've been spending weekends at friends houses. i got myself a new knife today that i;ve had my eye on for months, only it doesnt work too good left handed and i accidentally cut open my un-broken hand within 10 minutes of getting home with it. its actually kinda funny at the moment i have 1 hand in a cast and the other wrapped in duct tape.
 
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