What age should full contact to the head be allowed?

Question

I am just looking for personel opinions on this, or even answers based on medical knowledge. What is the minimum age that full contact to the head should be allowed in Martial Arts tournements or Kickboxing/MMA matches with and without headgear and pads?

Answer 1

18+, b/c at the very least, by that time you are done developing

Answer 2

Never.  It can kill an adult just as easily as a child.

Answer 3

I started at 12 in Taekwondo

Answer 4

I would say 15-16 but I wouldnt want a 16 yr old fighting an adult. There should be restrictions i.e. 15-16 is fine as long as your fighting other teens. I know some people have said 18 is your peak, which I think is rubbish, personally when I was 18 I wouldnt have wanted to fight my 22yr old self for the world.

generally I would say 15-16 with age and skill restrictions.

Answer 5

No age.  The point of martial arts is to avoid bodily harm.

Answer 6

Usually any junior level (below 18) MMA and Kickboxing matches, as well as boxing all require mandatory protection.

(Hence the Olympic Boxing has head protection, as the contestants aren't always 18)

To me that is a pretty good indicator of 18 being the age where full contact without protection is an option, and that is usually at a pro level.

(Amateur kickboxing has padding on feet)

To me that is a sound and reasonable age limitation. All other medical reasons and such aside, essentially it is an across the board sort of thing, and that is what I would go with.

Keep in mind getting hit with head protection or pads still hurt a good bit, it isn't like the $h*t tickles when someone blasts you in the head when you are wearing head protection.

All "lessons learned" about defense and such come in those early years while fully padded up.. because as I said, it still hurts. It isn't like you neglect protecting your head when you have headgear on. Or you neglect blocking leg kicks because the guy is wearing shin pads.

18 would be the age I would say it is allowed, because that is pretty much standard across the board as a rule already.

Answer 7

in a perfect world that desicsion would be individually based on the persons abilities not their age...i wanted to train for a tournament but posponed my classes because i couldnt spar full contact...now im "old enough" and still love it its more fun when kicks actually touch the head...just my opinion...if risks are understood and the young persons(takes two to tango) abilities are up to it let them do it in a controlled setting...they could be playing on the street where padding is totally out the window...

Answer 8

16 with head gear, 18 without.  Yet another reason no one under 16 should EVER be tested or promoted to black belt.

Answer 9

for tournaments I would say 18,

for the medical reasons people have already stated, but also for issues of insurance, and dealing with waivers and guardians.

before 18 you would need a parent's permission- there is always the argument that the parents, not participating in the event didn't fully understand it and no matter how much paperwork you give them- if thier kid gets hurt they will sue.

at 18 the child becomes a legal adult (although judging by the way most 18 year olds act i would hesitate to call them an adult), as such the only person you have to deal with is the person who has the most knowledge of the event- AND would more likely fully understand what is going  on as a participant and a fighter- so age 18 IMO would be the safest and best not only for the child (medically), but for the promoters and sponsors of the event.

now thats a touchy issue too because you would want to have in school sparring to train- now that I would say leave it up to the school- and I know this is contrary to what is needed for good training, but at least in school you could more closely supervise and also maybe limit the level of contact before 18.  but for a tournament where the level of agression should be higher then full contact to the head IMO should be at 18.

Answer 10

I would agree with a lot of the answers here.

First and foremost, there isn't a smart way to say let's allow one to get pummeled in the head. As mentioned earlier it is a proven fact that blows to the head kill brain cells causing all sorts of problems, in both adults and children.

That aside I think it should be 18 and later. This for the reason of maturity, physically. As the body generally has stopped growing by then. Mental maturity, as in the overall scheme of things kids are able to get control of themselves to an extent, not to allow themselves to get carried away in the moment or with ego. (although, there are many out there who must wait a few years for that to develope, or it may never develope) Along that maturity note, they're legally old enough now to decide for themselves and some are mature to the point of understanding the consequences of their decisions. (This point can be argued both sides until we're blue in the face)

I grew up fighting in the streets a lot and moved from there to learning a martial art. I NEVER instigated a fight, but I was pigheaded enough to not back down either. I've had my fair share of blows to the head with fists, heads, knees, rocks, and other objects, so I understand that there is a need to know what it's like so one can learn to react properly while still getting hit. But it's so different having that full intention of somebody harming you or you harming them for real than it is in the dojo or ring. I guess my point with all this babbling, is that contact sparring (as close to real as possible) is a necessary evil.  So as long as there's a qualified instructor or mediator involved to keep a hint of control, that sparring without hard head blows to the teens, and without pads after the crossing of the general maturity line is OK.

Answer 11

Without headgear, I would say 18. With headgear and pads, I'd make it 13, but I don't condemn those who allow younger kids to fight and whatnot. I mean, if you let your kids play football...

Answer 12

With headgear I guess I would say maybe 10 years old.  I'm basing it on the fact that most of the top boxers Mayweather, De La Hoya, Hatton etc. all started at very young ages.  Going against kids their own age, size and with careful supervision it should be okay.  You would stop fights much quicker for kids.  

As far as without headgear that is strictly for the pros.  When you turn pro then the headgear comes off.

Answer 13

18 because by that time your body is at it's peak

Answer 14

A good question but one that is sure to draw conflicting opinions.  As for me I can only contribute this, I think full contact should never be allowed for children or teens. Adults should be OK as long as the fighters are of legal age and sign a waiver first. Even then I would only allow it when there is an instructor there to keep things from getting out of control.

Answer 15

difficult to draw a real line

I'd put the line somewhere in the late teens 16 ish

but then again if you see countries like Thailand and Korea you see even little kids going against each other without any pads or gear, and they usually turn out fine.  you must keep in mind that kids are not as strong as an adult.  during capoeira class I often have the kids kick me in the arm or gut to teach them proper kicks and often I can't even feel the kick no matter how hard they try.

but then again there's the fact of the developing brain cells that come to mind but I have no Idea whether or not contact sport would have any effect on that.

but just to be on the safe side I'd tend to say late teens

Answer 16

It's hard to draw a line but I'd say about 18ish.

At this point they're legally adults and ought to be fully aware of the dangers associated with the sport.

Answer 17

Thanks for the good question! I personally have been knocked out cold from a hook punch while wearing head gear. The opponent had on the padded open palm glove typically used in Taekwando matches. This was during my test for 1st Dan so it wasn't a grudge match. LOL

I don't think that anyone in a martial arts tournament should be without head protection. The gloves are not padded enough to prevent potentially serious injury . Boxers wear different gloves that provide more protection.

As far as age for full contact several factors cause me to conclude that at least 18 years old  is old enough and I would consider petitioning to make it mandatory. The first factor is that 18 is the age of consent and a legal threshold. The second is that by 18 there is a certain amount of ability to make better judgments. The third is that by 18 the bone plates in a persons body are finished or very nearly finished growing.

There is no circumstance where I would condone fighting without strict rules and a knowledgeable referee.

I also believe in padding for Taekwando matches such as used in the Olympics.

Edit:

I was reading the other day about head trauma in early child development possibly linked to some types of Autism. My wife reminded me of this. I know of one teen who developed OCD after a concussion from an auto accident.

Answer 18

Medically I would say about 25 but we all know no one waits that long.  I think 18 would be a more realistic age.

Answer 19

The American Medical Association or the New England Medical Journal ran an article on this in the early 90s while my wife was doing research in the area of neurosurgery.  Needless to say my involvement in martial arts and competing made for some interesting conversations at some of the dinners and parties we would go to.  One of the things that the article brought out was that any contact or trauma to the head of a child during their developmental years could cause problems in a number of areas both physically and mentally.  Problems with balance and coordination, reaction time, visual acuity, ability to concentrate, and problem solve were all areas that various studies showed some correlation with trauma to the head.  This is one of the reasons why contact to the head is not allowed in any of the under adult divisions by NASKA and the NBL in fighting irregardless of rank and that is just point fighting or sport karate.  Kids do other contact sports where sometimes contact to the head is made, in particular football, which this article was very much against along with martial arts and the article really stressed no contact until in their later teens.  Based on that as well as a few other things I think eighteen is really the age when maybe its alright and currently in IL if one amateur fighter wears a headgear in a kickboxing match-both must.

Answer 20

Nothing like a few shots to the head to teach a youth the importance of defense!

Answer 21

Here in the Philippines, kids ages ranging from 7-12 competing in Olympic-style Taekwondo, Kick boxing, and Boxing are wearing protective gears such as chest protectors, arm/shin guard, mouthpiece, groin guard, and most of all, a head gear. Your question may vary from region to region. There are some places I know like Thailand were Muay Thai is the National pastime, kids there train for like 8 hours a day and fight every Sunday afternoon on local competitions. Muay Thai is so common in their country and gyms or training areas are like barbers shops(literally), most of them in the countryside where you can see them on almost any corner. And kids who can't afford primary schooling have no choice but to train and fight. We all know how a Muay Thai fight looks like. It's bloody and messy.

Your question may vary from region to region. Some places here in Asia are bound by strict tradition even on the Martial Arts. Western countries are bounded many laws and legality issues on this matter. So, it really depends from which person you're gonna ask from.

In my opinion, I'd allow kids to fight in a full contact sport IF there are protective gears available.

Answer 22

I think 12 is ok for light contact.

I think 16-18 for full contact.

James

Answer 23

I believe this decision should be left to the fighter and tournament directors - at 16 years old the state allows any person to test for a drivers license.  Teen driving is WAY more deadly than fighting if you look at any statistics.  Why shouldn't a competent 16 year old who signs a waiver be allowed to fight full contact?  

My point is that choosing any age is arbitrary - I think anyone who fights should be required protect himself both in sparring and in competition.  The more skilled the fighter, the less restrictive the requirements should be for protective gear.  So base it on the number of fights a person has entered.

Less than 10 fights head gear Mandatory.

10+ fights head gear optional.

Title fights - minimal protection requirements - something like that.

Also, any organized comptition should force the fighters to wear the same protective gear to keep the fight truly based on skill, not who has better gear.

Answer 24

Medically, probably never. But there are a lot of things doctors say you shouldn't do that don't actually do much harm.

If it is to be allowed I would say you have to wait at least until bone development and growth have stopped at 18. I believe the skull is fully formed and hardened whilst the rest of the body is still growing so with the use of headgear and gloves I might say 14 but no kicks or knees.

Answer 25

I would say sometime between 18-21.

While I'm sure that many teenagers have the self-control and skill to spar unprotected, the brain is still developing.  The brain is considered fully developed at roughly 18 years of age- which is also why that age is when one legally becomes an adult.

Answer 26

Ive seen 5 years olds in boxing matches. They never got hurt or even bruised. They wore helmets and had like some 50 oz gloves! lol ....of course im exaggerating, but the gloves were big. I think with the proper equipment and coaching, head contact is ok. Without pads, I agree with another user. Id say 13 years old. But, its not so much age as im worried about. Maturity and experience is even more important. A person with experience has much more control over his/her movements.

   So if I started a tournament, with head-contact (no headgear) they would also have to have 6 months- 1 year experience. Just my opinion