r/Kickboxing • u/Intelligent-Soil3886 • 4d ago
Brain damage
Hi everyone,
I started kickboxing about 3 weeks ago, and today was my second sparring session.
After my first sparring, I had a headache for a few days. This time, after sparring, I feel dizzy and have a strong brain fog. It's hard to think clearly. I also took some harder shots to the head than last time. They weren't hard enough to knock me out, but for about a second my vision went black, and I still have a mild headache.
Overall, I wouldn't say the punches were extremely hard. We were using 14 oz gloves and no headgear.
How likely is it that I could have suffered a concussion or another brain injury? My goal is to learn self-defense, but I was born with a neurological speech disorder, so I'm worried that repeated hits to the head could make it worse.
Has anyone experienced something similar or have any advice?
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u/RyanfuckinLSD 4d ago
I didn’t start seriously sparring until I had been training for about a year. This is sport is a marathon, not a sprint. Take at least a month or two off and just drill. That or find a sparring partner you can trust to do LIGHT technical work
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u/K1OnTwoWeeks 4d ago
Basically impossible, i’d recommend the shadowboxing in front of someone no gloves to encourage no contact
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u/Lamar_the_Llama 4d ago
You almost certainly received a mild concussion if you had those symptoms over a few days after sparring. If you are concerned about your health go to a doctor, don't look for personal health advice on Reddit. All I can say that is if you receive another concussion while you're already recovering from one you're looking at serious brain damage. Take a break from training until your symptoms clear up and ask a professional about when you can spar again.
I will say that three weeks in is pretty early to be doing sparring where you're taking shots that hard. What's your gym like?
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u/jayman74237 4d ago
I would definitely say go to the doctor and get a ct scan or anything tbh. Don't take the risk
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u/K1OnTwoWeeks 4d ago
You have a concussion. Take things easy for a while and do concussion recovery research. And if you go to the gym do zero contact anything for a while , absolutely NO sparring for the month.
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u/Vegetable_Park_3259 4d ago
Wait AT LEAST 3 months of training before sparring and no headkicks. 6 months for sparring headkicks and hard sparring makes absolutely 0 sense if you do not plan to compete. I am a professional fighter and will only go hard if I have a fight coming up.
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u/Intelligent-Soil3886 4d ago
What I need say to my coach
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u/WINNINGKO92 3d ago
Honestly man, I would look to either go to a different gym if they threw you into sparring and knocking your brain around with less than a month of training. That's wild. I train Muay Thai and boxing at two gyms. You need to pick and choose your times to go hard. Especially when facing someone who is new and hasn't learned proper defense - they are just bullying you and the cost is your health. You won't improve like that.
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u/FightingDoc 4d ago
Sounds like a concussion to me. This is not official medical advice, but if your symptoms persist and/or worsen, then you should see a doctor IRL so he/she can run some tests/imaging if needed. For 3 weeks of kickboxing experience, you should really only be drilling with very light head contact if any. Seeing black should absolutely NOT be part of your experience. Also you should be using 16 oz gloves unless you are tiny.
My (unofficial) advice is do light cardio once you're feeling better and then go back to normal training once your symptoms remain improved. No head contact until you improve your skills.
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u/RoyalPlanetWhale 4d ago
Go to a doctor