hits in the middle of the head...ouch!!!

[burger boy]

Hi everybody,
Still new to bogu, and did some keiko tonight will some more experienced students. While sparring with one, we both went for a men cut and I somehow got popped right in the middle of the top of my head. Hurt like a son-of-a-gun and I was dizzy for a couple of seconds.

Now chances are that I ducked forward into the hit so that's not so much my concern as is any damage that could be done receiving a lot of hits like this.

Anyone have anything like this happen to them? Is it possible to get a concussion from something like this? Would additional men padding assist in absorbing the blows?

Thanks for any input.

burger boy

[xvikingx]

Ive been cracked on the top of the head so hard that I smelled blood (like when you get popped in the nose). I dont know if it was because of my men being old, leaning in as I go for men, or if my partner just plain old clubbed me like a baby seal... all I know is that it cant be good to get hit in the head like that.
I also have a tendency to lean into my men cuts sometimes so maybe that is the problem.

[emitbrownne]

Hi everybody,
Still new to bogu, and did some keiko tonight will some more experienced students. While sparring with one, we both went for a men cut and I somehow got popped right in the middle of the top of my head. Hurt like a son-of-a-gun and I was dizzy for a couple of seconds.

In last nights training I executed a clean men cut on a fellow student, he however did a flat block (holding the Tsuka to the right and the whole shinai horizontal). My shinai bent over his and popped him on the head. He described the same dizzyness as you.

I advised him that maybe he should invest in a protector, but he just shrugged it off and said, it will inspire him to do better.

I dont know if this is the right approach (I'm not for the gung ho approach).
If I was you, just spend a few pounds/dollars on a men protector. :)

*note* I was not hitting too hard.. He held his block very close to his men. Also, on the next cut he ninbly side stepped, and my cut (to my joy and suprise) was only to just below his eye level. *end-note*

[slidercrank]

As you start to keiko more often and with different people, you will soon realize this: not everyone hits hard, and not every hit from the same particular person is always hard, but there's someone somewhere who hits hard, everytime!

Be assured that nothing you're going through is unique to yourself. As your experience grows, you will develop skills that will make your keiko's more productive and less painful. Also, your body adapts. I used to wear sweatband underneath the kote to avoid pain and bruises. Now I don't bother with it anymore. My forearm has toughened up, so to speak.

An occasional painful, stars-inducing hit in kendo is unavoidable. It's almost like if you are a chef, you will get cut, burned or break plates somewhere someday. Don't forget, kendo's genesis is sword combat. A little pain and brutality are a part of the game!

[slidercrank]

I just had a tough practice tonight, and this thread was in my head as I was coming home. Many different people hit hard, not enough to see stars or feel pain, but the cumulative effect of all the blows is that I now feel rather crappy...

Oh well.

[Nishi]

In last nights training I executed a clean men cut on a fellow student, he however did a flat block (holding the Tsuka to the right and the whole shinai horizontal).

After the lesson and drills we did on suriage....tsk tsk tsk.
We do however teach the clean large men-cuts...good for you Paulo ;)

[PhilMcLaughlin]

Ever wondered why you keep being told to keep your head up ?

Now you do :-))))

(padding on top of head very thin - padding on men gane - much thicker)

cheers

[elfboy]

Ive been cracked on the top of the head so hard that I smelled blood (like when you get popped in the nose).

That's so strange - I had the same thing last night in bogu. We have this particular kendoka who hits a bit harder than the rest of our bogu class and his cuts did just about the same thing. I'm wondering why these cuts cause these particular effects though - as getting hit in other places on the men doesn't produce that blood-curling shock. My head seems to be in one piece though this morning... hehe.

:hurt: <--- Sums up our experiences in one picture :D.

[xvikingx]

My head seems to be in one piece though this morning... hehe.

:hurt: <--- Sums up our experiences in one picture :D.

Yeah, stange isn't it? It is nice to know I am not the only person this has happened to. It's not really painfull, as it is more of an uncomfortable "somethings not right" feeling. Funny, it only happened with this one guy at my old dojo. Who just so happens to be the same guy that would smash my knuckles in trying to get my kote. Glad I don't have to do keiko with him anymore. :dead:

[lwegerich]

Hi everybody,
Still new to bogu, and did some keiko tonight will some more experienced students. While sparring with one, we both went for a men cut and I somehow got popped right in the middle of the top of my head. Hurt like a son-of-a-gun and I was dizzy for a couple of seconds.
burger boy

This happened when you get hit in the "middle" of the head not on the front part above the mengane.

Happened to me and yeah, it hurts. ;)

It tends to happen more often when your opponent is striking hiki men, don't know why.

Lars

[Eldritch Knight]

When I was sparring a guy using joudan, he menuchi-ed me so hard that my vision blacked for half a second and I was dizzy for hours. However, it was probably due to the fact that the guy was huge and would've been able to split my head open with a toothpick, but keep in mind that the shinai is designed to soften the blow. More than likely, the crack sound that you hear is the two bamboo strips snapping together on your men. I don't think that you'd be able to get a concussion from it unless your opponent hit such that he wanted to hurt you. I could be wrong, but just keep your head up and hope that you're in a good position to receive the blow whenever it comes.

[pamiro]

i have the same problem, apart from the men that i am using is very old and soft, i believe that sometimes i tend to bend my body forward when i receive men strikes , which makes me to receive them just to the middle of my head!!
and yes it hurts!!! i remember having 3 days of headache!!
but once i received a yokomen just to my ear !!!! and man !! that hurts worse !!
a big explosion followed by a 10 minute beep!!!

[lwegerich]

(...) apart from the men that i am using is very old and soft (...)

A friend of mine had the same problem. He got his men fixed by a saddler. The saddler put a sort of a "leather patch" on top of the men. Did cost my friend EUR 20,- and his men is like brand new.

[Andoy]

Yeah, getting hit around the middle part of the men hurts...also around the side area where the padding gets thin...I suggest getting a men padding or putting another layer of tenegui on top of your already teneguied head. But the trick is to keep your head level so that when your men gets hit, the shinai hits a bit of the men gane and the first couple of inches of padding in the men where it is thick.

Also, some of you guys complained of "blacking out" and "dizziness for hours". It may be a mild concussion. Go have it checked out just in case. After all, we wouldn't want to have to give up kendo right? ;)

[Andoy]

Oh and another thing....its usually tough to go with beginners because they tend to use their right hand more. If u can avoid them...do it! :ninja:

[midnightdawn]

One time when the sensei was using me to demonstrate how to do something, and he was looking at the students when explaining it and he accidently popped me in the eye. Luckily it wasn't too hard. But my eye burned like hell for the rest of the practice.

Also, my kendo club doesn't have a set dojo (its a college kendo club) and midweek practice is often on this tiny stage. I forgot what exercize we were doing but I ended up taking too big of a step back and falling right of the stage. (it was only about 2 feet down). :emb:

[samurai999]

As you start to keiko more often and with different people, you will soon realize this: not everyone hits hard, and not every hit from the same particular person is always hard, but there's someone somewhere who hits hard, everytime!

Be assured that nothing you're going through is unique to yourself. As your experience grows, you will develop skills that will make your keiko's more productive and less painful. Also, your body adapts. I used to wear sweatband underneath the kote to avoid pain and bruises. Now I don't bother with it anymore. My forearm has toughened up, so to speak.

An occasional painful, stars-inducing hit in kendo is unavoidable. It's almost like if you are a chef, you will get cut, burned or break plates somewhere someday. Don't forget, kendo's genesis is sword combat. A little pain and brutality are a part of the game!

I beg to differ. At a dojo where ~75% of the people you train with are kyus, I always get heavy hitters. They do not have a good grasp of maai or tenouchi. So in essence they hit deep with the meaty part of the shinai and like a baseball bat. I usually clench my teeth a bit or tilt my head up ever so slightly and their strike hits me on the mengane.

I understand that not everybody does this, but every person that I seem to face at my dojo does this. I had to step out once for a 15min because they got me so woozy.

Tim

[Grautr]

Hi everybody,
Still new to bogu, and did some keiko tonight will some more experienced students. While sparring with one, we both went for a men cut and I somehow got popped right in the middle of the top of my head. Hurt like a son-of-a-gun and I was dizzy for a couple of seconds.

Now chances are that I ducked forward into the hit so that's not so much my concern as is any damage that could be done receiving a lot of hits like this.

Anyone have anything like this happen to them? Is it possible to get a concussion from something like this? Would additional men padding assist in absorbing the blows?

Thanks for any input.

burger boy



Hi,
My sensei told me that when tieing on your men the cords (sorry Im new and not up on all the Japanese yet) should be tied high and tight round the men. This forces a bulge into the top of the men because it is now straped to the side of your head so tightly. It is this bulge that absorbs the blow of the men cut.
Could it be that your not putting your men on properly?

in frith,