Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Sector7G]

Well, I was able to answer my own question even before I posted it, which was going to be "why don't we hear more about fights being stopped due to broken ribs?" It seems like an injury where it would be hard "to suck it up" and continue.

I googled and found out it is actually pretty common, at least in MMA. So maybe a big "duh" on my part, but I guess I never paid attention until I experienced broken ribs myself.

I will post anyway in case anyone wants to chime in with their experience.

Anyway, here is what made me think about it in the first place.

I broke 2 of my ribs in a car accident two weeks ago and only in the last few days have I been able get my full range of motion back without causing excruciating pain.

Ever have broken or bruised ribs? Let me tell you, it hurts like hell, at least when you move a certain way!!! And there is pretty much nothing you can do to treat them except take painkillers. They don't even try to tape anymore because that can cause Pneumonia for some reason.

If I had broken ribs and someone was trying to get a confession out of me, all they would have to do is press on my side and I would sing like a canary!

Which got me to thinking, it seems to me that with the incredible strength and power unleashed by many of today's fighters with their striking ability, be it by kicks or punches, it would be relatively easy to break a man's ribs.Yes? No?

And as Joe Frazier used to say, "if you kill the body, the head will die."

Thoughts?

[robbie_davies]

In boxing, body punching is a very neglected art. There has been some great bodypunchers in the ring like Mike McCallum - I think a lot of it is psychological, boxers want to score devastating KO's to the head rather than the body - if you watch any '10 devastating KO's' on you tube, they have all been headshots - nothing as dramatic in the whole of sports as the Tyson KO of Berbick for example.

[spaceman82]

Body punches are great, but given the limited number of rounds (less time to effect damage, which is important in that it takes some time for body shots to take their toll) and large ring size (more evasiveness, less squaring up and throwing) in modern MMA, it'd be risky for a fighter to base his strategy in a fight around them. Nevertheless, it would be pretty easy to break a rib if you got a clean shot in--but that can be hard since MMA fighters hold their hands low to prevent take-downs, which means they have more protection over their ribs. Add to that that most MMA fighters aren't as skilled at striking as you'd think, in comparison to boxers, etc., and that most don't go for long combinations (which would help open the guy up for a rib-breaking strike), and it becomes a little harder to get that rib break. Also, while rib injuries do suck, guys can continue fighting off of adrenaline when the break isn't that bad sometimes because they only have to make it through 3 rounds.

[Sector7G]

[Sector7G]